Shutter Speed... Flash... What Difference Does It Make?

[@kylestewart4444]

Dude this is a seriously great tip. Using a flash doesn't have to mean ONLY using a flash. Leaving the shutter open for long enough to gather light from other sources, especially ones with a contrasting color temperature, is a great way to make indoor/lowlight photos much more dynamic and interesting.

[@emilianorodriguez8636]

When you watch a Matt Day video and spend the next 5 hours researching that topic in the middle of the night. I need sleep but now I'm too fascinated with flash to care.

[@mattdayphoto]

Emiliano Rodriguez Hahaha, sorry for the sleep deprivation! But thank you for the support!

[@emilianorodriguez8636]

Matt Day Thank you for making your videos!

[@cslattfri]

There is always something new to learn with photography and I appreciate when photographers are generous with their time and knowledge. Thanks so much for posting this!

[@brianbecnel]

Your progression of images with each stop-down of the shutter is really exactly what I needed. Great examples and tips!

[@tylerreck5116]

nobody else on youtube has explained this as well as you. thank you!

[@piperpilot26]

What a beautiful portrait of Molly! I love the tones, the composition and the overall mood of the shot. Great job Matt!

[@mattdayphoto]

Thanks, Shaun! This was all just for the sake of demonstration but I actually really like a couple images that we made. There's one I posted on Instagram that's in black and white that I really love. One of my favorites of her.

[@JesseEdgar]

After 4 years of putting off learning flash photography and spending the last few weeks frustrated this video finally made it all click. Thank you more than you know

[@comradezach8516]

I just learned this on reddit earlier today and i did *not* undedstand it how they were describing it, this made a HUGE difference, thank you!

[@andrewgreen2726]

Fantastic information! Really made sense to me. Nothing worse than an image that screams 'taken with flash!' Ambient and artificial light balance is so underrated.

[@chana1689]

Finally! Someone that explains this subject in a simple, short and straightforward video. Thanks a lot! You just earned a subscriber!

[@rutatutut]

I've watched 2 dozen videos on youtube trying to learn camera settings while using a speedlight. You are the FIRST to mention & clearly explain that the flash auto compensate when I adjust aperture, but that adjustments made to shutter speed only affect the amount of ambient light being captured. Thanks soooooo much! Off to experiment now...

[@arcp_]

You have no idea how useful this video is. A high five from Rome.

[@milesmetcalfe94]

Of all the flash tutorials on KZbin this might actually be the most useful I have seen. Thank you.

[@mattdayphoto]

Miles Metcalfe That's awesome! Thank you!

[@milesmetcalfe94]

Simple and direct with clear examples to demonstrate without and clutter about this peice of gear or that peice of gear. Other should take note.

[@user-yc1xi7ur1h]

I absolutely adore shooting with one flash & umbrella at any occasion that l can, and it was bothering me for ages how to achieve that less artificial look with more ambient light, and this honestly helped a ton, and it was the first video that explained this subject! thank you so much c:

[@RichardEarlPixearl]

Wow. Just wow. Thank you for finally talking about the things that matter. We all watch videos on how to use flash effectively and they all seem to share the common themes. But you sir are my newest best friend...someone that finally explains the bits everyone else seems to not bother talking about. I’ve been shooting outside recently under trees and noticed the slower shutter with flash combined with first curtain makes such a difference in my results. Manual mode all the way from now. I’m gonna spend the next month watching the rest of your vlogs now. My Mrs is gonna hate me 😏

[@krescentstudios]

This is an amazing video. Most helpful flash video on KZbin.

[@ThomasPrettyman01]

I paid a youtube photographer $100 for a video guide for flash lighting. It was a three hour video. You summed up the majority of the video in under 10 minutes. Damn, Matt. Should have made this video like 6 months ago! Could have saved me $100 ;)

[@mattdayphoto]

Haha! Well I'm glad to hear it was something that was helpful, but yeah, I wish it came sooner for you!

[@TheGeneralist95]

Doesn’t matter how far back I go, love your work and always find something valuable 🤙

[@mattdayphoto]

Ah, man. Thank you for saying that. ❤️

[@sebastianspiller1312]

When i'm hesitant or in doubt, i always come back to this video.

[@MrYankee853]

just came across you for the first time and subbed right away..i knew the slow shutter speed would raise the ambient light, but when you added the lamp to the pic, I now realize that other things are affected as well...well done..cant wait to see more !

