Using flash outdoors in 3 steps

Sunday 13 September 2026, 20:02 by Elja Trum | 48 views | 0 comments

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

If a photo already looks good outdoors on a sunny day, what can a flash add? In this article, I show you what flash can do and how to achieve it yourself in 3 simple steps.

1. Take the photo without flash

It is always a good idea to take a photo using the ambient light before adding the flash. Is there actually anything that flash can add to the photo?

Usually, there is something you can think of. In this photo, for example, I thought it was a shame that model Lisa was lit so evenly. As a result, there is little depth in the photo.

There are also blown-out patches of light in the background. This photo was taken in the shade of the tree that you can still see on the right. That prevents harsh shadows on the face, but in the background, where the sun does reach the grass, we get blown-out areas.

2. Correct the exposure for the effect you want

I want to prevent the blown-out patches in the background. To do that, I need to underexpose the photo. Everything becomes darker, so the light areas will no longer be, or will be less, blown out.

However, I do need to pay attention to the flash sync speed of my flash. The shutter speed is already 1/200th, which is the same as the flash sync speed of my Canon EOS R5. So I cannot use a shorter shutter speed.

I cannot lower the ISO either, as it is already at 100 ISO. That leaves the aperture. I could stop it down further, to f/8 for example. But then the background would become less soft, or sharper. I would rather avoid that.

Fortunately, there is another solution, or actually even two. I can use high-speed sync and still use a shorter shutter speed, or I can place an ND filter, a neutral density filter, on my lens.

I choose the neutral density filter. With a 4x ND filter, I make the photo considerably darker while using the same camera settings. The background is now good, but Lisa is underexposed, or too dark.

3. Add the flash

The final step is adding a flash. I do not use a bare flash, but one in a large softbox. This makes the light nice and soft, with a gradual transition between the dark and light areas.

The flash, a Godox AD 300pro, is in my Apollo Orb softbox from Westcott. It is on a stand on the right-hand side of the photo. I trigger the flash with a Godox radio trigger, the X3.

I set the flash power by taking a test photo. A flash light meter would of course work too, but I find this good enough. I check the histogram on my camera to see whether there are any blown-out areas left.

Now I get the photo I want. With exactly the same settings, I can quickly take several more photos one after another. This gives the model the opportunity to try a few different poses.

There are no blown-out areas in the background now. In my view, the difference between the light and dark areas makes the background more interesting than in the first photo with the ambient light.

Lisa herself is lit by the flash coming from the side. This creates a nice difference between her left and right sides. As a result, we can see more depth in the photo.

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