Night and Low-light Photography Photo Workshop

turn it on, and start taking photographs. Because

the camera and the flash are meant to be used

together, the information from the camera is sent

to the flash controlling the flash output, and the

information from the flash is sent to the camera,

allowing the camera to know that a flash is being

used. This makes the flash behave as if it were the

built-in flash but with better results. One of the

immediate results is the increase in distance

between the flash and the lens. This alone helps

to reduce any red-eye when photographing peo-

ple because the light is not as easily reflected back

from the back of the eye through the pupil, which

causes red-eye. The real advantage to the dedi-

cated flash unit on the camera is the ability to

adjust the angle of the flash head. Many of the

flash units can not only angle the flash head up,

but they can also rotate the flash head so it points

at an angle, as shown in Figure 3-12.

The other advantage to the dedicated flash unit is

that you can use a small diffusion dome on it that

will make the small, harsh light more diffused and

softer. If the flash didn’t come with a diffusion

dome, then you can buy one made by Sto-Fen at

FLASH UNITS

One of the easiest ways to deal with a low-light sit-
uation is to just add some light of your own. That’s
where the flash comes into play. Using the flash
allows you to add a little or a lot of light to a scene
that might be too dark to photograph any other
way. Most dSLR cameras come with a built-in
flash (top-end pro cameras do not), but the light
produced from that little pop-up flash isn’t very
flattering, and many times you are probably better
off not using it at all. The larger, more powerful
and adjustable flash units are a better solution
since they allow you to not only add light to a
scene but control the direction and the intensity.
Camera and flash technology has advanced to the
point where you can now easily use a dedicated
flash unit on or off your camera. You can even
expand and use multiple flashes as well.

Using a single flash

The easiest way to use a dedicated flash unit is to
just slide it onto the hot shoe (sometimes called
the accessory shoe) on the top of your camera,

ABOUT THIS PHOTO The Nikon SB-900 can be angled from straight forward to straight up,
and the flash head can also be rotated left or right.

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