Do You Need a Flash for Macro Photography?

I'm out doing some macro photography with a flash this week - but do you really need one? I'll be looking at some of the benefits of using a speedlight when photographing macro subjects, but also when it might be more appropriate to make use of natural light.

[@johncoombes6231]

Informative video Robert, I like natural light but as always there is room for both, and that dark background is a genuinely nice effect. Otis is a great camera operator amazingly fast. Keep up the excellent work.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Cheers John. Yeah, Otis did a great job, although he did roll the camera in the mud. Good job it's waterproof! 😁

[@dianneandres3770]

I do love taking Macro images with my flash and I do use a diffuser. BTW, I love seeing your dog move about with the go-pro on his back. That is just downright fun!

[@Robert-Bishop]

That's good to know Dianne. Yes, it's great fun watching Otis run around, although it can make you feel a bit dizzy after a while! 😁 thanks for watching. 😊

[@LetsClickPhotography]

Good work by your new cameraman haha. Like most aspects of photography its horses for courses....and there are so many different set-ups, on camera, off camera, 1,2 or 3 light set-ups, adding gels onto the flash gun etc with each one gives something really different into the mix so loads to explore and try out = a whole new world of macro. Having a few of your shots in this shown both with and without flash, side-by-side, will a great added value for many I'm sure. Good vid Robert and Otis 😀...oh and (late addition tho the comment as I noticed when I clicked the like) when did you fly past 5k??! Congrats mate! Hadn't noticed on your last vids, well done, that's awesome 👍

[@Robert-Bishop]

Cheers Dave - yeah I learnt a lot preparing for this video and definitely lots more to try out. I had a little surge around Autumn time last year and hit 5k just after Christmas I think. It's great to have made it this far - I can remember when I was totally chuffed I'd make it to 100! 😁

[@Den-dp5zc]

This is the first video of yours I've watched. I'll be back for more!

[@Robert-Bishop]

That's great, much appreciated Den. 😊

[@AndrewHamiltonPhotography]

Very informative Robert - I’ve not done much macro but going to give it another try as bluebell season approaches - I’d need to get to grips with flash settings and matching the camera settings to avoid the black line effect effect you highlighted. I’d also need a diffuser so I may stick to natural light and darken the background on post which is what I did for my previous images. Otis provided some great POV too ! Not sure what those shrivelled buds were but the purple flower is Vinca. Anyway great film as always - take care and all the best 👍🏻

[@Robert-Bishop]

Cheers Andrew - I'm looking forward to the bluebells too. That diffuser I was using was just a cheap one from Amazon - seemed to do the job though. Andrew Walton had the answer for the cones - seems they were Alder Cones. Didn't know that flower though, cheers. 😊

[@ganainm5113]

Good video. I liked the Otis footage. Personally I prefer the more natural light look. I have had ok results using a combination of natural light and off camera flash in the past. I think there are quite a lot of different setups you can do with macro photography. I like the varied content on your channel. Keep up the good work 👍

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks a lot. Yes, off camera flash is something I want to look at next time. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@janroos7518]

Nice video! Good comparisons with or without flash

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks very much Jan. 😊

[@nicognfotos]

Thanks! Very nice explication.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Many thanks for watching. 😊

[@tonymckeage1028]

Great Video Robert, WOW! 1:50 brillaintly lit and beautiful shot! 3:54.I like the flower position and lighting it this one, more natural 6:08, Great lighting control, it would have been easy to blow that shiney leaf out! 6:65 I love the dark leave colour, there is a small amount of reflection which is quite natural 7:22 beautiful natural shot, extremely good use of High ISO! 8:38, I was wondering what you were photographing when i saw the image i just saw wow! the best so far!

[@Robert-Bishop]

Very kind words Tony, I appreciate you taking the time to watch and share your feedback. 😊

[@wendingourway]

Cool...you have an Otis cam!! I've often wonder about using a flash or not...but never thought of diffusing the light...fantastic! A dirty dog is a happy dog...great day out for you both. Take care...Bruce and Otis

[@Robert-Bishop]

Cheers Bruce. Maybe your Otis needs one too - it's fun to see what they see. 😁 The flash is useful, but definitely not necessary - could have more use for insects and stuff I think. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@paulcookphotography]

One thing is for certain, GoPro stabilization is no match for Otis, especially running at full speed! 😂 Great video mate. I've never done any proper macro photography, but I really liked how the flash really isolated the subject while making the background dark/black,. although you lose some of that cool bokeh. A bit give and take I guess. Great stuff as always pal, really enjoyed it! Hope you guys are all doing well.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Cheers Paul. Haha, yeah, when he gets going it's a bit wild! You should maybe give macro a go, it can be great fun and makes a nice change to doing landscapes and stuff. Thanks a lot for watching, hope all is good at your end. 😊

[@badger67]

Cheers Rob 👍

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks for watching. 😊

[@Earthling78]

9:05 is the fruit of Common alder. Coming from bird photography, where you rely on natural light only, what I love about a flash, is the fact you can shoot anywhere, at any time of day, under all weather conditions. Photographing small insects with natural light often means you end up blocking the sunlight, but with a flash, that is excactly what you want.

[@Robert-Bishop]

All good points and thanks for watching and thanks for the identification. 😊

[@hankfoto]

I feel it de[pends on the effect you looking for. When doing Macro I Canon twin light flas with a little extra defusion. So depends on what you arer looking for. Good video!

