Flash photography tip: Using flash with a mirrorless camera
Thursday 26 January 2023, 14:41 by Elja Trum | 4,857 views | 3 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
In my view, mirrorless cameras are better than DSLRs. But in some situations, you need to know what to do. For example, when you work with (studio) flashes. You need to change a setting.
Mirrorless cameras no longer have an optical viewfinder, but an electronic viewfinder. So when you look through your camera's viewfinder, you are looking at a small screen. You can already see the effects of your camera settings before taking the photo. Very useful!
With flash photography, however, this is tricky. Of course, you cannot 'see the flash light in advance'. But you do adjust your camera settings to suit it.
In many situations, this means that your image is far too dark through the viewfinder. Flash light still needs to be added to the image for the correct exposure.
Mirrorless cameras therefore have an option that gives you no preview of the actual exposure settings. Instead, you get a general viewfinder image that suits the situation.
You need this setting when working with flash light. It is often called 'exposure simulation', 'exposure preview' or 'exposure preview'. Check your manual for the correct menu option for your camera.
I have added this setting directly to my quick menu (favourites). This means I can find it very quickly and easily switch between flash photography in a dark environment and photography in situations with continuous light.
About the author
Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.
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3 comments
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Ronald Maas wrote on Tuesday 31 January 2023 at 13:30 | replyDear Elja, no sour reaction this time, but a compliment,
Translated from Dutch.
good tip!! -
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Martin Verbruggen wrote on Tuesday 31 January 2023 at 19:46 | replyThanks Elja. An important story. I hadn't realized this. It immediately raises a question for me. If, for example, I use Bulb mode for astrophotography, the camera doesn't know how long I'm going to expose. Is it then also advisable to turn off preview??
Translated from Dutch.
Another good tip.
Martin
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Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about PhotofactsPhotofacts is made possible in part by
