When do I use flash and what is the best camera lighting to use?I use flash lighting only when I absolutely have to. Keep that in mind as we talk about it.  For me, most times, the best lighting is natural. Have you ever noticed that when you use a built in flash the lighting looks harsh? People’s faces are so washed out. Don’t expect to get professional, high quality, photographs while using the unit built into your camera. Whenever I can, I use only natural lighting. Yet I always have my attachable, artificial lighting units with me and ready to go. Here's a picture of them. Notice they're not the built in unit, but add on. Invariably I'll find one set of pictures for the day where I need them. When I have to use artificial lighting, I seldom, if ever, use the built in unit. Instead I opt for those "hot shoe mounted" lighting units. I'll explain why a little later.Choices from available camera settings allow me to use natural lighting most of the time. With or without flash, the best time of a sunny day to shoot is when the sun is not straight overhead. Your subjects look more 3 dimensional and it makes for more appealing shadows. This picture was taken in very low light. I used only the existing light. This carousel is in an enclosure and it is pretty dark in there. Yet I got a very satisfactory shot. By the way, I hand held my camera. There will always be exceptions to the rule. |
