And no photographs taken with the aid of flash-light either, if only out of respect of the actual light \u2013 even when there isn\u2019t any of it.\u00a0 Unless a photographer observes conditions as these, he may become an intolerably aggressive character.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HC-B<\/p>\n
With that being said, I don’t think using a flash is a terrible idea, in fact I’ve seen some pretty impressive Street Photography done with flash.\u00a0 I do believe that any flash is going to pale in comparison to the natural beauty of available light.<\/p>\n
When using natural light you need to break free of the constraints that traditional photography puts out there…\u00a0 not every inch of your photograph needs to be perfectly exposed.\u00a0 Take everything you have read about HDR photography and forget it, burn all of your HDR books (and your friends too, they will thank you later… you may as well eat that dessert they had marked as their own in the fridge too you rebel, we’ll wait…)\u00a0 Alright, now lets talk about natural light and why it’s better than flash in Street Photography.<\/p>\n 1.)<\/strong>\u00a0 Contrary to popular flash user propaganda, natural light is far more difficult to master than a flash.\u00a0 Anyone with 10 minutes and access to the internet can learn to use a flash and have decent results.\u00a0 Natural light can take years to master.<\/p>\n Things like direction, intensity, light temperature (in relation to the angle of the sun’s light, street lamps, etc.) all play a huge role in whether or not your naturally lit photograph will be successful.<\/p>\n 2.)<\/strong>\u00a0 Natural light photography is more challenging\/rewarding.\u00a0 Instead of directing a flash to bounce this way or that you are forced to previsualize your image and move your body\/camera accordingly.<\/p>\n Sometimes this means you’ve got to see an image before the subject even arrives.\u00a0 If you see the way light is falling you can position yourself to wait for the perfect subject and wait until they are in the perfect position within the available light.\u00a0 Natural light photography forces you to be more observant.<\/p>\n 3.)<\/strong>\u00a0 Natural light means less gear.\u00a0 In order to use a flash properly you’ll want an off camera flash which means you’ve got to use one hand for your flash and another to hold your camera (connected by a wire typically).\u00a0 Not only does this set up look intimidating to would be subjects but you’ll stick out like a sore thumb.\u00a0 So much for the candid shot.\u00a0 Ever try squeezing onto a subway car with a handful of gear and a camera bag full of backup batteries during rush hour?\u00a0 Not likely.<\/p>\n 4.)<\/strong>\u00a0 Natural light is more dynamic.\u00a0 A flash, whether bounced of your mothers brothers friends forehead or not is still going to fall fairly evenly on a subject (from one side or another).\u00a0 Natural light can be patchy, have varying intensity within the same scene, and there can be several different temperatures of light noticeable within the same frame.\u00a0 All of these variables can be used to create dynamic and original images.<\/p>\n 5.)<\/strong>\u00a0 The original mood is preserved in natural light.\u00a0 If your goal in Street Photography is to record the human condition and you want the image to be as close to how the scene originally looked then adding flash is not an option.\u00a0 Adding a flash changes the mood from something natural to something contrived.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"0315_untitled_091-2\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/0315_untitled_091-2.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n