Street photography tip for the brave: Use a flash

Thursday 2 April 2026, 16:32 by Michiel Heijmans | 1,668 views | 0 comments

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

Personally, it's not my thing, but there are street photographers who create brilliant work with a flash. Yes, you throw all your invisibility out of the window. Everyone can see you.

Middelburg - f/2.8, 1/1250s, 200 ISO @ 40mm
There are two methods: on the camera or in your hand, with a reportage flash, as the well-known photographer Bruce Gilden does, for example. Fantastic portraits of people looking into his camera in horror, startled. Usually not the most flattering photos, but wonderfully different because of that.

The other method is to use a flash that, after you have decided on the composition, is attached to a pole or tree.

That way, you can take a photo with a remote trigger, and the person being photographed will not even realise that it was your flash that just blinded them. This method naturally requires a little more preparation, and you are less mobile.

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