Mastering Creative Flash Photography for Portraits & Self-Portraits

Mastering Creative Flash Photography for Portraits & Self-Portraits

What’s your opinion on using flash in photography?

Interestingly, most photographers I ask this question are pretty opposed to flash, for example, because they fear harsh shadows or simply don’t know how to use it best. 

However, flash, both on-camera and off-camera, is actually a brilliant tool for manipulating and shaping light or achieving creative effects.

In this post, I will explain exactly how to master creative flash photography.

(Just so you know: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases).

1. Understanding Flash in Portrait Photography

First, let’s talk about the different kinds of flash available.

1.1 Inbuilt Camera Flash

Many entry-level and mid-range cameras have an inbuilt flash/pop-up flash. 

This refers to a small, automatic flash unit integrated into the camera body. 

The built-in camera flash is very convenient, as it’s part of the camera and can be easily switched on. 

However, this flash often produces very harsh, indirect light that can be unflattering.

1.2 External Flash

In addition to the inbuilt flash, you can also use external flashes, such as speedlights (small flash units attached to your camera):

Then, there are so-called studio strobes (large, more powerful flash units used in a studio environment).

These are used as external flashes, i.e., not attached to the camera but mounted on tripod stands.

1.3 Benefits of Flash for Portraits/Self-Portraits

Many people don’t know that there are actually lots of benefits when using flash: 

First, it gives you more creative control.

With flash, you’re not dependent on ambient light or the time of day.

Instead, you can adjust the intensity of the light, change its direction, and modify it using different tools (more about that later in this post).

Another benefit of using flash is that it gives you consistent light regardless of ambient light. 

And finally, flash is an amazing tool for achieving different creative effects, such as dramatic shadows, bright reflections or colourful accents (when used with coloured gels). 

As a self-portrait photographer, I particularly love using flash as a creative tool in combination with mirror photography.

But before I get to creative techniques, let’s first talk about the essentials of using flash for portraits.

2. Essential Flash Techniques for Portraits

In order to use a tool creatively, it’s always good to master the foundations first. 

The two essential techniques of flash in portrait photography are: 

• Fill flash 
• Bounce flash

2.1 Fill Flash

Fill flash (using the built-in camera flash) is a great tool to make light more flattering in high-contrast lighting situations. 

In practice, you might use this on a bright, sunny day when harsh sunlight would otherwise create deep shadows on the face.

You can also use it when your subject is backlit (e.g. standing against the sun) or if the background is much brighter than the subject. 

If the flashlight is too bright, you can reduce the intensity of the flash by using flash exposure compensation (-1 to -2 stops).

2.2 Bounce Flash

Bounce flash is a fantastic way to achieve soft, beautiful portrait lighting indoors. 

To use it, you need a tiltable speedlight like this:

Neewer TT560 Flash Speedlite for DSLR Cameras with Standard Hot Shoe

Then, position your subject in a space with a white ceiling, wall or other bright surface.

Next, tilt the flash head towards that surface so that the flashlight can bounce off it and back onto your subject. 

This diffuses and softens the light, creating a very natural look.

The bounce flash technique is great for indoor photography and self-portraits in small spaces.

2.3 Diffused Flash

Light emanating from a direct flash is rather hard, but you can easily soften it by using a diffusing material. 

When using studio flash, photographers use modifiers such as softboxes or umbrellas to diffuse and soften the light (if you want to learn more about studio lighting, check out this post). 

If you’re using a speedlight, you can buy a dedicated diffuser for your flash model, or try a general diffuser such as this one:

NEEWER Flash Diffuser Light Softbox

Alternatively, you can diffuse the light by shooting through a white, translucent material.

For example, you could use a 5-in-1 collapsible reflector, which usually includes a white translucent panel.

Alternatively, you can use materials commonly found at home, like a white shower curtain or thin white fabric.

By the way…if you enjoy taking portraits, check out my free portrait photography ebook below:

…but now, back to the blog post!

3. Creative Flash Photography Techniques for Portraits & Self-Portraits

Having talked about the basics of flash in photography, let’s now talk about creative flash photography techniques you can use to create interesting portraits or self-portraits.

3.1 Coloured Gels: Add Mood or Cinematic tones

Coloured gels are thin, translucent sheets that you place over your speedlight to change the colour of the flash. 

They are one of my favourite tools for creative portrait photography, and I especially love using them to create cool cinematic effects.

Attaching Gels to Your Speedlight

You can buy kits with different coloured gels that are attached using Velcro or magnets. 

Alternatively, you can use rubber bands to attach the gels to your flash.

Here are some different effects to try:

Background Colour Effect

You can place a coloured gel on a speedlight aimed at the background to create a vibrant, coloured backdrop.

I love this technique because it instantly changes the mood of your portrait without having to physically change the backdrop.

Use bright colours like red, blue, orange or yellow for a bold, energetic look. If you want a more subtle or moody aesthetic, you can try deep purples or muted tones.

If needed, you can adjust the intensity of the flash to control the saturation.

