Some tips on Event Flash Photography (Warning: long post): I was grateful for my friend Calvin Alexi who posted some tips for concert photography, and he encouraged me to share some tips on Event Flash Photography. I’m no expert, and far from being as proficient as I would like to be, so bear in mind that below are just some tips from my own experience. You may or may not like it or find it applicable. Just know that we all have our own style and there really isn’t such thing as right and wrong, so what I share is what applicable to me and my style :). 1. Buy the highest power flashgun you can afford. The higher the better. I’ve seen too many people buying middle range flashguns only to find them lacking. You can always reduce the power, but you can never increase the power over the maximum it could go. 2. Identify your style. Do you like the subject to be the main focus and the background is all dark? or Do you like to have more ambient lighting in the background? Both has it’s pros and cons. As for me, I love more ambient lighting and like an overall brighter photo. 3. Learn more about your flashgun. Read up on the manual (something which I myself is not doing enough lol). At least know the most basic or often used features and functions. 4.Familiarise with the outcome of various setup. Know the difference between direct flash, bounced flash and off-camera flash. Lots of youtube videos on this. Or just shoot and test it out yourself. 5. Having said that. Avoid using direct flash if you can help it. 6. My favourite is using bounced flash WITHOUT the diffuser dome. BUT don’t just bounce for the sake of bouncing. Don’t just point it backwards or upwards or 45 degrees to the back because somebody told you to, or because you saw someone using it. Know why and how to bounce. 7. While you are learning about bouncing flash, learn some studio lighting basics, learn what is broad or short lighting. How you bounce and what direction to bounce your light has a lot to do with how you would set up your studio lighting. 8. Beware of the colour of the surface you are bouncing from. Buy some radio triggers such as yongnuos or pocketwizards for off-camera flash photography. 9.Some people prefers off-camera flash to bounced flash. Not me, but if you are in a location where the ceiling is black or have some funky colours like red or purple, you can’t bounce, then the next best thing you can do is off-camera flash. Off-camera flash is always good, the only thing is you need to use both hands, one holding the flash and the other one your camera, which can get very tiring over time. Or you can get an assistant to help you hold your light. 10. Know that the Stofen diffusers or the small dome diffuser caps on top of your flash DOES NOT SOFTEN THE LIGHT. Search the internet and learn what actually softens the light, and don’t be surprised, a lot of photographers, even the experienced ones, may not know the right answer. The dome diffusers do have it’s uses, especially when you can’t bounce the light and don’t have the radio triggers, and they are definitely better than direct flash. 11. Learn when to switch off the flash. Vary your shots. Some shots look a lot nicer with ambient lighting. Don’t just go for safe shots. After taking the safe shots, mix it up and take some risks. You might be surprised by what you can get. 12. Don’t be afraid of using high ISO. Know your camera’s limit and learn how to use noise reduction. Lightroom 5 has very good noise reduction function as compared to it’s earlier versions. 13. Avoid or minimise dutch angle (tilted or slanted photos). There are rules and situations when it’s ok to tilt your photos, and it will take a long list to list those out, and most of them are based on personal compositional skills and style. But one simple rule is if you find yourself or your friends needing to tilt their head to look at your photos, you know you are doing it wrong lol. 14. Bring a lot of spare batteries, especially if you are bouncing flash. It’s the most power hungry method. 15. Buy some light and portable light modifiers for your flashguns. For example the speedlight prokit beauty dish, or some foldable softboxes. It will soften the light, and, again, read up on what determines how soft or harsh a light source is. That’s about all I can share. I know it’s long, and it’s merely scratching the surface. Take it or leave it, up to you. But if you use the above suggestions and explore further, I’m sure you will learn something new and maybe even develop your own style of flash photography :). All the best and have fun!
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 07:19:04 +0000
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