Whenever possible at a wedding, I will leave my flash turned off - or better yet... in my bag (which is at least 80% of the time these days). Some photographers are like, "You can have my flash when you pry it from my cold dead fingers." I know where they're coming from. I learned the ropes from a guy who flashed everything at f8. He even hot-glued his cameras' aperture rings so they wouldn't slip out of f8 because he didn't want mistakes. It took me almost 3 years to unlearn how to use a flash and learn how to use my head in it's place.

I think the problem most photographers have with shooting only available light is that it can be extremely difficult to get consistent exposures and accurate color especially in low light situations. It's far from safe. Wedding photographers have an even bigger issue with leaving their flash in their bag because they know that there is no such thing as a re-shoot. So how does one free himself from the flat, shiny, amateur look of on-camera flash? How does a photographer bring herself to lay down that little black shadow-killer during an assignment where her reputation is at stake and there is no redemption if she blows it?

The answer is sacrifice. You have to give something up in order to get results that excite you and inspire the artist within. You must give up perfection! Perfectionism only provokes fear and fear is what holds us back in pretty much every area of our lives. I love the way Joe Buissink puts it when he says "There is no such thing as a perfect image, only a perfect moment". He is so right. If we allow our creativity to be tied up by the "rules" of photography, we'll find ourselves bored; creating those mediocre images that look just like everyone else's.

I'm not saying to do things just to be unique. There's an old saying that goes something like "always remember you're unique... just like everyone else." It's true, so many people are out there trying so hard to be different that they end up looking the same. What I'm saying is, be yourself, and don't let fear hold you back. Forget all the rules you learned in school or from your mentors for a while and get out and shoot the way you've always wanted to shoot. Do something YOU like, not what you think your clients expect. Choose images from your shoots that speak to you on a different level even if they are out of focus, motion blurred, or break all the rules of composition. Remember, photography is subjective and you are the boss so take advantage of your position and have fun with it.

Using a flash can be fun too. Try turning it to the side and bouncing it off a wall for some side lighting. Or set up some off-camera wireless strobes to preserve those cool shadows and get consistent exposures too! Image directly above was taken using off-camera strobes for a natural look.

To flash or not to flash... it's your choice. Just make sure you avoid boredom at all costs.

descriptions for images above:
1. blurry hand in the frame shows motion and reveals the ring, hair in the face is fun, cute, and makes me feel relaxed (55mm f2.8 1/160sec 320iso, no flash)
2. stylish, fun couple on the dance floor, lots of motion, slight turn of camera while shooting in very low light with no flash (10.5mm f2.8 1/125sec, 800iso)
3. bride wearing Elizabeth Fillmore gown - love the shadows showing off the detail in this very cool gown, flash would have killed it (98mm f2.8 1/160sec, 500iso, no flash)
4. bride walking in NYC - love the movement in her hair and arm, shot after dusk in very low light while she walks, no flash, VR turned on, hand-held; street lamps created the natural shine on her eye make-up and lips (80mm, f2.8, 1/40sec, 400iso)
5. girl holding drink throwing some kind of sexy attitude - perhaps a bit intoxicated (55mm, f2.8, 1/80sec, 400iso, two off-camera strobes) http://www.mikecolon.net/blog/2007/01/to-f...t-to-flash.html

I love inspiration all packaged up like this!

The photographers I studied under in the begining were all part of the f8-11 crowd. Hassies and RB67's on the dance floor with HUGE metz flashes. At the time it was the gold standard of wedding photography. I'm so glad the world has come around. For a few years I stopped shooting weddings and stuck with editorial and commercial work. I was tired of trhe old way but needed permission to break the mold I guess. Freedom feels so good. I still have a lot of the old school sensibilities about my weddings, but I'm much more relaxed and willing to flow than I used to be.

I think everyone should be comfortable with higher ISO's and not using flash, BUT I feel everyone should be comfortable utilizing the flash.

You have a great respect throughout, But I don't want poeple looking at this post justifying not using flash mainly at receptions. Some photographers don't use the flash because they really don't know how to unlock it's potential.

I know of some professionals who really have SWEET images, but at the reception fall short, because the don't use flash properly.

Although I love the 3-dimensional look of no flash, everyone should feel confident in using the flash when needed.

Thanks, Mike. I love that you give such great advice, but was really hoping to see what in the WORLD you were asking others about on OSP!
Thanks again!
-Eddie

P.S. Those of us at OSP West would LOVE if you dropped in for a spell. Any chance?

Thanks for this! Learned a lot by what was shared. All shot wide open, hmmmmm...

Charles, you are right. I did a shoot a few weeks ago thinking I wouldn'd need a flash and I was soooo wrong. Even though I'm more into the available light photos I realized I will need to learn how to use the flash.

Oh my God , I remember the flash on the hassy f8 rule. It was the 80s wedding photogragher mantra. I also had a check list of 150 photographs that I couldn't sway from.
thanks for sharing Mike
you rock!!

great information mike

In order to photograph anything you must have light. Light from the reception lighting, and/or light from your flash..it's all light. It's how you use the light you have that counts, and the more you know how to use the more options you'll have when it counts.

This is a super cool and inspirational post!
I'd like to add that recently, photographers often rely heavily on shooting wide open, without utilizing the amazing storytelling potential of shooting at small apertures. Yes, that blurry background looks dreamy, but going beyond being a graphic element, could the background add to story?
I think the trick is to know ALL the tricks, and use each to best tell the story of our clients.

