Why Do Photographers Use Flash Outdoors?

If you are new to photography, it can seem a bit counterintuitive when you see photographers using flash outside when there is plenty of available natural light. However, there is a good reason for this, and this excellent video tutorial will show you both why and how to do it.

Coming to you from Andrew Boey with Beyond Photography, this helpful video tutorial will show you how and why photographers shoot with flash outdoors. It might seem strange, but often, the problem is not the amount of available light, but its quality or direction. For example, if the sun is directly overhead, it may be very bright, but the harsh, hard contrast it creates and deep shadows under your subject's eyes will not be particularly flattering. Another common situation is shooting portraits with a sunset as the backdrop. In this situation, you will need to expose for the sky, but this will cause you to underexpose your subject, which can be corrected with a bit of flash. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Boey. 

If you would like to continue to learn about lighting, be sure to check out the range of tutorials in the Fstoppers Store.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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