Learning wildlife photography – Electronic flash

Posted on 14. Jan, 2009 by Paul Burwell in Equipment, Everything, Techniques, Wildlife photography

Sharp-shinned hawk perched in tree - Fill flash with Flash Extender to balance out the side lighting

Learning wildlife photography – Electronic flash – Electronic flash is an excellent tool when used correctly. Unfortunately, many photographers are not comfortable using flash and end up with images that look “flashed.” Furry animals can look especially bad when electronic flash is used too aggressively. When using flash, you are typically using it to provide some balance in bright or back-lit conditions or when you want to add a catch-light that isn’t in your subject’s eyes naturally. When flash is used properly, it usually isn’t apparent to the casual observer that the scene was flashed.

If you plan on having an electronic flash in your wildlife photography toolbox, make sure it supports flash exposure compensation. You will usually be using your flash as a fill flash and you need to be able to reduce the amount of light your flash is generating to avoid a “flashed” appearance to your images.

In bright conditions with shadow, or back-lit situations, you will want to use your flash as a fill light. You want to fill in the area that is in shadow in order to create a well-balanced, properly exposed image. This is another area where digital shooters have a big advantage over film photographers. Both the camera’s LCD screen and the available histogram allow the digital photographer to determine, at a glance, if the light from the flash is too much, too little or just right and then make the appropriate adjustments. On average, I usually start with my flash exposure compensation dialled down two stops (-2) and adjust from there. Of course, it ultimately depends on my subject, distance to the subject and the lighting conditions.

Large female Black Bear sitting near the underbrush - Fill flash to add a catch-light and fill in the shadows

Another use for fill flash is on dark overcast days where the flash will bring back the color and saturation that might otherwise be missing. It also adds a catch-light to help bring life to the subject.

If you are going to be using an electronic flash, you need to take battery life and the time it takes the flash to recycle into consideration. Therefore, I recommend using an external battery pack for your flash. External battery packs will usually more than double the number of flashes your flash can produce before exhausting the batteries and will greatly reduce the time it takes the flash to recycle its charge so it is ready for the next shot.

If you’re into bird photography and are frustrated at the range or distance the typical flash can throw its light with any power, consider getting yourself a Flash Extender (aka Better Beamer). A Flash Extender is basically a Fresnel lens with a couple of plastic arms. The plastic arms hold the Fresnel lens a few inches in front of the flash head. When the flash fires, the light is concentrated by the Fresnel lens and the net effect is that the light gets thrown further, and in a tighter beam, then it would normally.

Northern Saw-whet owl perched in a spruce tree - Fill flash to fill in shadows and add a catch-light

Here’s one caveat about using a Flash Extender, if you’re using it on a bright sunny day to fill in some shadows on some distant birds you need to be really careful about how the Fresnel lens is positioned in regards to the sun. If you remember some science classes from your younger days, a Fresnel lens is an excellent tool for concentrating the suns power and starting a fire. Unfortunately the Fresnel lens is positioned the perfect distance from the flash’s head for melting plastic and or destroying the head entirely. I remember one of the first times I was using a Better Beamer and I was carrying my camera/flash/tripod/flash to another position when I thought I was being stung by a wasp or a bee. It wasn’t some pesky insect; instead it was the Fresnel lens concentrating the suns rays onto a point on the back of my hand. I’ve also heard lots of stories about photographers literally frying their flashes by not paying close attention to the sun.

Flash is another area that you can experiment with photographing your teddy bears? Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out yesterday’s article. Set up the teddy bears in various lighting conditions (half in shadow, back lit, in shadow, etc.) and experiment with your flash to learn how to balance the flash with the exposure so that your images don’t look over-flashed.

Got any ideas for flash and wildlife photography? Drop me a comment and share your ideas with everyone.

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