A big +1 here, and that is definitely something that I struggled with early on in 2006. Now, I am adding PW's to the mix, and will have some learning to do with those.





Very cool thought Carrie. I like this statement alot.

THANK you.

P.S. I've been using "You're unique; just like everyone else" as a tagline for at least 10yrs

awww man this post makes my day. i really feel the scale has tipped too far the other way. sure people don't need the whole f/8 flash syndrome, but now the "i wont use flash no matter what because i am indimidated by it" isn't any better.

i hope the chic thing to do starts to fall into the "when there is beautiful available light use it, but if there isn't add in some nice light" category fairly soon

This really made my day too, thankyou so much for the inspiration and letting me realise its okay to shoot what I love, I often forget that.

At first I thought this was some sort of poll about whether we should keep our clothes on or not!

Upon further review, an excellent post about something much more practical and note worthy!

Great post. Good comment Luke. And - I know what Mike means when he says how hard it is to "unlock" yourself from something. And - Luke can certainly vouch for me on that!

I knew a guy who also hot glued his lens f/stop ring so it never moved off f/8 too! Too funny.

Thanks blog pirate...for bringing Mike's words to OSP. He needs to get on here himself every now and zen!

I remember "f8 and don't be late" as the immortal words to live by...I must've been a nut back then...'cuz I liked f5.6 better. While I didn't hot-glue the aperature rings on any of my old lenses, I did use a black Sharpie to darken in the two settings on either side of f5.6. I also remember using liquid paper ('white out') to mark the top 3 focus points on a lens (5 feet, 7 feet, 12 feet) to help with low light focusing.

I'm not afraid to experiment with and without flash. And I think one of the flash masters is Neil Cowley and his creative use of flashes gelled to match the available light of the room. I think we could all learn a lot from Neil!

thanks for sharing, it's always good to get confirmation when everyone else around you is carrying multiple flashes, reflectors, etc. i like the movement of natural light/available light. i'm also in the process of learning alternative lighting methods which is exciting (beside flash). i shoot mostly kiddos indoors, so flash would kill the whole mood, however, it's dramatic and sexy to have alternative lighting for night shots/boudoir sessions where the room is mostly dark and you can get somewhat of a directional light established, even if it's just a lamp in the room

</end rambling!!>

thanks again! this is such an awesome thread for me!
<3 kristy

Mike,

What a great post. I need to read this everyday.



P

great post. I like the option to use either...no flash or flash. I also like playing with the flash at receptions while dragging the shutter. I know some folks are afraid of flash, you shouldn't be. It can be fun at times...but so is natural light!

Hey Mike, Thanx for sharing.. It confirms what my thoughts are. I, very confident with my flash skills but honestly, avail light is wha tmakes me happy, we just need to understand how to use it in what we say in our images.

Much love and respect
Andy

"Perfectionism only provokes fear and fear is what holds us back in pretty much every area of our lives."

holy crap dude.

Click to view attachment Thanks for the great post and beautiful photos Mike! I love the freedom of not using a flash - to move around the crowd without being the obtrusive, bulky, equipment heavy wedding photographer, dragging my shutter. I guess the keys to properly utilizing a flash in photography are three things:

1. Knowing WHEN to just use the flash. Yes, being creative and expressive in photography by playing with natural/available light, to create depth and capture emotion is always fantastic, but sometimes clients just want shots of well-lit (via flash) guests smiling for the camera. When its a really dark reception, I say just use the darn thing.
2. Having a very low fstop. Like 2.8. Makes shots so much better.
3. Not being afraid of high ISO. Now that's a skill.

BTW - Love your quote! "There is no such thing as a perfect image, only a perfect moment".

Great moment, Elizabeth. Joe and Mike would be proud!

thank you. what a lovely thread. i rarely use flash, and i am fine with that.

what i dont like, is when i post some beautiful images and all i get is 'you really need to use fill flash on that'

i can't believe i just found this thread!

Word!

Not being afraid of High ISO!!

Where's a Nikon D3!!!!!

Awesome post Mike! This is exactly why I just went to the Revolution workshop... to have a chance to practice things I've needed to change without the fear of ruining someone's wedding.
Of course I could have practiced this all on my own with friends at home, but models in New York with other cool photog's sounded like much more fun!

I HATE the look of flash when it's not needed, but fear has been holding me back for so long. During Revolution I focused on no flash, all manual and shooting with my new 1.2.

I've never had such color and depth to my images as I had in New York while working on these items and will never fear no flash / all manual ever again!

Good for you Anika! What an awesome workshop that had to be (even had the genius Timco shooting behind the scenes so we could keep up)! So were you using the 50 or 85? Did you find ways to beat the racoon eyes?

85! Love, love, love this lense... Although it is painflly slow at times. I'm excited to get the 50 next!

Ya know.. we really had such great light there.. all the light shade created by all the tall buildings... even with that I would have used my flash in the past!

But we had direct sun and backlit situations... It's really about finding the light. While having flash on my camera I didn't think 'Where's the good light' I only thought 'Where's the pretty background' and 'How do I pose the couple'. Now looking for the good light first and having the bride look toward the light to fill in the eyes is my main focus.
For night shoots playing with off camera lighting and experimenting with ambient was also very helpful.

"Seek the Light" is what I always tell my wife. We did a 3 day shoot of bridals this past weekend - midday harsh sun, golden hour, and nighttime. She now "sees" what the difference is and why I always said that before she did a shoot, though I dont always follow my own advice LOL!