Flash photography tip: Use the light fall-off from your flash

Saturday 16 December 2023, 22:44 by Elja Trum | 2,961 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

An interesting way to light multiple people evenly in a photo is to use the edges of the light. The flash gives off the most light straight ahead. There is much less light to the left, right, above or below. You can use this as a photographer.

Jens and Maud - f/2.8, 1/200s, 100 ISO @ 80mm
Point your light at the person who is furthest away. Your flash will light him or her the most. Now place the second person closer, but further towards the edge of the light. This means less light falls on the person who is closer, so they are not overexposed in relation to the second person, who is further away.

Getting this right does, of course, require some practice. You can use a flash meter if you want to get it absolutely perfect.

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

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.

Falling stars (Lyrids), photographic contributions
by Michelle Peeters
Portrait photography tip: Adding a hair light
by Elja Trum
Tip: Multiple exposures in your camera
by Huub Keulers
Flash photography tip: Make the background darker
by Elja Trum
The Magic of Photography with Multiple Exposures
by Laura van der Burgt
Video: Photographer (nearly) falls from moving bus
by Elja Trum

Show every article in Flash photography

home

0 comments

There are no comments on this article yet.
Be the first to share what you think!

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
38,982 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

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 Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by