Do Professional Photographers Use Flash? (Shocking Answer)

Professional photographers use almost every tool at their disposal to get a desirable effect, including professional flash.

Yes, professional photographers use Flash to add drama and color to your photographs, or simply to create the appearance of depth and wide-screen clarity.

Mastering flash photography, however, is a prerequisite for virtually any serious professional. It can’t be overemphasized enough or ignored by most amateur photographers. Learning how to use flash correctly can take you far in the world of photography.

Pro photographers shoot with a variety of different camera types. Some will shoot in film, while others will use digital cameras.

Digital cameras do not utilize film anymore and instead record images in the form of images on the memory card. In order to obtain quality results from using digital cameras, the use of flash is important!

Professional photographers are able to manipulate lighting conditions with a simple switch of the control dial on their camera. The ability to change lighting enables the photographer to get creative with lighting effects and poses.

With digital photography, this is no longer an option. Professional photographers know that digital cameras will not give them the flexibility to obtain the same type of lighting effects as they would from using traditional film. This is why they still use flash, but they are much more selective than the average photographer.

If flash photography is important to you, then learning to turn on the flash and use it only when needed is one of the first things you will learn when you become a photographer.

Most people shoot in normal mode, which enables them to see what is happening and take photographs without the flash. But, the flash can come in handy, especially when you need to create that special dramatic effect with one of your poses.

Some amateur photographers want to learn how to shoot in manual mode, but most soon discover that they simply can’t go through their photos any other way without using the flash.

They may be able to see professional photographers using built-in on-camera flash, but they don’t really understand why.

It is not that they don’t understand the idea behind using flash, but they haven’t quite gotten over the fact that using flash in manual mode takes more work than shooting in normal mode.

While many photographers do rely on the light provided by on-camera flashes, others prefer studio strobes instead. This might be because studio strobes are easier to use, require less planning and more planning is generally less time-consuming.

Do photographers use flash in daylight?

Yes, a lot of photographers (beginners and professionals) use flash in daylight to achieve sharper pictures.

In fact, the more experienced photographers use flash as much as they can, and when there is not enough natural light available, they use artificial lights.

Even if the studio lights are already in place, many photographers will move their camera to a new location in the studio and take a picture using the flash. I use flash on all my indoor photos and the outdoors photos that I send to my clients.

Advantages of using flash in daylight

Flash adds depth and dimension

There are many advantages of using flash in daylight. One is that flash adds depth and dimension to an image.

Flash reduces object size

In addition, flash helps reduce the apparent size of the objects in the foreground, because it makes objects appear closer and more outline than they actually are.

Many photographers believe that the background of a photo taken using flash is more realistic than one taken with a point-and-shoot camera.

There is something to be said for taking photographs in the daylight when there is some soft natural lighting available.

Lighting in general tends to look softer in the daytime because the amount of light is reduced. In the studio, with a dark room, there is more opportunity to take photographs in natural light. At the same time, photographers should always remember that flash affects results differently in different cameras.

With a point-and-shoot camera, you may get a nice exposure when shooting outdoors at dawn, but it may not be quite as good when shooting outdoors at dusk. This is because you are using less light.

Most professional photographers prefer to use at least two or three different camera flash settings, which give more flexibility in the types of images you can take.

For example, if you are trying to catch a moving subject, you could use the flash with a slower shutter speed to let the subject get used to the flash. If the light is very dim, you could slow down the shutter speed to capture the motion.

Some professionals like to use a tripod mounted flash unit mounted to their camera. They will place the flash close enough to the lens so that the camera can see the circular pattern it creates.

With this type of flash, you need to move closer to the object, which is what happens when you are traveling.

Professional photographers know how to use this technique to create drama, even when the light is naturally occurring. It would be difficult for anyone to take a picture of a tree in a scene with a regular flash because it would appear as a point source of light.

Some amateur photographers think that they can take great pictures with a regular flash. This is simply not true. When you are photographing natural scenes, there is only so much that a flash can do.

The flash is simply used as an added touch to add drama. As a photographer, your goal is to give your pictures the drama that you desire, not make them look like movies. Remember, if you don’t want to use flash, don’t just take any picture.

Advantages of using flash in photography

Create dynamic pictures

Flash allows the photographer to create dynamic pictures or static scenes that stand out as unique or extraordinary.

It gives an impression of the outside world by means of lighting and poses that are not easy to achieve with point-and-shoot camera.

However, using flash in photography has its downside. When photographers know how to use it properly, there are very few disadvantages that they will face while using flash in photography.

Lighting adjustment

The biggest advantage of using flash is that it enables the user to adjust the amount of light so that it will provide a different kind of light for the photo.

Without the flash, the photo would not have been taken at all because the light coming from the camera could not adjust the contrast of a color that is usually available in photographs. The same cannot be said about digital camera, because even the slightest amount of light can be adjusted.

This is why it is better for photographers to use lighting conditions such as studio or dark location when taking photos with a digital camera rather than using flash.

Eliminate issues during a photoshoot

Another benefit of using this method of taking a photo is that there are less isochron problems that might occur when using film. There is also less background movement which makes photos taken with film appear more boring.

Camera movements are very minimal during shooting, which is also a factor for professional photographers.

There is also less heat produced during photo capturing, which means that the photos are more enjoyable to look at.

No need for Tripods

Another advantage of using this method of photo capturing is that it can help eliminate the need for using a tripod. When taking photos using flash, there is no need to hold the camera steady since flash hits the camera automatically.

In fact, this feature is one of the main reasons why many professional photographers prefer using this method of photo capturing over others.

The camera also remains much cooler as well, meaning that photographers do not have to wait for their camera to cool down after getting the desired result.

The disadvantage of using Flash

There are also some disadvantages of using flash in digital cameras.

Blurring effects

One of the biggest disadvantages of this is that there is a tendency for the flash to produce blurring effects in photos.

This is because digital images are not as sharp as photos that are taken with film. Some users have experienced eye fatigue after using flash for a long time.

There is also the chance of your subject, getting lost in the shot if you are using flash. This could mean that you will end up taking photos of irrelevant subjects and creating an uninteresting image.

While there are many advantages of using flash in digital cameras, it also has its own set of disadvantages. There are still a lot of things that people need to learn about this technology before using it on their digital cameras.

Summary

Remember that this will only work best if your digital camera has good memory to accommodate the amount of light that is being shot with the flash.

It is also important to keep your exposure settings high so that the colors will be taken into account and not be washed out by the bright flash.

Lastly, it is also important that you keep your camera’s manual settings on auto so that you do not accidentally activate the flash.