Meta description: Get your camera’s built-in flash under control. Learn how to soften harsh light, bounce it off walls, and get natural-looking photos—easily and affordably, even without an external flash.

There are many of you out there that might be considering a start in studio photography. Aside from renting a studio, there’s also the option of creating a space of your own design. In this case, one of the most important decisions you’ll be making will be choosing the lighting. This includes not only choosing specific brands of lighting, but also the types of lighting. There are more options out there than you may think. 

Taking pictures against the light doesn’t have to mean ruined photos. Not at all. It can give you some very impressive portraits. And all you need here to keep from ending up with an unusable picture is a little skill. Take a look at the right way to shoot a portrait against the light.

By mastering work with artificial light sources, and especially flashes, you break free of several exposure limitations that hold you back when you’re taking pictures in natural light. Using flashes also gives you much sharper pictures, because the flash is so short that it eliminates motion blur.

The major advantage of artificial light sources over natural light is that you have them fully under your control. There are many tools for changing their characteristics. Artificial light lets you photograph topics that would be impossible to handle under natural light.

Basically the only thing you need for a photo is light. But unfortunately when you’re out shooting you’ll run into a lot of types of lighting, each with its own color. When there’s more than one source in the same scene, they can cause some real problems.

There are some situations where daylight just isn’t enough. Your light is weak, giving you no choice but to find or create some of your own. One good candidate for that light source is a flash fired outside your camera body.

Occasionally as a photographer you’ll find yourself in a situation with bad light. Modern cameras can handle poor light, but they still sometimes need a little help from accessories. Read on and learn to overcome bad light using your equipment (and skills).

This is the story of one night photograph. We’ll be using it to show step-by-step how to get the most out of flash photography, and what special steps the pros take.

Almost every camera has a built-in flash, and you can buy external flashes too. Where does a flash help? Where does it hurt? Read on to find out.