Flash Wedding Photography: Why I Never Leave Home Without My Lights

Confession time… when I first picked up a camera, I was TERRIFIED of flash! It seemed so complicated, so easy to mess up, and the only consistency was INCONSISTENCY. It baffled me so much I totally walked away from it.

Fast forward to now and I’m ranked in the top ten in the world for flash wedding photography, and I never, ever leave home without my lights! So what changed? And should YOU want flash at your wedding? Grab a brew, let’s chat.

From scared of flash to totally hooked

The game changer for me was learning to use flash properly and MANUALLY. No more TTL mode (that’s the automatic setting), no more crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I learned how to adjust my settings to get exactly the result I wanted and BANG… I was hooked!

I’ve learned from some of the best in the business. I’ve been to Neil Redfern’s Shine workshops, I’m a member of Flash Masters, where I get to learn from (and be inspired by) incredible flash photographers from all over the world, and my sister Helen Williams is also an amazing wedding photographer who happens to love flash just as much as me. It runs in the family!

Will flash blind my guests?

This is the big one! I think a lot of couples worry that flash is going to blind everyone and cause loads of disruption. And honestly, I get it. A flash going off on top of a camera, straight into your face, can be pretty off putting.

But 99% of the day my flash is off camera, up on stands or tucked away where it’s doing its thing without anyone noticing. I’ll only pop it on my camera in a pinch, when there just isn’t time to set up stands or it’s not practical. And people get used to it SO quickly. Unless it’s at eye level and flashing in faces, guests soon forget it’s even there.

Flash during your ceremony

Yes, I absolutely will use flash during ceremonies, but ONLY when it’s needed. I don’t flash for the sake of flashing!

Getting married in a dark barn? Awful light? A dimly lit castle? That’s when I’ll light it, as subtly as possible. My flashes go off camera and up high, so they’re never in anyone’s face. I’ll bounce the light off walls and ceilings where I can, and if I can’t, I use modifiers to take the sting out of it. Rest assured, it won’t be distracting… but it WILL make your pictures so much better. No muddy skin tones, no weird misshapen faces from editing software trying to get rid of the grain. Just lovely, clean skin tones.

Don’t believe me? Here’s the same moment at the same ceremony, once with my flash switched off and once with it on. The difference is MAD!

Want to see it happen in real time? Watch the flash off vs flash on reel on my Instagram!

A couple of exceptions: registry office weddings usually run back to back, so there just isn’t time to set up lights between ceremonies, and most churches won’t allow flash at all. Totally fine, I work with what we’ve got!

My kit (I promise not to bore you)

I have an array of lights! Big powerful ones, smaller speedlights, and video continuous lights too. Basically I’m my own little production team! To date I’ve got over 10 light sources with me at every wedding… nobody’s getting lost in a forest with me around!

What can flash do that natural light can’t?

Where do I even start?! Using flash is basically CREATING natural looking light where there isn’t any. Whether you’re in a dimly lit room or it’s a dark evening, we don’t have to rely on the sun to get beautiful, clean photos.

You can’t control natural light… it controls you. And I like to be in control! So if I want a gorgeous sunset when it’s grey and miserable outside, I will get that gorgeous sunset! Fake or not, I’ll create it with flash. I’ve faked gorgeous sunsets in a car park, and you would never know!

Here’s proof. Same couple, same spot, the corner of a car park, three clicks:

It makes people look absolutely stunning too. Pop a softbox on and you get that soft, flattering, gorgeous light. Harsh midday sun with awful shadows under your eyes? Not when there’s flash around. And it gets creative! You can’t make the sun turn blue, pink or red… but with flash I can choose whatever colour I like.

It honestly opens the door to so many possibilities I can’t even name them all. I just know it lights me up (pun intended) and I love to play with it, push the boundaries and make something out of nothing.

Flash to the rescue!

Hand on heart, flash has rescued some dull and dreary ceremonies. It’s rescued less than glamorous portrait locations, where I underexpose the background and use flash to create a fake sunset. It’s turned boring spots into awesome champagne sprays. And it’s rescued family formals that would have looked awful, with the sky completely blown out or everyone squinting into the sun with tiny eyes.

Let’s bust some flash myths

I’d love to say flash is easy… but if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it! Loads more photographers are using flash now, which is brilliant, but a lot of the time the scene ends up overexposed. The secret to GOOD flash is that sometimes it looks like no flash has been used at all.

Myth number two: flash is distracting. Honestly? People get used to it in minutes. Unless it’s at eye level and going off in faces, it just isn’t the big thing some people make it out to be.

And to anyone who says flash ruins the ambience… spoiler alert, it doesn’t! It just takes a lot of practice to get it right. Mic drop!

So what do you need to do?

Nothing! The only thing you need to do for the best flash photos is hire someone who actually knows what they’re doing… not someone who got lucky in TTL mode one time and hasn’t been able to recreate it since!

Want to see what flash can do for your day? Have a nosey at my portfolio and award winning images, or if you’re planning a wedding in Hampshire or beyond, get in touch and let’s chat!

And if you love a bit of flash chaos, come and say hi on Instagram for loads more!