Natural Light vs. Flash Wedding Photography

Often times you’ll see photographers, wedding or otherwise, proclaiming to be natural light photographers. Essentially this means that they choose to work with the available light from the sun and ambient light sources to expose their pictures. While it is true that the most natural looking shots with even lighting can be produced without a flash, there are times when you have no choice but to use one.

For a full day’s wedding shoot, a wedding photographer has no choice but to turn to their trusty flash. The obvious examples of necessary moments would be indoors with little light and after the Sun goes down. But even during situations when the Sun is still high in the sky, it’s a good idea to have that flash ready.

One example would be when the wedding photographer has no choice but to shoot facing a bright background. In these situations, to prevent the background from being blown out (over exposed) or the subject from being underexposed, you’ll need to use a flash to evenly light the subject and the background surroundings. One trick we at Stories and Stills like to use is the mini softbox attachment for the flash. This simple piece of equipment allows the photographer to aim the flash directly at the subject (usually a major no-no) without creating that dreaded artificial flash look. Then, by exposing for the background yet flashing onto the subject, the entire image is nicely exposed.

Mini on-camera/flash soft box diffuser.

Ultimately, we do prefer the look of natural light photography, especially when the Sun is nice and low to create that highly sought after glow or halo effect. However, it’s impossible to be an all-around effective wedding photographer without utilizing a flash.