Like most photographers, I’m obsessed with the light around me — be it the sun, the moon or the stars. But, I want to talk about why I’m also in love with the humble little flash in my camera bag. Off-camera flash (OCF) has become a key component of my creative process. It’s reassuring to know that I can always create light when I need it, plus OCF allows me to create outdoor portraits that match my creative vision, regardless of the natural light available.
I’ve talked to many photographers who are intimidated by OCF, but there’s really no reason to be overwhelmed or hesitant to learn. Using off-camera flash outdoors really can be integrated easily into your workflow with a minimum amount of fuss and gear. This small tool can make the impossible possible and in my opinion is the most powerful asset you can have in your bag.
Using OCF on-location will open up a whole new world of lighting possibilities and the best part is, it is incredibly fun! Here’s how to get started:
1. Learn the two basic components of off-camera flash.
The two basic components you need for off-camera flash (OCF) are a speedlite and a trigger. That’s it. I recommend keeping it simple while you’re learning and just practice with these two components until you’re comfortable creating the look you want. Leave the sandbags and modifiers at home until you feel confident with OCF.
When you go out to take photos, keep your fully charged speedlite and triggers in your camera bag, right alongside your favorite lens. That way you are always prepared and you can create the light you want.
Example of a simple two-component OCF setup:
For the image below, I had a friend hold the bare flash pointed down at the model’s face. The final image would have been impossible to create without my trusty speedlite. I could have shot this with no flash and used a wider aperture but then I would have lost the sun’s starburst effect I wanted to include. I also would have lost the detail of the roots of the trees as the flash was providing the light on the roots.
NEXT, TRY MODIFIERS:
Once you are comfortable with your flash and triggers I recommend you grab an inexpensive umbrella-style modifier and a light stand. The umbrella will give you the ability to create softer light that will easily blend with most ambient light. The light stand will allow you to take off-camera flash photos without an assistant/friend holding the flash.
I always keep a collapsible umbrella in my camera bag along with my triggers and flash. Remember, keep things simple and don’t overwhelm yourself with a bunch of expensive and unnecessary gear. Trying to cart tons of gear on location could make you want to give up before you even get started.
2. Know when to use flash on location.
It isn’t necessary to use flash for every image, but it is a very helpful tool when the vision in your mind cannot be created with natural light alone. If you just haphazardly place your flash with no real intention, the images will reflect that. You should always have a vision in mind when creating light for your photos.
There are a few common situations that lead me to pull out my speedlite. The most obvious is when there is just not enough light to take a well-exposed image of my subject. This can happen at any time of the day depending on the available light.
Here’s an example of using OCF to achieve a specific vision:
For the photo below, I was in dense woods at the end of a small bog. I wanted to take the image from this angle with the logs and water visible behind my subject and also maintain that subtle rim light around her. This angle had her backlit and facing a thickly wooded area that was bouncing no light back toward her. I knew that by increasing my overall exposure I would still not be happy with the quality of light on her face and I would lose the detail in my background that I wanted to maintain. I positioned my flash with a beauty-dish style modifier at about a 45-degree angle from my subject at camera right. I loved the resulting image and it matched what I had envisioned from the start.
An example of using OCF to properly expose the sky and subject:
Another common situation for pulling out my off-camera flash is when I want my sky to be exposed properly as well as my subject. For this example, I wanted to showcase the amazing clouds above my daughter, so I chose my camera’s settings to expose for the clouds. This left my subject entirely too dark. I then added in flash to the desired amount to create Rembrandt style light.
3. Find the right balance of flash and natural light.
Mixing OCF with natural light is an extremely useful skill to learn, as most of your outside work will include some amount of ambient light. By learning to mix the two, you’ll have the option to maintain a natural look or add drama to the scene by the settings you choose with your camera and flash.
I recommend that you first set your exposure for the ambient light before even turning on your flash. Once you have the desired background exposure, add in your flash at a low power setting for just a touch of light to augment the scene. If your subject looks too light or dark, then adjust your flash power accordingly.
When dealing with flash, a good rule of thumb is that your shutter speed controls your ambient light/background while your aperture affects your subject/area lit by flash.
An example of using flash to create a natural look:
Often when choosing to supplement the natural light with flash, I just want to add a small amount of light to create catchlights or add dimension to the scene. In this example, I wanted to maintain the background and golden light while also adding a tiny amount of sparkle to my daughter’s face. I used the same camera settings for both images but added a very small amount of flash power for the image on the left.
