Reasons why you should hire a professional photographer that uses flash

Flash photography has been around for a long time and is primarily used by professional photographers. Surprisingly, not a significant amount of wedding and portrait photographers use flash to their advantage. It’s an efficient way of taking wedding and portrait photos, as it helps to improve the quality of the photos you will receive. There are many other ways through which this type of photography can be used, and we’ll explore some top advantages below.

Importance of hiring a professional photographer for special events

When it comes to capturing special moments and occasions, hiring a professional photographer is always a good idea. Not only do they have the technical skills and expertise to take high-quality photos, but they also have an artistic eye for composition and lighting. One technique that many professional photographers use to enhance their photos is off-camera flash.

Benefits of using off-camera flash in photography

Off-camera flash refers to the use of flash units that are not attached to the camera. This allows the photographer to have greater control over the direction and quality of light in the scene, resulting in improved lighting and composition in the final image. For example, a photographer can use off-camera flash to add a rim light to a subject, separating them from the background and adding depth to the photo. Or, they can use multiple flash units placed at different angles to create more complex and dynamic lighting setups.

Your photos can be taken in any scene, lighting condition, and weather

In addition to improving the overall look and feel of a photo, using off-camera flash also allows for better control over the final image. A professional photographer who is skilled in using off-camera flash can manipulate light to achieve the desired mood and atmosphere. This can be especially useful in challenging lighting conditions, such as a dark reception hall or a brightly lit outdoor scene. By using off-camera flash, a photographer can ensure that their photos are well-lit and properly exposed, regardless of the lighting situation.

(We use off-camera light to illuminate the rain that falls on a typical Vancouver day.)

Your photos will have a way larger wow factor

There’s a huge number of photographers in any city who rely on natural light as their creative basis. If you’re looking for a different kind of photography, it may be worth seeking out an off-camera lighting photographer- they’ll make your photos true art.

(Without a coloured backlight the couple would be lost in the shadows of this location. The light from the off-camera light helps make the colours in nature pop and create that unique, beautiful ambiance.)

Using flashes allows for more creative freedom for your photos

Flashes are a great way of adding light to photos and allowing for more creative freedom. Flashes can be used in many different ways. They can be used as a fill flash or main light, or you can use them as backlights or rim lights. The colour and intensity of the flash can be changed depending on the desired effect.

(We create a fake sunset around noon to create drama. The couple’s portrait session was scheduled at less than optimal lighting conditions for the day.) Tip: Consider renting an indoor location for your photo shoot.

Off-camera flash can make you look better in photos

Creating flattering portraits that have a wow factor is a difficult task, and one of the best ways to do it is to hire a photographer that uses off-camera light. These photographers can use lighting equipment to create more aesthetically pleasing and stunning photos with ease.

When the subject is lit properly by a softbox, it creates flattering light and shadow on their face. This can give a more even skin tone, flattering light and shadow on their facial features, as well as highlighting the best aspects of your face.

(Skin tones are evened out when using flash to fill and shape the light.)

Using an off-camera flash can be faster and less intrusive

Many photographers are forced to shoot in whatever ambient light they are given, but not us. When it comes to off-camera flash, we can easily put you in cool locations with perfect light. We don’t have to go find the right natural light because we can create it.

Shooting wedding photos during the day leaves you with time constraints and not much choice in the locations. We can help you find a great location and then bring the perfect light with us to make sure your photos turn out just right

(this scene would be impossible to balance without the use of flash.)

You can bring the focus on the subject

Distracting elements can be hidden by using off-camera flash bringing your eye to the most important detail in the photo. We can lighten and darken areas easily to create the perfect photo.

(We can bring detail back in the sky as well as hide distracting elements of a photo.)

Flash freezes action making sharper more compelling photos

Shooting photos with off-camera flash creates sharper images in more difficult conditions. Flash freezes whatever it hits no matter how dark the natural light is, which will help you achieve a better image when shooting in less-than-perfect lighting conditions.

(Flash is a very helpful tool for portraits outdoors. It freezes the subject even better than on a sunny day because its duration is so short.)

Your wedding photos will have a more consistent feeling to them

Consistent lighting is important for your photos because it helps to create a feeling of unity. With off-camera flash, you can ensure that there’s even lighting and it doesn’t matter as much what the changing light conditions might be. Natural light is typically affected by the condition of the environment such as cloud cover, colours of the scene, and time of day.

(Ambient light tends to flicker, if we lock our flash brightness it will come out the same. This scene was an outdoor venue with minimal ambient light.)

The colours will look better

The use of flash can create a more balanced and accurate colour than using natural light. The flash not only makes colours more vibrant but also creates a more balanced scene making a high-quality image.

(We are able to overpower the sun making the colours look crisp and consistent.)

Flash optimizes the camera’s settings

Another benefit of off-camera flash is enhanced image quality and detail. In low-light situations, a flash can be used to add light to a scene, resulting in improved clarity and detail in the final image. Additionally, off-camera flash can help to improve colour accuracy and contrast in a photo, making the colours appear more vibrant.

When shooting at higher film speeds with lower natural light levels, the photo will end up looking fuzzy and less sharp. The more light you capture, the less grain or noise you will see in your photos. This can be done by using external lights around the scene and choosing settings that produce a sharper, better-looking photo for enlargements and albums.

(This dimly lit wedding ceremony would be very grainy and not sharp if available light was used. We are also able to keep the ambiance of the venue.)

You can fake the time of day

Professional photographers who use flash are masters of lighting. They can make a backdrop seem like anything they want it to be. With some creativity and the right ambient light conditions (Not having to overpower the mid-day sun), they can create the perfect setting for any time of day, in any season, in any climate.

(Using coloured lights we were able to change the scene to look like night even though the photo was taken at Noon.) Check out our shoot for Wedlux magazine.

We can light for different skin tones

Photographers often use a mix of natural and artificial light to create the best lighting possible. When shooting with natural light, it is hard to control how the light’s exposure affects skin colour. Compensating with artificial fill-in-the-shadows lets you control where and when it hits.

We can shape the off-camera light

There are many modifiers that can be used to shape the off-camera light. These modifiers come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, and they all have their own unique qualities usually simulating perfect window light and other beautiful soft sources of light.

(There are many ways to shape light, in this example we bounced the light off the interior of the helicopter.)