To Flash or not to Flash

As a general rule I make every effort to avoid using a flash as the main source of light in my pictures. If the light is low and my subject is not moving then all I have to do is secure the camera and, for more precision, use a shutter release cable or the internal timer. When there is movement and I don’t have enough light I use some remote flash units, positioned at different angles from the subject. In the house it’s sufficient to place a couple of these flash units around the room and point them at the ceiling. The effect is amazing. Before I discovered this simple trick, all my indoor Christmas pictures had too much contrast between the bright and dark areas.

In order to take a picture of this fast moving fish I had to use three flash units; one on the camera and two remote units. I positioned one above the tank and the other one to my left, being careful not to pick up any reflection off the glass. The most difficult part was determining the exact area inside the tank where I would take the picture, manually focus on that point and then shoot every time one of the fish passed by.

It turned out to be much more difficult than I had expected.