[@johngemkow3732]

Great video. Between you and Ted Forbes, there is really no need to watch anyone else. Your videos have inspired me to set up a full darkroom in my house. Here's to great wives! edit: I literally just watched your video from January 8(which makes my comment here a little awkward). Your excitement and passion for photography is what is so great about your channel. I've used many of your tips on photography for both digital and film.

[@mattdayphoto]

John Gemkow Dang, thanks so much! That's really cool to hear. I appreciate the support!

[@johngemkow3732]

Matt Day Have you ever thought about doing a video of how to take pictures of your kids at home? I have a 2 year old and 1 year old. After watching the opening of that last video, I was really inspired to get more emotion in my pictures of them.

[@mattdayphoto]

John Gemkow Absolutely! I actually just posted something today on Instagram about this. I'm gonna address why and how I make photos of my family on a daily basis. I'm gonna be mounting my GoPro on my Leica to get some point of view footage, which should really help show the process up close.

[@johngemkow3732]

Matt Day That is just amazing! I have been looking for a video like that for a long time. I can't wait.

[@HenryPiffpaff]

I do recommend you to take a look at Thomas Heaton's videos too! :) They're really refreshing and authentic. Talk about excitement and passion ;)

[@austinkral]

Thanks for putting this together man. I had no idea how much of a difference the shutter speed could actually make besides motion blur

[@mattdayphoto]

Austin Kral Thank you! That's awesome to hear.

[@Sohail410_]

Very understated point - many who shoot in aperture priority wont know until they watch this. Thanks for the video!

[@mattdayphoto]

Runaway Intelligence Thanks for watching!

[@maciejkobus]

Matt Day = QUALITY

[@mattdayphoto]

Maciej Kobus I'm very glad to hear that

[@keiranbraynorgate]

Such a simple and obvious 'trick' I've never even thought about before. This is one of those tips that can really change the quality of your images, great video!

[@mattdayphoto]

Keiran Bray-Norgate Thank you! I hope it gets people to experiment and try some new stuff!

[@iH0V4D0]

nobody ever told me, im trying flash photography for while and this was the info i need

[@mattdayphoto]

H0V4D0 I'm happy to hear that!

[@Shvvanky]

Super cool, when I learned studio, shutter speed was one of those set it and forget things. Nice to see what can be done when that's played with!

[@mattdayphoto]

Shvvanky That's awesome to hear! Thank you!

[@MarcChep]

Awesome video, really helped me a ton. Flash photography is something I struggle to wrap my head around, but this is exactly the information I needed!

[@mattdayphoto]

MarcChep That's awesome to hear! Thank you!

[@MrDjofrey]

Yongnuos flash are insanely good for the price. I own two of them, never disappointed

[@markharris5771]

MrDjofrey I have 2 yn685s with the yn622 telereceiver that I use on my Canon digitals with the Godox external batteries. Superb flashes and I never have a problem recommending them for digital, but as yet never used them with film as for some reason I use my little 430 ex II or a 3rd party flash I got in a job lot with my Olympus.

[@mattdayphoto]

MrDjofrey Agreed!

[@markharris5771]

Donny Johnson it does have an external power port. I have a 960 and a 820. flashhavoc.com/yongnuo-yn685-speedlite-now-available/ It's heck of a lot of flash for very little money.

[@masfuhso]

i dumped them, found that as battery power goes down the flash power goes down and changes exposure.

[@sergeyusik9934]

The simple way to understand this: it's always a DOUBLE exposure shot with a flash. First exposure it's a pure flash and second one is a pure ambient. Changing shutter speed effects only ambient exposure part of the shot. All you need to figure it out how those two will blends in the scene you're shooting.

[@mattdayphoto]

Sergey Usik I'm kinda confused by that. Do you mean double exposure as in two shots in the same image? Or are you saying I'm exposing for two things at the same time?

[@sergeyusik9934]

Thank you for getting back to me Matt, I mean when we're using flash we literally have double exposure shot: flash + ambient. And i think using term "double exposure" should help guys to understand an idea behind a flash photography. I hope it makes sense, doesn't it.

Well, double exposure means making two seperate exposures, so no, it doesn't really make sense. But I get what you're trying to say.

