Using a flashgun

[Deleted]

Although I have a few speedlight flashguns, I rarely use them as I prefer natural light. Due to COVID I probably have not used one for 3 years but last weekend I tried to take some photos at an evening party which was held in a barn. I made a schoolboy error of using the wrong exposure settings so the results were not good. Stupid.

I am now semi retired so one of my tasks is to learn how to use flash and soft boxes etc. I obviously have a lot to learn.

Most of my photos are taken outdoors in daylight and do not include people.

Do others use flash on a regular basis?

[zou]

Never, it serves no purpose in my photography.

[peterob]

No. Don’t do portraits. I’ve got a Canon flashgun from film camera days that I occasionally use bounced off the ceiling for family events. I bought a s/h Canon ring flash that fits my macro lens but that is hardly used.

[andymcd]

Not as regularly as I would like but I am working through Light - Science and Magic which is a cross between a physics book and a photography manual which is helping me to think a bit more about what I am doing for my (mediocre at best) attempts at still life.

I also have a set of Godoy macro flashes that I need to find more excuses to use our and about.

[John Farrell]

It's years since I used a flash, and I have a box full of the things - all of them were included in camera purchases.

[squeamishossifrage]

I hardly ever use full flash - in fact I think only for nighttime parties, but occasionally use a very small gun* for fill-flash, usually for domestic animals or flowers and plants.

* One of these

[peterob]

The other thing that occurs is that, these days, continuous lighting is much much more practical than it used to be. I have unpleasant memories of my grandfather doing the annual family photographs and sitting under his tungsten lights - the heat! I bought my wife a set of three rotolight neo 2 lights for when she was doing a lot of product type photography. They are about 1/4 the price I paid for them now. The neo 2 are not that powerful but you have control over their colour as well as their brightness. They have a flash function too and will run off batteries as well as the mains. They came in a nice kit with stands inside a peli case that probably accounted for half the kit cost.

[zx9]

When my macro phase passed I sold on my Canon twin flash unit and my EF180mm macro lens which I sort of regret a little bit. I still have a couple of normal Canon flash units but they are used so little I could not tell you their model numbers without looking.
I agree with others that high ISO performance these days makes flash other than the little pop up one on my EOS M6 redundant for most of the things I take photos of.

[pentaxpete]

YES -- I have been using FLASH since I got my 1952 British Ensign Selfix 16/20 Model II with Flash Bulbs Price 9 Old Pence each -- then in Germany while in British Army got a Braun Hobby Electronic Flash for £14 in the Canadian Maple Leaf Store when in UK they were £39 with all the Taxes -- I used it all the time for fill-in at Weddings Then I got a MECABLITZ 45CT and have been GIVEN lots more Mecablitz's and have some Studio Lights and 'Dedicated' units. For my Local Press Photography FLASH was so important !

[nickr]

I have a (cheap and basic) Elinchrom studio flash setup for some of my pro work. I have quite a few Canon guns for other things - weddings, onsite shoots, events, and I also use them for any home portraiture. I have a small Godox unit for travel that doesn't often go with me, and a ringflash for macro work that gets some use for both pro and personal stufF.

I don't use flash that much for most of my stuff, including pro conference shooting, landscapes, wildlife, sport, or most travel. I seldom use it with my vintage cameras, although I do have a Vivitar 283 and a fair few dedicated units for some of my older cameras, especially Canons, for some reason.

[Kath]

I do, but probably more for teaching other people how to use it than in my own photography. Folk seem to like demos of using flash for multiple exposure and for portraits. I don't do much of the former and would probably choose to use my studio flash for portraits but there have been a few times lately when I'd wished I'd had my flash gun with me - shooting events indoors or as evening came on I could have used a bit of a boost to allow faster shutter speeds.

[dorsetmike]

I use one of the multi LED type now, gets more use as a torch than camera light though, big rechargeable battery lasts weeks.

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2023 13:02:50 GMT Kath said:

I do, but probably more for teaching other people how to use it than in my own photography. Folk seem to like demos of using flash for multiple exposure and for portraits. I don't do much of the former and would probably choose to use my studio flash for portraits but there have been a few times lately when I'd wished I'd had my flash gun with me - shooting events indoors or as evening came on I could have used a bit of a boost to allow faster shutter speeds.

Perhaps you can teach me or recommend an idiots guide. 

[Kath]

Jan 19, 2023 21:22:00 GMT @bazarchie said:

Jan 19, 2023 13:02:50 GMT Kath said:

I do, but probably more for teaching other people how to use it than in my own photography. Folk seem to like demos of using flash for multiple exposure and for portraits. I don't do much of the former and would probably choose to use my studio flash for portraits but there have been a few times lately when I'd wished I'd had my flash gun with me - shooting events indoors or as evening came on I could have used a bit of a boost to allow faster shutter speeds.

Perhaps you can teach me or recommend an idiots guide. 

Depends on your model I suppose but the only how-to book I've ever thought was any use for anything ever was the Speedlighter's Handbook by Syl Arena.  Only any good if you have a canon speedlight for the specifics but the principles hold good.

[geoffr]

Unless they are current versions it is almost impossible to give away a flash gun.