The Magic of Flash — Backlight Situations
Let’s set the scene: it’s a beautiful day inside a fabulous wedding venue with stunning large windows framing the gorgeous couple, but you know your shots will feature horrid haze and muddy colors. What’s a talented photographer to do? Flash to the rescue! No, not the Flash – flash, a photographer’s best friend in these tricky situations.
As a wedding photographer with a bright and airy style, I love capturing those special wedding day moments in front of all of the windows and natural lighting that I possibly can for photos that are bright and clean. However, photographing directly into a window can be tricky because it creates strong backlight against the subject, creating extreme haze in the camera or making it difficult to make out the important details of the subject. Plus, when the light is very strong directly by the window, the rest of the room may look very dim in comparison where the light doesn’t quite reach. To help shed some light on the surroundings and our very important subjects, I love to use flash!
Filling in those surrounding shadows with flash allows for more accurate colors and skin tones while highlighting the details we would’ve lost in the shadows. It’s also much easier to focus your camera when you don’t need to crank up the settings so high! This will save you so much time and many headaches when you are editing the wedding day later, as well.
It takes some practice learning what type of flash you prefer for different scenarios, but once you find your rhythm, you’ll be doing the flash dance like a pro. My preferred method for using flash against window light is to set up a large umbrella to compensate for the shadows. If I’m in a bridal suite, an on-camera flash can be pointed behind me at the ceiling, and I’ve found that helps. However, an umbrella creates much softer and dimensional results in comparison. For smaller bridal rooms, consider a 30 inch umbrella or use a modifier on your on-camera flash to keep the light soft.
As you can see in the examples below, flash isn’t just a nighttime tool to be used for those dim indoor shots at a wedding reception – it can be an incredible tool for creating a light and airy feel from getting ready to walking down the aisle!
Example: Bridal getting ready room with strong backlighting. One umbrella was set up in the corner to help achieve accurate colors and counter the haze.
See how the skin tones are true and the details are much more clear? The flash photo feels lighter, more airy, and true-to-life!
Example: Wedding ceremony with strong backlighting. Two umbrellas were used to fill in the shadows from such large windows.