A lot of people just don’t know where to start with flash photography.
On the surface, it can be a little daunting. It’s certainly not as straightforward as natural light photography.
But!
What we’ve experienced as we learned and became really proficient with flash is that – it’s a lot easier than you think once you get started!
Over the years, we’ve spent THOUSANDS of dollars buying flash equipment and testing it out. We mostly use flash when photographing weddings – so lighting up a reception hall, filling in shadows during ceremonies, and so on. We’ve also used flash on occasion in other settings – like to take portrait pictures in the middle of the day so we could expose for the person and the sky.
Whether you are a beginner totally new to flash OR a professional looking for some more advanced recommendations, we have you covered here.
The #1 Flash for Beginners & Pros on a Budget
If you are just starting out with flash photography, there is no need to go crazy and spend hundreds of dollars on a flash setup. You will want to start with a simple on camera flash – this is the best introduction to the world of flash.
In our opinion, the Yongnuo YN 560 IV is the best flash for beginner photographers.
At about $60, it’s hard to go wrong. It’s a quarter of the price of entry level flashes from big camera brands like Canon and Nikon.
The Yongnuo YN 560 IV flash is compatible with pretty much all major camera brands like Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Fuji, Sony, etc.
We’ve used several of these over the years – at times syncing them up to shoot one on-camera and another as an off camera flash. They provide excellent value for the cost, and prove to be a great introduction to flashes. We highly recommend them if you are starting off – so definitely get one!
Beginner Flash Photography Kit – About $600 Total
This flash photography kit is actually what we used early on ourselves as professional photographers.
In truth, this really is a kit that is suitable for both beginners and professionals on a budget – as the quality of the equipment is very high. At just $600, you are getting a whole lot of value. Compare this to buying your first camera itself – which may have been more expensive than all of this equipment combined!
Yongnuo YN 560 IV Flash x2 – These are the YN flashes we recommended above. In this flash photography kit, we recommend picking up 2. The reason for this is because you will be able to use 1 as an on camera flash (attached to your camera hotshoe), and another remotely triggered as an off camera flash. This will give you the ultimate level of control, and allow you to learn all the essentials of flash photography. Buy on Amazon.
Manfrotto 368B Basic Light Stand – This is a really simple but sturdy light stand. Basically, a light stand is a tripod for your off camera flash. Buy on Amazon.
Neewer® Heavy Duty Photographic Sand Bag (optional) – Sand bags can be used to weigh down your light stand. This is only really necessary if you plan to take photos in environments where you need extra support for your stand. We got these ourselves so we could help our light stand better stay in place when photographing dancing during wedding receptions (people like to knock into the flash stand from time to time). If you’re only planning to use flash in your home or other quieter locations, no need for this. Buy on Amazon.
Panasonic Eneloop Pro AA High Capacity Rechargeable Batteries – While you can use standard AA batteries to power your flash and wireless receivers, we suggest getting rechargeables. This is because you will end up blowing a lot of money on batteries because of how quickly regular ones can be eaten up by using a flash – we learned this the hard way! We’ve been using the same set of Eneloop Pro batteries for years now with no issue. Buy on Amazon.
PocketWizard Plus IV x2 – These are receiver/transceivers used to trigger an off camera flash. Put simply, you will connect one of these to your camera hotshoe and place one of your flashes on top of that. Your off camera flash will be connected to the other. When you set them up, you will be able to trigger the off camera flash and the on camera flash together simultaneously. You can also adjust your settings so you only shoot the off camera flash as well. Buy on Amazon.
Profoto Shallow Translucent Umbrella – This is a simple white umbrella. You can use this with your off camera flash to diffuse the light – making for a nicer image. For beginners, using an umbrella can also be a little more forgiving if you haven’t perfectly placed your off camera flash as the light will spill into more areas. Buy on Amazon.
Gary Fong Lightsphere Diffuser – The Gary Fong is a diffuser that can be attached to your on camera flash. In our experience, this is an essential as it is a cheap way to get better quality images. Buy on Amazon.
Here’s everything laid in with photos and links to check out more:
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Professional Flash Photography Kit – About $3,500 Total
As we started to progress our photography business, we needed gear that could keep up.
Don’t get us wrong – our beginner flash kit above is a great value, and honestly even many professionals today are using a setup just like that. Where we started to struggle is the equipment isn’t always the most user friendly and we have had some issues with flashes overheating in the past.
Because of the nature of wedding photography and needing equipment we could more quickly set-and-forget, as well as needing better performance and reliability, we began to invest in Profoto flash equipment.
While expensive, we have found this flash setup to be 100% worth it. It is far easier to control. We’re no longer needing to carry around 20 AA batteries as Profoto flashes use proprietary battery packs. These flashes last a long time (we shoot an entire wedding with never changing the battery on our off camera flash now). They are just overall worth it for professionals needing this extra bit of ease and quality.
Profoto A1 AirTTL-C Speedlite – The Profoto A1 is our favorite on camera flash. We actually followed this product before it even released as it just looked so much easier to use than any flash we’d used previously. We bought one as soon as they came out, and got a 2nd one not long after. It is very easy to control and outputs really beautiful quality light. One of the best features? It has a built in receiver/transceiver, so you no longer need to buy those separately. We can now remote control our other flashes from the flash itself. Buy on Amazon.
Profoto Gel Kit for A1 Flash – Gels are for more advanced flash photographers, but can be used to great effect. Gels allow you to match the flash color to ambient light in the environment. This translates into better colors and especially more balanced skin tones when shooting people. Buy on Amazon.
Profoto B1X 500 AirTTL – This is a powerful off camera flash monolight. We use this to fill up rooms with light. We have also used it to take portraits outside in the middle of the day – with this you can overpower the sun! It pairs seamlessly with the A1 flashes above. Buy on Amazon.
Manfrotto 368B 11-Feet 5/8-Inch Stud and 015 Top Basic Light Stand – Our flash stand recommendation from earlier still carries over here. This is a simple and sturdy stand. As before, you may also want to get some sandbags to weigh down the stand if you’re in heavy trafficked areas.
Profoto Shallow Translucent Umbrella (optional) – In this kit, the umbrella diffuser is more of an optional flash choice. The Profoto B1X actually diffuses light well naturally due to how it is designed. These days, we only use an umbrella attachment for studio portraits.
Here’s everything laid in with photos and links to check out more:
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This is the setup we use for all of our flash photography work today.
If you have any questions about any of this flash gear, feel free to shoot us an email using the form below. We’re happy to help you out personally to make the best purchase!
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