How to "Freeze" Portrait Photography With a Flash at Night
External flashes not only brighten photographic portraits taken at night; a flash can also stop movement. Whether the portrait subjects decide to twirl, swing or walk, you can use a flash to freeze their movements and eliminate motion blur. When combined with a moderate shutter speed, a flash can freeze a nighttime football cheerleader's jump in midair or capture the twirls of a Hawaiian dancer at an evening luau to create stunning environmental portraits.
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Instructions
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Slide an external flash onto the built-in hot shoe feature on your single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. Flip the lock switch to the right or rotate the base dial clockwise on the flash to secure it.
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Turn the flash unit's power switch to "On." Choose an automatic exposure mode, such as Through-The-Lens metering (TTL), automatic Through-The-Lens metering (A-TTL) or evaluative Through-The-Lens metering (E-TTL). Turn on the camera.
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Set the camera exposure dial to the shutter priority mode, usually indicated by the letters "Tv" and also known as time value. You can also use the shutter setting, indicated by the "S." The option your camera offers depends on the brand.
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Rotate the selector dial to choose a shutter speed of one-thirtieth of a second or one-sixtieth of a second.
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Change your ISO setting, also known as film speed equivalent, in the functions menu or use the toggle switch at the rear of the camera. Choose a slow, fine grain ISO -- such as 200 -- for night portraits with movement.
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Compose the picture, then lightly press the shutter button halfway down to activate the auto focus. Press the shutter button all the way down when the portrait subject moves into a photogenic position.
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Tips & Warnings
A flash cannot freeze an extremely fast-moving subject at night, such as a race car driver during a performance. Expect the flash to freeze a portion of the picture and for lights in the image to appear streaked. For example, in the portrait of the race car driver, the stadium lights may appear as squiggly lines of light and the taillights of the car as elongated strokes of color.
Using a shutter speed that's too fast can make the image dark. Experiment with the slowest shutter speed you can hold, while using a flash to get the most even exposure possible. This makes both the subject of the portrait and the evening background visible.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
