National Geographic (updated)

I’ve been reading my latest issue of National Geographic and as usual I’m bowled over and very impressed by the quality of the photography used to illustrate the articles, in this case about China. Most if not all of the images were taken by available light without flash, as the photographer recorded the scene as he saw it. This means you’re drawn into the scene as you can easily imagine seeing, smelling and hearing the sights and sounds as experienced by the photographer.

Take for example a photo in a hot kitchen as chefs turn their woks into a cauldron of flames and the only illumination for the whole scene are the rows of hot flames burning 3 or 4 feet high. (I’d love to post a copy of the image, but copyright laws forbid such unlawful reproduction, an issue I’ll address in another post) Using flash would have ruined the whole atmophere and destroyed the beautiful yellow glow of the image. Looking at the image I can easily imagine the heat of the flames and the closeness of the atmosphere as the chefs slaved over their preparations.

Seeing great images like these inspire me to continue to expand my use of available light while documenting a wedding as I try to give my images that extra “zing”. I’m far from perfect and sometimes flash is definitely called for and I’ll not hesitate to use it, but if at all possible my aim is to photograph a wedding day as faithfully as possible so as to capture not just a scene, but what it felt like to be there too. A compliment for me is for someone to say after seeing one of my images: “It’s almost as if I’m still there, I can see, hear and imagine everything that was happening”

26th May 2008 update: Here’s an example of the difference between available light and flash, from a recent event I was photographing for a company’s 10th Anniversary Ball. (Incidentally, the band “The Bootleg Blues Brothers were absolutely fantastic!! Right from the word go they had people rocking. I don’t have their details so a quick google search I’m sure will get you their info. If you’re looking for a band to get every one moving I can’t recommend them enough)

Flash: OK I suppose

Available light: Far better to capture the mood IMHO