An example of using OCF to mimic the existing light:
You can use flash to subtly mimic the existing natural light. I placed the flash to fire from the same direction as the overcast sun to add a little dimension to the scene. The day was breezy, so my trusty assistant was playing a very important role in keeping my light stand grounded. A big drawback of umbrellas is that they love to take flight in a strong (or slight) breeze.
An example of using OCF to crate drama:
You can also choose to use flash settings that will provide a more dramatic effect. These images were taken just minutes after the pictures shown above but I exposed to retain the details in my sky with a smaller aperture. I added in my flash at a stronger power to increase the drama.
4. Don’t be afraid to use off-camera flash in full sun.
Another way to get dramatic light is to shoot in full sun. Despite my reluctance to shoot in this situation, life happens in harsh sunlight just as often as it happens during the golden hour. Embrace the light that you have and take advantage of what full sun offers; it is a great opportunity to use smaller apertures to get starbursts from your light sources and to use darker shadows for a dramatic image.
Your speedlite may have a difficult time competing with the bright sun. Try using it bare and at full power in order to get all the light that you can from it.
3 Important tips for using off-camera flash
- Have a plan in place for the type of light you envision before you even turn on your flash.
- Practice frequently so that you can be confident in your gear and knowledgeable about the light you will be able to produce in different situations.
- Don’t rush yourself. Master each technique before moving onto more complicated setups and gear.
5. Use flash to show motion.
One of the perks of using OCF is that you can create images that would otherwise be impossible. One example of this is using flash to freeze and show motion. Without flash, you might not be able to push your camera settings enough to freeze motion, light your subject, and create the artistic look you want. Luckily, we can create the light we need with OCF.
An example of using OCF to freeze motion:
For this image, I had a bare flash right behind my daughter’s head to backlight the falling snow. Note: To take this picture, you may need a second light source to ensure your subject’s face is well lit. The second light could be another flash, the sun, or a whatever other light sources you may have handy.
An example of merging two OCF images to create a specific look:
In this image, I wanted to show the motion of the rushing waves while keeping my daughter free of motion blur. For this situation, I decided to capture two separate exposures and merge them together in post-processing to create the image I envisioned.
My on-location lighting gear:
Flash: Canon Speedlite 580EX II and the Flashpoint Streaklight 360 WS flash
Trigger: Flashpoint R2 E-TTL 2.4G Wireless Receiver
Modifiers: Westcott 32-Inch Umbrella, Westcott Medium Apollo Softbox, Glow Foldable Beauty Dish
Light Stand: Westcott 8’
Speedlite Bracket: Glow S-Type Bowens Mount Bracket
Photography is all about light and there are few things more reassuring than knowing you have great light available no matter what situation you find yourself in. I hope this encourages you to take your flash with you the next time you are traveling near or far. There’s no reason to be fearful of flash, and it can be an incredibly helpful tool for achieving your artistic vision!
All photos by Leah McLean
More off-camera flash and lighting resources:
4 Big ways this tiny smartphone studio light completely changed my photography
5 Secret ingredients for amazing food photography
How to set up a complete basement photo studio in just 5 minutes
Make artificial light look like natural light: Photographing with the Profoto A1 (Video)
How to harness artificial light for natural-light results
The Profoto C1 Plus is the little light that will change your mobile photography
Great post! I love the theme of this photoshoot. Thank you for sharing your tips.
Leah! Thank you so much for writing this article. It is so inspiring! I am finally closing a peace deal with my speedlight. I got a profoto A1X and I have to say it was love at first sight! I have been practicing a little bit and I am surprised how beautiful and easy it is. Thank you again for all your tips!
That is wonderful Helena! I am so glad it was helpful! I would love to see what you are crea
ting!
I would love to know how you created the image of your daughter standing on the rock among the moving water. You explain it briefly, but I’m still fuzzy on how that works.
Hi Diane! For that image I took two different exposures/images. The first one was a long exposure to record the movement of the water, I think it was around 1 second. For the image with my daughter, I used a faster shutter speed so that I would not record any of her movement. I then merged the tow images using Photoshop. Let me know if that does not make sense!
I love OCF but I don’t usually have an assistant and my modifier and stand become a problem with wind. Does anyone have tips for securing a octobox and stand in even a light wind?
