Natural Light vs Flash vs High Speed Sync: See the Difference

Same setting, same model, three different lighting scenarios. In this demo, Toronto wedding photographer Derrel Ho-Shing shows you the difference between shooting with natural light, regular strobe, and high speed sync.

Ho-Shing didn’t put the video together to make any sort of judgement, although his preference is obvious. He’s shooting with the Canon 5D Mark IV and new Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art lens, and having to stop that beautiful lens down to f/5.6 in order to use the strobe without HSS is just… tragic. The lighting looks fine, but the background is simply too in-focus and distracting.

By comparison, just natural light creates more separation and, thus, a more pleasing portrait:

And, of course, things get even better when you turn on High Speed Sync. Using the flash’s power to keep your subject properly exposed, HSS lets you create even more separation by both shooting wide-open and darkening the background.

In this example, at least, HSS wins hands down:

Watch the video up top to see the full demo for yourself. And if you like Derrel’s work, check out his website or show him some love on Facebook and Instagram.

(via ISO 1200)