[@ghw7192]

Like Matt, I'm confused. Back in the old days, before everything was electronic and everything talked to each other it was easier. I rarely altered my shutter speed when using electronic flash, but I did screw with the flash unit. If I was shooting portraits outside with ASA 100 film, I'd tell my Vivitar 283 that I was shooting ASA 400 and I always got proper fill flash. I normally used a fill when shooting portraits outdoors because of the catch lights in the eyes--you only want one.Landscapes and scenic is where I play with the shutter speed. Moving water can go two ways: freeze the motion or make the water velvet smooth, but either way, a flash can make it more interesting. Play with your camera, play with your settings, take a lot of notes, find what works for you and happy shooting!.

[@AaronBProductions]

amazing explanation and very easy to get through 10 minutes felt like 3. Thank You!

[@jojoowens9309]

This video has been much appreciated, I was trying to figure out last night how to pick up more of the ambient light w/ my flash. Thanks for giving the demonstration. I'm a beginner-midrange photographer, also a new subscriber. Looking forward to viewing more of your videos. Thanks again.

[@yoputito]

You've done an amazing job here! Most of the time I hesitate a lot before shooting in ambient light and sometimes there are even people adding pressure in those seconds... just when a shy cloud is showing off through the window! I'll definitely take a look at all of your videos! Thank you for sharing your experience and perspective!

[@mattdayphoto]

Alfonso Rivera Thanks for watching!

[@Kaip911]

This was such a great video! Thank you so much. I love how you show examples relating to what you're talking about where as some other youtubers just talk and talk.

[@KeithTomlinsonPhoto]

This is really helpful and a great illustration of how speed changes the tone in an image - thanks for sharing.

[@willmccleland2383]

Really helpful been wanting to learn more about how to use flash for a while

[@mattdayphoto]

Will McCleland Thank you! Glad it was helpful.

[@therealbedeq]

Watched this just now as I went thru YT looking for flash photography in film camera, specifically using old manual flash. Appreciate if you can make one using those old flash gun, and I just know that there are many of us wanted it. Thx.

[@mrkendrew1234]

This is the most useful video on flash I've watch. Ever. Thank you Matt. And for all the other things you've been doing also!

[@mattdayphoto]

Wow, that's awesome to hear! Thanks a lot for the support, man!

[@JoelWyncott]

Really helpful! I have next to no experience with flash, so this was great.

[@mattdayphoto]

Joel Wyncott Awesome! Very happy to hear that.

[@solitarydan7272]

Another great tutorial. I would have never thought of this. Thanks for sharing, Matt!

[@mattdayphoto]

Solitary Dan Thanks for watching!

[@kevinlsteed]

Great video! I enjoy the way you break down your videos. Now its time to put it in to practice. Thanks for sharing Matt!

[@onalabrioche]

thanks Matt, I'm learning a lot here. A similar video talking about fill flash in daylight and sync speed would be amazing too. I love the new direction of your channel, keep it up!

[@vimalneha]

I recently tried this on new year eve, wirh some good results. I liked the way you clarified it. Thanks for that.

[@Enrique-the-photographer]

I'm soooooo glad you made this video Matt, this was a great help for me. Thank you for sharing.

[@usernamemykel]

It is NO WONDER why you've had 159k subs (at the time of this vid's publication) and now you have one more! Awesome, simple, no nonsense, no stupid , totally unnecessary and distracting music. Thank you! NOW THEN - I've gotten interested in macro photography, using diffused flash, which will prevent blur - and I can't figure out which shutter speed settings to use. I know that I'd want an aperture of about f/16 for good depth of field, and my ISO I'd leave on "automatic", so would I be looking for a shutter speed, which when introduced in the exposure triangle, give me the "correct" exposure - or do I somehow need to figure in the flash? PLEASE ASSSIST- thank you!

[@DecentGatsby]

The reflection on the table turns out nicely too! Nice

[@mattdayphoto]

Lucifer Jones I thought so too! Thanks for watching!

[@MrChristopherwren]

Just starting using flash lately, your video is very helpful. Thank you.

[@OrpheumVideo]

Awesome video! Just starting to use flash and this is terrific!

[@marcopeters5219]

Hasse Persson's shots at the legendary Studio 54 in New York in the Seventies show what amazing effects can be accomplished by using flash and ultra slow shutter speed (30 seconds)

[@theblackmanarmedwithacamera]

I'M A LITTLE LATE TO THIS VIDEO.... BUT IT'S SO GOOD! VERY INFORMATIVE!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@akaneverest]

Thanks Matt. It was very illustrative and clear explanation.