Lisa, if I don’t have someone to hold it for me I will use my camera bag as a weight. I have also used logs, rocks, and sandbags! I will also place my foot on the crossbar of the light-stand and streeetccchhh to get the shot. 🙂
I love this article! It takes the intimidation out of off-camera flash. I bought some huge, peach, gerbera daisies this morning, and can’t wait to set up my flash and shoot-through umbrella to experiment. Leah, your work is such an inspiration!
Thank you Courtney and the daisies sound awesome! I would love to see your results!
I hope you do Larissa! I use to only use mine for weddings as well but now I can’t imagine shooting without it. 🙂
This is such a great read. I’ve been wanting to get into OCF. Loved your behind the scenes shots, before and after, and list of gear. Thank you so much @mybeautifulphotos2017
Thank you so much Maria! Learning OCF is very much worth the effort!
Leah, such a great read! It’s amazing to see what the flash can do! Wow! ✨
Thank you so much Jill! It really can make the impossible possible during a shoot. 🙂
Leah, this is a fantastic article! I have been so intimidated to use my flash outdoors, but I am definitely going to give it a try! Can’t wait to see the results. Thank you so much for the info!!!
Thank you Megan! I hope you do give it a try shoot me a message if you have any questions!
Love these helpful tips! My goal for this year is to improve my use of on and off camera flash!
I hope it was helpful Rachel! I think that is a great goal for the year.
Great article, I love the with and without flash comparison images! Thank you!
Thank you Elisa, I hope it was helpful.
Talk about inspiring! I break out my flash for wedding receptions and the occasional dark venue, but the pullbacks and explanations are SO helpful! I can’t wait to try this out. Leah, your work is just beautiful!!
I hope you do Larissa! I use to only use mine for weddings as well but now I can’t imagine shooting without it. 🙂
What a fabulous, comprehensive article on the joys of OCF! So many ideas I’ve never even considered, and your images are so beautiful. Thank you so much Leah, inspirational as always!
Thank you so much Caroline! OCF really is a joy to use. 🙂
I have been using OCF for about a year now and it’s life changing. Your explanation and examples are spot on and the images are stunning! OCF is not nearly as difficult as people think and, as you so beautifully explain, can make an image stunning! Thank you for the wonderful tips Leah!
Oh, I agree! It has definitely had a massive impact on my photography and it just never get’s old. I would love to see some of your work!
Well done Leah! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all…..love your work!
Thank you Karen, I hope it it helpful!
The results you achieve with OCF are incredible! I am so inspired to try more OCF. Thank you for sharing your process and making it sound accessible !
Thank you Olesya! I hope you do try more. Feel free to ask me any questions because I do so love to help others become as obsessed as I am.
Leah thank you for sharing. I’ve been so intimidated by OCF and reading this made me feel like I should just try it. The images you shared are beautiful as well.
It really doesn’t hurt to just try Erin and it is so much fun! I love having beautiful light available no matter what the situation, it actually provides a ton of freedom in what I create. If you need help getting started just let me know. 🙂
Gosh reading this makes me want to drive straight to home and try this out for myself. It actually looks quite do-able, while it usually gave me such an overwhelming feeling. Trying OCF is on my bucketlist, your blog totally helps me give that push to JUST DO IT. Thank you so much for sharing Leah!
Oh Dewi, you have such a compelling way to tell your story through images. I would love to see what you create with OCF. 🙂
This is so incredibly helpful, Leah! I love how you use OCF in your work. Thanks for sharing all of your tips!
Thanks for your support and encouragement with everything Sue. 🙂 It really do hope this helps.
Leah, your work has always left me mesmerized! I look at it and all I can say is “wow”. I’ve wanted to just follow you around, see how you do this work and hear you say what you’re thinking when you make these decisions. Thank you so much for the informative article. It was so beneficial to see all of the pullbacks and follow your process.
Thanks so much Donna. You can come follow me around whenever you would like. 🙂 Maybe I will try and make a video though and talk through the process. I think that I keep it pretty simple.
These photos are exquisite! That OCF really makes a huge difference.
Thank you Meredith. 🙂
Oh leah, this is just so so good! Seriously good. The images are just … wow!!! The tutorial is so accessible. I hope this gets many more people to give OCF a try.
Thanks Kelly! I hope it does inspire more people to try OCF. It is such a fun way to create photos!
What a great article! I can’t wait to try my flash outdoors!
Thanks Molly. 🙂 I have no doubt that you will create amazing images, I can’t wait to see them.