Flash lighting for macro photography can make all the difference in taking amazing photos, but often working with flash can feel like such a huge learning curve. And while it’s easy to put a flash on your camera and fire it forwards, you’ll get your best results if you take the light off camera. In the video tutorial above, I show the difference off-camera flash can make in your photography and how to go about using your flash off camera.
Subject lit with on-camera flash
In this first example, it’s clear to see how harsh the light looks when the flash is positioned on camera. As it’s hitting the subject straight in the face it gives a very overpowering look that eliminates all the shadow detail and creates a very underwhelming image.
Subject lit with off-camera flash
But by moving the flash only about 12 inches to the left it’s given direction to the light, producing a more artful-looking image that uses shadows to define the form and add mood.
In most of my photography I work with Godox flashes, including the AD100 Pro and AD200 Pro. I use these wirelessly with my Canon R5 using the Godox X Pro-C trigger. If you already have a flashgun and you want to use it off-camera, then you can get a cheap off-camera shoe cord that simply connects your camera and flash with a short cable, letting you hold your flash and fire it at whatever angle you want.
In the video, I explain how I balance flash power with my camera settings, and how to use shutter speed to increase or decrease the ambient light in the image.
But remember that using flash off camera is an aesthetic choice, like everything else in photography. It’s not a ‘better’ or ‘worse’ approach, it’s just the way I personally like to work as I love a more moody look in my images that makes use of shadows. Many macro photographers rely on on-camera flash using light cones or other diffusers to light up the entire scene to avoid shadows. If you’ve never tried using your flash off camera then I highly recommend at least giving it a try.