[@mattdayphoto]

Alexander Komarov I'm happy to hear that!

[@robertknight4672]

Even on a camera that doesn't have this much manual control you it still have a slow sync setting often called night portrait on point and shoot cameras that can let ambient light in. Eventually use my Canon PowerShot to demonstrate the difference with that feature on and with it off to my friends who are not into photography. I also tried shooting different shutter speeds of a lamp with a Kodak bridge camera. That one has a higher sink speed and at the higher speeds looks like the lamp isn't even on.

[@bojorquezdg]

Thanks man, cool video, I always just played around with the settings until the exposure looked right but I will think about shutter speed more for my next photos.

[@Juiceejanestudio]

wow I just want to say you really hit this on the nail thank you !! ..

[@travis_cannady]

Thank you for making this video for all of us. This is very useful.

[@Shadowandsoulmebabe]

Curious, having your aperture set up at F/2 how did you manage to get all of her in focus with such a shallow depth of field?

[@shzammpatapon9865]

there a big seperation between the background and subject

[@gbrldz]

Very informative. Not a lot of people talk about this. Good stuff brotha!

[@roopethevideofreak]

This really is the thing most flash tutorials don't tell you and its kind of a big deal in making good photographs. Good work!

[@mattdayphoto]

Gabriel Diaz Thank you!

[@mattdayphoto]

Thank you! That's awesome to hear.

[@colttvance2060]

Thanks for this video! Getting into using flash and can't wait to experiment with this!

[@Markusbar23]

Most helpful video i found on this subject! Thanks man

[@kaisharperwez9460]

What a coincident , the same thing I tried in my hotel room with my wife With flash and yellow bulb light I had to bring down the shutter to 1/20th of a second with a flash and holding the camera very still I had beautiful results Thanks

[@CraigandJane1]

That information was so handy. I actually wrote it down. Thanks mate.

[@mattdayphoto]

CraigandJane1 That's awesome! Thank you!

[@davidrothschild8913]

Well done Matt. Much appreciate the ideas here

[@mattdayphoto]

David Rothschild Appreciate the support, Dave!

[@stevelink21]

Very well done video, Matt! Rather than the Yongnuo and Pocket Wizards, I use the nissin i60A with Air1 Commander with a Fuji X-Pro2, for similar functionality.

[@sohnicholas]

Matt, this is the best flash tutorial!

[@mattdayphoto]

nicholas soh Thank you!

[@Andrew_cenci]

This is so awesome! Thanks for sharing this!

[@mattdayphoto]

Andrew Cenci Thanks, man!

[@duiliohelf]

Great class, Matt! I think if you had left the shutter speed (or even other "key" exif infos) it would be even better; I know you had told all the shutter speeds, but this information hanging on the screen helps a lot because you keep speaking a ton of useful information! Either way... Thanks!!

[@mattdayphoto]

Duilio Helfenstens I'll keep that in mind! Appreciate the feedback and the support! Thank you!

[@fantasticdoge]

Thank you for making this video, very informative and I definitely learned something from this. Keep on creating

[@mattdayphoto]

Ethan Vega That's great to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@jowdand7284]

Your video is the first video explain it in the easiest way😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ thanks

[@nataliaschardosim3044]

Very informative! Thank you very much! Keep up with the good work

[@TomGibson7777TG]

True shutter controls ambient light....but also stops or shows motion. So your examples are excellent for demo purposes, but in the real world then subject might be moving, ie a wedding, children's b-day, bike race with fill flash. So then you need a faster SS to control sharpen/focus unless intentional motion is the end goal. So any chance of doing another video which takes the moving subject into account. Thanks for the great example.

[@mendietsantiago]

Thank you Matt!

[@NunoFerreira]

Never liked to shoot with flash, but Matt may have changed my mind. ;-) Matt, thinking about doing a video showing how you edit your colour photos? Your b&w edit video was an inspiration.

[@ralphburns1861]

Very well explained . A true flash revelation.

[@jaxbrie]

Very informative, helpful and concise. Thanks.

[@mattdayphoto]

jacques brierre Thanks for watching!

[@mixiepalms8338]

is nice to understand at last, am new to off camera flash! cheers dude

[@dadnoonan]

Well done example.

