Good results with an on-camera flash

Saturday 19 March 2022, 19:19 by Nando Harmsen | 5,290 views | 0 comments

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

People always say that an on-camera flash does not produce good photos. This is absolutely not true. The reason why a photo taken with an on-camera flash does not look good is a lack of knowledge about photographing with flash.

In this article, I explain how you can achieve good results with an on-camera flash.

I do not mean the built-in flash here, but a separate flash on the camera. A so-called reportage flash. It is an ideal tool for drastically improving the quality of the light. Especially when you need to be or remain mobile, it is indispensable in many situations.

A reportage flash can be used very effectively. As long as you know how.
There are a few things you need to know to get a good photo with an on-camera reportage flash.

First, you need to know the basics. Setting the exposure for the surroundings and the flash are two different things. You set the exposure for your surroundings with the aperture, shutter speed and ISO. The flash provides the exposure for your subject.

Ambient light and flash are two different things

By choosing the exposure for the surroundings carefully, you mix the existing light with the flash for a natural look. The only thing you need to watch out for is that the subject does not become overexposed when setting the ambient light.

By matching the exposure to the surroundings and letting the flash illuminate the subject, even a photo with direct flash becomes much more pleasant and natural. But this can of course be improved further.
Next, the direction of the light is important. We all know direct flash, and how unflattering it is for your subject.

The term flat-lit will undoubtedly be familiar to you. You have already partly prevented this by balancing the ambient light with your flash. Giving the light a direction is the next step.

Give your flash direction

By giving the flash a direction that is different from straight on, you create shadows. Shadows add depth to your subject.

You do this by bouncing your flash off a wall. Indirect flash, in other words. The light gets better quality.

With indirect flash, the light comes from a different direction. In this case, from the left. Can you see how natural this photo looks? You would not say it was taken with flash, would you?
Preferably, do not bounce the flash off the ceiling. This creates ugly shadows under the eyebrows, nose and chin. Bounce the flash off a wall to the left, right, or if necessary behind you. The larger the wall, the softer the light. The wall becomes your softbox, just like the one you have in a studio.

Prevent direct light on your subject

There is a third way to shape the light. If you bounce your flash off a wall, direct flash will still fall on your subject.

By shielding the flash so that no light falls directly on your subject, you make sure that only light from the wall reaches it. You cannot even see that a flash was used anymore.

By flagging the flash head, in other words shielding it, you prevent direct light from reaching your subject. The only flash light still visible now comes from the left. The quality of the light is very good, even with an on-camera reportage flash.

Everything at a glance

In summary, create a balance between ambient light and flash by choosing the right camera settings.

Then use a wall to the left or right to give the flash a direction.

If necessary, shield the flash so that no direct light falls on your subject.

Of course, there are more things that can help you take good photos with an on-camera flash. It all depends on the surroundings you are in, whether or not you have walls available, how many people you have in the frame, the power of your flash, and a number of other things.

This is the photo taken in the behind-the-scenes image above, with a reportage flash on top of the camera.
If you use the three things in this article as a starting point and build on them, you can take very successful, beautiful flash photos with an on-camera reportage flash.

Do you ever use a reportage flash? Tell us in a comment below this post how you do this, what your experience is, or whether you prefer another way of lighting.

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