natural vs flash light in a bright sunny day

 

The use of natural light (left) vs 

camera flash (right) in a bright sunny day

#onthemove #eventshooting #ambientlight #speedlight #commercialphotography #strobist #tutorials #claudiavejaimages #high speed sync #slow sync flash #LowLightPhotography #BrightLightPhotography

Published on

11/23/2009  / flickr

 Light is one of the top 3 most important aspects when talking about photography. There are lots of cases to consider and lots of ways to deal with it, but the solutions are always related to the type of photography we are talking about and off-course the budget & equipment at your disposal.

There is such a difference when using natural light versus flash lights #strobelights #speedlights, no matter the circumstances, or how skilled you are at simulating a natural look in photographs while using strobes, but especially when using just one flash light #oncamera and on the move vs just natural light.

There are ways to make the use of a speedlight to create a look quite as good or even better then a naturally lite look depending on your project needs, but this is article is particularly focused on the use of strobe / speed lights at events (news or maybe fashion that needs motion or other project like that) where you are on the move and why would you even use flash on a bright sunny day. As a side note, and a very different scenario, at the end you'll also find a few details for when there is not much light left still for an event or other situations with motion, where you'll absolutely need flash light or lights to take the shots.

The natural light outdoors vs any indoors ambient lights is quite different, but here I'll be talking mostly about the outdoor natural light, especially at that time of the day, when there is to much light so you should probably not even be shooting outdoors unless there is a good reason for it (you look for harsh light in a fashion or a other types of commercial images projects).

On a bright sunny day, when the sun is strong and up, its also very different then when the sun is going down or at the golden hour. The natural light can get quite divers as well and where you choose to shoot (shadow or in full sun will change things as well not just the timing). In the example above the sun is up. bright and strong and not in a shadow as you can tell, so its not that flattering but still way better then with just a on camera strobe light version. The optimal lighting is for sure close to the #GoldenHour, with full use of the natural light and is considered probably by most photographers to be the best light a photographer can ever use and is the cheapest as well and then the use of a bit of a strobe light makes it even better if you know how to do it.

Natural light at certain hours is one of the easiest to use (if you know what you are doing), but when it's too bright, you might have a problem, especially when shooting people and you don't want deep shadows, don't like using neutral density filters and there is no time for light panels, other light modifiers (or not available) to ease the sharp light.

Well, there is also the case when its too dark outside, but that's a different story (details at the end for settings more dependent on strobes and / or continues lights, then the use of natural / ambient lights, when there is not much light left, or too dark outside, when long exposure would not be ok for shooting people that naturally move and blink (you also on the move for news, events, or other reasons/ projects) and how the strobe will make sharp images but without that "cave like look" (deep shadows, dark backgrounds).

In this article I only wanted to show the huge difference between the 2 types of lightnings in a strong day light vs the use of flash light / strobe in the same sunny day and why would you even go for a flash light in sunny day. The short answer for the last question is easy, because you modify the bright light into something so different when you know what you're doing, or have the time to do it, and you get a a new type of image that might be just what you are looking for a certain project.

In my example you can see the huge difference between the 2 images, especially on how the background becomes dark when using flash (right). The flash light can be way better used, for a less darker shadows and a more flattering look, but this images were taken at an event, without proper tests.

Why are the shots so different if the sun is still strong and from above in both images? Well, that's mostly because of the settings and probably a bit from the sun light fluctuations as it always happens in outdoor cases and you'll need to take that into consideration always. 

I wanted shallow depth of field, like I usually do (I always loved that look), so for that you'll need to use wide-aperture, so that means a lot of available light to consider: the natural light and the flash light (the on camera strobe while on the move like I was) in the second shot (right), vs the natural light only as in the first shot (left). Considering the high probability that the sun light power might change any second (usually clouds come to place, especially if you are not in a shadow), the best is to use Aperture Priority, aiming for the face, for accuracy and consistency in exposure (same spot always).

The shutter speed will change all the time according with the light fluctuations (or you'll change it when on manual mode), but being a bright sunny day, it will most probably be a very high speed. Considering that a high shutter speed is needed (there is already too much light coming in) you'll need to use high-speed sync (HSS) for the strobe to work properly. That means that the strobe or the Flash Triggering System (like Cactus or Pocket Wizard) needs to be set in the HSS mode.
High-speed sync is the ability to sync your strobe /strobes to a camera when the shutter speed is faster than your camera's maximum flash sync speed/ the camera’s native sync speed. Otherwise you'll end up with a black line across the bottom of your photo. Using high-speed sync the flash pulses throughout the whole exposure multiple times (in sync with the focal plane speed, well the two curtains that move from top to bottom) to avid this to happen. These flashes will be less intense (lower intensity lights), less powerful flashes then when using just one flash, so the strobe will be able to make it happen especially if you take multiple shots (the recycle time of your strobe will be important at this point).

