Obsessed with Available Light

[shutterfiend]

My wife takes pictures at weddings and other events. She uses a flash like I use butter popcorn (I eat that stuff only when I’m hungry and when I’m not). Possibly as a knee-jerk reaction to her style I’ve developed an unreasonable loathing towards flash photography.

I was wondering if this is common among beginners (just a passing phase) or a more permanent “problem”.

 

[ferider]

It's permanent. Welcome to the club.

Roland.

 

[peterc]

I rarely use flash. I think I own three flashes, but almost never press them into service except for macro work.

Peter

 

[Pherdinand]

what is she using the flash for? To bake your popcorn?

 

[pesphoto]

My wife takes pictures at weddings and other events. She uses a flash like I use butter popcorn (I eat that stuff only when I’m hungry and when I’m not). Possibly as a knee-jerk reaction to her style I’ve developed an unreasonable loathing towards flash photography.

I was wondering if this is common among beginners (just a passing phase) or a more permanent “problem”.

My wife does the same thing for a living. Though she is getting quite good at using flash and making it look pretty natural.
Im with you though. Want no part of it in my own shooting. I dont even own a flash.

 

[egpj]

Like you, my girlfriend only flashes at weddings.... wait a sec, what are we talking about?

Seriously though, the flash stays in the case.

 

[Ash]

Flash? That's what streakers and exhibitionists do isn't it??

I adore available light, I don't get on with flash.

Long story short, I did a photo set of Lauren the other day. Used a studio flash and the Canon 1d mkII dslr. Course I put a really nice warm yellow filter on the studio light, failed to notice the HUGE sticker on it. The filter melted, and there is now plastic all over the bulb.

The sticker read "Do not use 'model' light when using filters".

Flash hates me I think :bang:

 

[dmr]

I've always disliked flash, so much that I answered "never" to the poll.

However, I have occasionally used it when trying for the Weegee style.

I also use it on the P&S for casual snapshooting.

 

[DougK]

I have two or three photos in my collection where I used a flash (out of several thousand)... only once intentionally. Close enough to never for me.

 

[Letien]

I have two or three photos in my collection where I used a flash (out of several thousand)... only once intentionally. Close enough to never for me.

I have 2 good flashes but I I don't have the flash cord. All cameras I have now, RF or TLR of the 50' require flash cord.

 

[RayPA]

I prefer available light photography, but I don't abhor the use of flash. I've ajusted "available" room lights to my advantage and used reflectors so really what's the difference. I used fill flash constantly outdoors in my slr days and got pretty good at it. When used correctly it's a very useful tool capable of producing excellent results.

 

[Bryan Lee]

I dislike flash photography in the traditional form for my images which are more a street or documentary type. I like alternative light sources and dramatic lighting like auto lights, candles, and large light bulbs. I have taken the digital path in the last year but will not give up my fast lenses on rangefinders, if anything I will be going more extreme with bigger faster glass when using film, using longer tripod held exposures with my large format images and the only time I have been using flash at all in more than 3 years is with digital and I dont much care for the results.


I rarely take any pictures outside using the sun as light unless its the first hour after sunrise or the hour before sunset. I hang in the shadows in the day and I like handheld images afterdark with alternative lighting, soon I want to get into some more studio type controlled lighting and I will not limet myself there. In general flash does not go well with street type photography, at least for me anyway.

 

[Joe Mondello]

. . . I’ve developed an unreasonable loathing towards flash photography.

I was wondering if this is common among beginners (just a passing phase) or a more permanent “problem”.

Haha! No way it's a just phase, man!

The longer you shoot, the faster glass you find you *need*.

As someone once said . . . Lens speed enables!

 

[ampguy]

I used to only use fill flash with people photos or indoors with low light (or in pure dark) and a slow lens, but a few things have me considering using flash more -- I've noticed that when editing with Picasa, if you use the Fill a lot on a set, chances are using a flash for fill at capture time would have been a good thing.

Another thing is when taking photos of objects, sometimes the kids photos with flash show more contrast, so it's not just for people.

A 3rd thing is this little P&S I have that has a natural mode which takes 2 photos, one without flash (high ISO, slower shutter), and one with flash, sometimes the flash one looks better by lighting up the whole area, and sometimes not, if there is enough available light. This mode isn't the perfect bracket though since the subject may be moving and only one of the exposures may have caught the 'decisive moment' ...


It's great to have the option with built in flashes, and the ability to control their brightness, sometimes they are just overly bright.

 

[rogue_designer]

For my personal work (street, landscape, etc - mostly LF or RF) - I never use a flash.

For my professional work, it comes into play about 3/4 the time (shooting architectural, product, and portraits)

So - I answered never.

 

[Jason Sprenger]

These days my bag has a flash in it for when the light is bad and a shot is required or when I find myself with 100 speed in the camera and no time to change back to 400. I hate to do it though, flash changes the appearance of the scene and with a film camera there's no WYSIWYG. If flash is expected to be used, experience helps but I feel chimping with a digital camera is the better way to go to be sure.

When I use a flash, I'd put a Stofen cup on it to avoid that deer in the headlights effect. Now I use a ABBC as described at http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/. It works as good as anything and takes up much less space in my Domke 5xb. And for verticals, I find it better than a Stofen cup.

 

[ErnestoJL]

I use a flash only when doing some macro shots, or where (a wedding or another kind of family gathering) there are reasons enough to use it. Otherwise it sits in its box.

I prefer allways available light...if my eyes can see, then my camera does also.

Ernesto

 

[Kin Lau]

Weddings where I'm the photog = most of the time, but almost all bounced and/or with the LightSphere. So except for the dark dancefloor, it's all balanced with ambient lighting.

Otherwise personally, I only fill once in a while with bounce.

With an RF, almost never, but I haven't hooked for my potato-masher to my SG's yet for that Weegee look 🙂

 

[maitrestanley]

I 'mostly' hate flash. The only time I use it is on my little Canon digi P&S when I go clubbing where it's extremely dark and there's a lot of movement everywhere.

Otherwise, I'm all about available light.

 

[Honus]

Never. If it is too dark for 1600iso, f1.4 @ 1/30 sec., I just move on.