Dramatic Rim Lighting

Rim lighting is a brilliant way to visually separate your subject from the background, giving your image more depth.

To create rim lighting, place a speedlight behind or slightly to the side of your subject–the light should still catch the edges of their silhouette. 

If you’re going for a cinematic look, you can use a coloured gel in orange to create a warm sunset effect or blue for a futuristic look.

Two Tone Split Lighting

If you have two speedlights, you can go for an effect similar to this:

To achieve this two-tone split lighting effect, use two speedlights with different coloured gels and position them on opposite sides of your subject. 

This will illuminate each side of the face in a different colour. 

Try pairing red and blue for a futuristic effect or combine warm and cool tones together to achieve a cinematic look.

3.2 Long Exposure with Flash

Another fun technique to try with flash is combining it with long exposure, leading to motion blur and movement effects like light trails.

If you want to try this, use the flash in combination with a slow shutter speed (try somewhere between 1/25s for slight motion blur and 5-30s for extreme motion blur and light trails). 

Make sure to use a tripod if you want to keep the background sharp.

3.3 Double Exposure with Flash

Some cameras have a setting that allows in-camera double exposures, combining two images into one frame. 

If your camera has this setting, try using flash for only one of the exposures–this can create interesting ghostly effects or surreal compositions.

How It Works 

In-camera double exposure works by capturing two images on a single frame and merging them into one. 

With this technique, decide in advance which exposure will be flash-lit and which will remain more subtle or dark.

For example, you can use flash for the first exposure to capture a well-lit portrait and then take a second shot with ambient light only.

This is great for creative portraits as it will give you an eerie effect. 

Another fun double exposure technique to try is to capture the first image as a backlit silhouette and then use a second exposure with flash that shows all the details. 

You could also combine a portrait with flash as the first exposure with an abstract pattern, city lights, etc. as the second exposure. 

For these kinds of double exposure shots, it’s a good idea to use a tripod to keep the framing consistent.

3.4 Rear-Curtain Sync

(Second-Curtain Sync) is a flash mode that fires the flash at the end of the exposure instead of the beginning. 

This creates a motion trail behind moving subjects (such as hands moving or dancing), making it perfect for dynamic or artistic portraits.

How to Enable Rear-Curtain Sync on Your Camera & Flash

To enable rear curtain sync, navigate to your camera settings and find a setting called Rear-Curtain Sync, Enable 2nd Curtain Sync, etc. 

If using an external flash, check the flash menu for “Rear” or “2nd Curtain”.

To use rear-curtain sync, set your camera to a slow shutter speed (try between 1/10s and 5s). Then, have your subject move during the exposure for beautiful motion trails.

Again, if you want a sharp background and motion blur only on the subject, use a tripod.

3.5 Self-Portraits with Flash–Playing with Reflections 

If you like taking self-portraits, you should definitely experiment with this creative technique, which combines flash with reflective surfaces.

Using flash in front of a mirror can generate interesting highlights, flares and bounced light that illuminates you in unexpected ways. 

Try to angle the mirror or change position until you get an effect you’re happy with. 

You can either use a large/full-length mirror or play around with a small mirror, like a beauty compact. 

A direct flash into the mirror creates an intense burst of light, resulting in a mysterious or futuristic effect (try placing the flash behind the camera, aiming it directly at the mirror to bounce back at you).

Alternatively, angle the mirror slightly away or hold the flash at different heights to create soft, reflected light that fills in dark areas.

You can even use multiple mirrors to achieve a surreal effect.

A quick interruption to say: Did you know I’ve written a 150-page guide about self-portrait photography?

But now, back to the post!

4. Common Challenges in Creative Flash Portrait Photography

Creative flash photography can be super fun, but you may face particular challenges, such as conflicts with ambient light or harsh, unflattering lighting. 

Here are some solutions to common problems when using flash in photography:

4.1 Avoiding Harsh Shadows and Over-Exposure

One of the main challenges of using flash is the risk of harsh shadows and blown-out highlights. 

As mentioned in the” Flash Photography Essentials” section, you can use a diffuser to soften the light, like an attachment for your speedlight or simply a piece of white fabric over the flash. 

This will make the light less hard and, therefore, more flattering on your subject’s skin. 

When using a speedlight or another external flash, you can also reduce the intensity or power settings as a quick fix.

4.2 Avoiding Conflicts with Ambient Light

Another big challenge when working with flash is mixing it with ambient light, i.e. any other light in the environment that you can’t change or control. 

For example, you may notice that if you use a powerful flash, the background in your photo will look extremely dark. 

You can fix this by either using a slower shutter speed or a higher ISO–this will allow more ambient light into the exposure. 

If your problem is a colour clash between different colour temperatures,like cold light from your flash mixed with warm light from a tungsten light bulb, you can use a yellow or orange gel over the flash to match the tungsten colour temperature.

4.3 Avoiding Red Eyes

Using direct flash can sometimes result in red eyes, which is caused by light reflecting off the retina. 

To avoid this, use an external flash unit, or bounce the flash of a reflective surface rather than directing it at your subject.

I hope you found this post helpful!