So between the 2 shots, I didn't change the diaphragm (nor the ISO), it was still at 2.8, as in most cases with my pictures (I don't do much city or landscapes so I like DOF), especially when outdoors or at an event, but the shutter speed had to change for the right exposure of the sensor, considering the light at that specific moment in time.

The background darkened in the second shot, so it must have been a very short shutter speed (I don't have the EXIT info right now for the exact details) and considering the shadows and the look (obvious use of flash light, that type of look), it must have been with no compensation at all (EV, adjusting (+) for more light, while (-) for less light, because I usually set it bellow the default setting (-) and when I can, will always use a light modifier for a less powerful light and for less deep shadows, ultimately for a more natural look). This was in the middle of an event so the shots were spontaneous "tests".

In conclusion using flash lights (especially on camera strobes), will create a more crisp (sharper) image because of the shutter speed (faster shutter speed or faster light, means sharper image, obviously), but might darken the background of your image (usually indoors creating that "cave like look" that probably everybody hates deeply), more or less depending, so you'll need to adjust your settings according with the look you like or the look your project needs. For commercial images its always best to use the strobe lights also, I would argue for that, but in a more refined manner than in this second example (shot on the right) and most definitely with more strobe lights and not just with one on the camera (not on the move) strobe light for a professional outcome.

Just a NOTE:
As a side note, if you are ever in the situation to have very little ambient/natural light (indoors or outdoors), in both event (when you probably look for a more natural look) or commercial cases, and the use of high ISO would not be remanded (or its to dark for good results at too high ISO settings or if that's the look you want, see details bellow), it is best to set your camera on long exposures, like about 1/20s - 1/40s, depending (few tests are needed even for events), so the exposure its actually done by the strobe lights' speed, not by the shutter speed. The shutter will be opened a long time (long exposure) but with very little light to be exposed at (if there is total darkness then just use the max shutter speed, the camera’s native sync speed only, because you'll probably have black as a background anyway), so just when the strobe light comes into place the sensor will actually be capturing any light, resulting in a double exposure image (just one if total darkness or multiple if you use strobe multiple times) from which one being very sharp (or do more test to get there) and one with traces of lights from the ambient, natural light (or multiple sharp exposures if you do multiple strobe lights).
The strobe light has a very short speed, details bellow (do not use HSS obviously or do multiple strobe exposures for that stroboscope look) and the ambient light (continuous light) will expose the sensor for a long time (more ore less depending on the light available) resulting in one or 2 exposures at the same time. From the natural light you'll get a different color and a different sharpness or lack off, even traces of light if there is still some natural light and the camera motion will be captured (if not on a tripod obviously or traces for moving continuous ambient lights, like candle light), than from the strobe light which will create a very sharp image (or multiple once) on top of the "ambient light image" (or on a dark background if "total"darkness is the case).

Depending on the illumination you need on your subject or subjects (if you point the flash slightly upwards or probably more toward the subject at this point, distance, camera settings, available ambient light and so on) you'll have different strobe settings, that are measured in increments from full power 1/1, half power 1/2 and so on 1/4, 1/8 to 1/64 (it doubles for every increment). Either way the speed of the strobe light (lights) will be very fast. just at full or reduced amount of power (fraction of the maximum output) #speedlight #speedlite #stroblight.  If your speedlight is rated at 60 W at full power, then its power output level is Power Output = W x sec 60W x 1 sec = 60W / sec. If you use only 1/4 of the full power output, then it is: 1/4(60W) = 15W

Using multiple flash lights with a trigger on your camera can create a very complex setting while on the move for subjects that are in motion.
I usually use Cactus + 2 receiver lights pointed to the back of my subject or on the wall in the background of my subjects but more like 4-6  receiver lights when indoors in very dark rooms.
The brighter flash lights you use, the less of a natural look you'll get and less of the ambient light will show (if there is any ambient light to use).

For any questions or simple spelling mistakes on my part do not hesitate to contact me at
claudiaveja @ gmail. com