[@Robert-Bishop]

Agreed, it's good to have the tools to be able to choose the look that is required. Many thanks for watching. 😊

[@AndrewWaltonPhotography]

Interesting discussion Robert. I think some of the natural light shots looked a little sharper in some of the shots (or maybe I need to visit the opticians). I know Peter Virag always shoots with flash for his macro insect work and I have considered using flash when I intend to attempt some macro insect photography (with a basic camera of course) soon. Otiscam (TM) was excellent, not only have you got Andrea doing your b-roll but now Otis too! Oh and I might be wrong - could your 'mini pine cones' be Alder cones?

[@Robert-Bishop]

Cheers Andrew, I'm trying to get to a stage where Andrea and Otis can just do it by themselves and I can stay at home. 😂 - I had a quick look at those Alder cones on Google and I think you might be right. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@paulstickley4819]

I use flash mainly when the subject is moving, like a bee in flight. The short flash duration (maybe around 1/6000 sec) will eliminate motion blur of the subject and greatly reduce blur due to hand movement. If I am photographing a leaf on the ground I would use a tripod and natural or constant light. I may use a flash when photographing a flower on a windy day to reduce the effects of motion blur but would prefer to use a tripod and natural light on a less windy day. So for me flash is really about freezing motion not so much about the look but it can give some interesting effects, in particular the black backgrounds. My favourite genre of photography is insects and I can't wait for the warm weather to arrive. I enjoyed your video.

[@Robert-Bishop]

With the speedlight I was using, I wasn't able to go much quicker than 1/320s shutter speed. Otherwise I got the shutter in the image. I was able to achieve similar shutter speeds with only natural light, albeit at the expense of aperture or ISO settings. I will definitely experiment with using the flash for moving subjects though. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@paulstickley4819]

@@Robert-Bishop I guess your camera has a flash sync speed around 1/250 sec so HSS (High Speed Sync) would be needed for faster shutter with flash. Not that HSS is much use for stopping movement. When using flash shutter speed becomes less important, it is the duration of the flash that stops the movement. If the image is mainly exposed with light from the flash it is the duration of the flash that controls exposure time. It can be quite a lengthy process to discuss all the details but if anyone is interested I have a web page on the subject. It can be found in my KZbin "About" page on my website. The page is titled "Insect Photography Technique" Anyhow, for general flower and leaf type shots I prefer natural light and a tripod.

[@Robert-Bishop]

@@paulstickley4819 That's great Paul, I'm sure it'll be really helpful, and I'm still learning a lot about flash photography, so I'll certainly give it a read. Cheers. 😊

[@ignacioalvarez133]

Hi Robert!! Excelent video. Could you tell us the name of the screen? Thanks you!!

[@Robert-Bishop]

Just a cheap one from Amazon Check this out! amzn.eu/d/0LSAfdx Thanks for watching. 😊

[@striderwhiston9897]

Heya robert, I just got a flash but I noticed the light NEVER hits my subject while at macro distances, do I need to get a flash which can angle itself downwards to face the subject? It seems in your video that the flash is similar to mine as to where it can only look straight, i.e level. Or, do I need to get something to reflect the light at the direction I want. I have a Neewer 988 flash.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Hi there. I think it's unlikely that the light isn't reaching your subject. It could be that your shutter speed is not in sync with your flash. Have you tried slowing down the shutter speed when using the flash?

[@striderwhiston9897]

@@Robert-Bishop Yes, unfortunately it doesn't seem to make much difference

[@striderwhiston9897]

@@Robert-Bishop Heya Rob, I was actually just being really stupid! I was using TTL instead of manual on the flash, and the flash was automatically underexposing the flash, after some adjustments I got the light to be powerful enough to make an effect! My bad!

[@paulmcwilliams8641]

I was enjoying the video for the first two minutes, but by 2:30 I had thrown up 🙂. The seed pod was from an Alder and the purple flower was a Periwinkle. I prefer to use natural light, but sometimes its just not possible, for sharp images. I have made a deflecter that splits the flash and the reflects it using two collapsible reflectors I made on a sewing machine that fit on with some model car aeriels. This reduces the strong shadows that a single flash produces.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Yeah, there's no stabilizing Otis Cam unfortunately! Sounds like you made a really handy creation there Paul. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@usernamemykel]

I noticed that Otis is wearing a fur coat - you were apparently right about the weather.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Haha, yeah - I don't think he suffers too much with the cold weather. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@Swaggerlot]

It depends on the ambient light, it depends on the type of subject...etc...etc....

[@lesleytaylor8913]

Hi. Were the last few images with or without flash please?

[@Robert-Bishop]

The last 4 were flash, no flash, flash, flash. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@igordmitriv8964]

What if somebody tell you that you can get natural light background in one shot while you using Flash Speedlight? Some people call it double exposure. And some surface need some more diffusing light then chip regular diffuser. Also in some natural light condition you will be not able to get result without diffused light. It is just tool. As any tool it is need skill, overwise it is useless to own.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Igor - it's something I'll look into. 😊

[@suprarune]

when i do macro on small insects i use flash, but on non moving objects i use natural light.

[@Robert-Bishop]

Sounds like a sensible approach. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@bernardparent6955]

Bonjour, en complément de votre video, vous pourriez employer le flash déporté la lumière n'aplatira pas votre sujet, mais un peu plus difficile à maitriser ! Au plaisir !

[@Robert-Bishop]

Thanks Bernard, off camera flash is something I'll try out in a future video. Thanks for watching. 😊

[@marxiewasalittlegirl]

Dog pov op

[@Robert-Bishop]

Haha, yeah, I definitely need to get more Otis Cam in the vids! Thanks for watching. 😊

[@colintraveller]

No a flash is not needed nor is a diffuser . Utter waste of money

[@Robert-Bishop]

Strong opinion Colin. Thanks for the input. 😊