[@glassdefjaw1]

I just got a film camera the other day and I'm a beginner. Setting the right shutter speed is what I'm having trouble with currently. I don't know what to set it for landscape and portrait photography. Basically anything that is not in motion and that I don't want to capture motion with. I have a 35-70mm lense and a 50mm lense. Thanks!

[@reecemcdaniel3085]

Such a great video, very informative. I learned so much! Thanks!

[@myvolumestudios7185]

Great explanation! It definitely helped!

[@mohre5911]

Awesome tutorial dude. Thank you

[@videodrome5]

Great vid. Did you shoot this on digital or film 35mm?

[@okidoke4822]

Thanks Matt. That will assist my upcoming model shoot for sure. What about actual "flash speed" which I note is an option in my Nikon D750. What does that do?

[@racerxlilbro]

Super helpful. Thanks!

[@marcopopescu9042]

You pointed the flash to the cealing? Were you using something to soften the light?

[@kylelu9463]

Matt, I'm from China and I really like your videos. You did some great camera review and you just teach me a lot in photography.. Can I make subtitles for ur videos and upload them to some Chinese video websites?

[@nosauten]

Excellent tutorial!

[@cnwch1]

Brilliant. Another great video. Keep up the great content!

Great video Matt! Thanks a lot.

[@TheRiceAShrimpFried]

Really helpful. You're the man, Matt!

[@mattdayphoto]

Darragh Hobbs You're the man! Seriously, thank you. 🙏🏻

[@philcrifo]

Something I'm troubled by: why doesn't the exposure change from shot to shot? Is the flash's power constant regardless of shutter speed? If so, how come a slow shutter doesn't end up in an overexposure and a fast one in an underexposure? I'm just not sure I get how all the shots are perfectly exposed while no variable outside of shutter speed is changed (which should result in differences in exposure, right?)

[@jehandelange6266]

Philippe Crifo Wondering the exact same thing! Could someone perhaps clarify?

[@jakubm5866]

Philippe Crifo the exposure is different - there is more ambient light with slower shutter speed. the flash power is set in stone though due to constant F2 and it is the main source of light in these photos - that's why it seems as if the exposure isn't changing.

[@philcrifo]

I don't think that answers the question, or I'm still not getting it. Let's assume we're not shooting with a flash but outside in direct sunlight (which, if the flash's power is constant, makes no difference). Changing shutter speed alone would result in wide changes in exposure (from severly underexposed to overexposed). If the flash is constant here, I can't see why you'd get different results: The film is exposed for a longer time = brighter image, which is not the case here. Why?

[@jakubm5866]

Philippe Crifo thing is, we are not shooting in direct sunlight here. You are right - in usual conditions, outside, it is correct to think that longer shutter speed allow more light because for example sunlight is basically constant. The flash however always fires for the same short time - which is for example 1/250 seconds and at the same amount of power. So, while we are lengthening shutter speed we come up with a period of time during which ambient light comes in in addition to flash. So let's assume we are shooting at 1/10 sec. The only source of ambient light is the little lamp - it certainly isn't enough to light the whole subject. During this 1/10 of a second we do however have flash, which is much more powerful than the lamp. Therefore, the flash fires and lights up most of the scene for 1/250 of a second - the rest of the time the shutter is open it gathers the light from the lamp. We can see how the orange light 'leaks' to more parts of Mollys body. If there was no flash, the picture would have been dark, aside from these orange spots. Hopefully that's clearer.

[@philcrifo]

Thanks for the answer! I got it :) Cheers

[@TheBelafleck]

Great video! Thank you!

[@mattdayphoto]

TheBelafleck Thank you!

[@capturedbyannamarie]

Awesome video! Thanks so much!

[@mattdayphoto]

aesposito1989 Thank you!

[@biscuitsalive]

Great shots. I did know about this. But enjoyed the vid anyway. :)

[@mattdayphoto]

biscuitsalive Thank you!

[@usernamemykel]

Matt, how did you determine to use 1/16 flash power - upon what was that based, please?

[@christianek.963]

Very very helpful video!!

[@stuarthayes8477]

Really helpful video Matt!

[@omegaracerx]

great video. very informative.

[@microdoulo2250]

Excellent video tutorial

[@AnythingONandOFF]

Now I know what to do with flash! Never use it much but this makes me want to experiment.

[@mattdayphoto]

Andrew Mesa That was the whole goal! Thanks dude!

[@teerinvarongchayakul1658]

This is what I was looking for! Thank you!!!