Natural light versus studio flash for commercial and product photography - pros and cons and what to choose
I’m a big believer that there’s always more than one way to get a great result with photography and that the best light is whatever you have access to. However, I get asked by both clients and photographers which they should choose so I’ve put together this little guide to help you decide what’s right for your next project.
I use both natural light and flash (and LEDs lights!) in my professional work and I truly believe neither is better and each has its place depending on what you’re looking to achieve.
Natural Light
Pros
It’s (mostly) always there - so you don’t need to worry about expensive equipment or complex set ups.
Soft - the sun is a long way away but it’s also gigantic which means that outside of direct sun at midday it gives a soft, diffuse light compared to flash. This is particularly true if you’re inside shooting with window light and you can even use light weight fabric over the window to soften it further.
Simple reflectors like white foamboard can be easily used to bounce window light back into any shadows and you can also move around the room to change the direction and strength of your light.
Cons
Inconsistent - both the temperature and the strength of daylight is variable depending on the weather, the time of day and the time of year so getting consistency across, for example, a set of product shots, can be difficult. While you’re working the sun will have moved in the sky, the clouds will have moved and as you move through the day the light becomes firstly more blue and then more orange - see diagram below which shows this perfectly. While this can be improved in post-processing (particularly if you use a grey card or colour checker with each image) it adds an extra amount of work that you may want to avoid on large sets of images. So for one-off images, natural light is absolutely fine and tends to be my go-to but for batches it’s not worth it.
Seo, Sanghyun & Kang, Dongwann & Park, Sangoh. (2018). Real-time adaptable and coherent rendering for outdoor augmented reality. EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing. 2018. 10.1186/s13640-018-0357-8.
Can be weak - it’s not always very bright and depending on your camera you may need to make compromises in order to get a good exposure. You might need to increase your iso and therefore end up with more noise, or you might need to open your aperture, ending up with a shallower depth of field than you might want. In general I’ve found that it’s better to keep the aperture at F7.1 and above for commercial work as sharpness throughout the image is often a customer priority and so my solution tends to be to slow the shutter speed and use a tripod to ensure the image remains sharp. However this does slow things down (literally) and when I’ve got a big batch of products to get through, that’s a bit annoying.
Studio Flash
Pros
Consistent and controllable - basically the opposite to what I said above. A good quality flash gives reliable colour result every time and you can turn it up and down easily. You should be able to shoot at a low iso for minimum noise and you can keep both a small aperture and a relatively fast shutter speed. When having a consistent look throughout a shoot, or even across multiple shoots, simply note the settings used and the position of the lights and you can easily create the exact same look again.
Easily modified - there are a huge number of modifiers available for flashes that make it possible to get creative with your effects. From huge softboxes and that make your flash look more like window light, to snoots that focus the light down spotlight style, to coloured gels that give all kinds of interesting effects - the creative opportunities are endless!
Cons
Can be problematic for very small or shiny items - firing a high powered flash direct at very small or shiny things like jewellery often just ends up with burnt out images as even the minimum power is too much. Speedlights can be better for this sort of work, or alternatively try bouncing the light by firing it towards a white wall or ceiling and through a diffuser to cut down the power and avoid hotspots.
Strong shadows can be a challenge, as can that ‘flashed’ look where the subject is lit but the background is dark. This might be what you’re going for, but if not you’ll need to work to work with multiple flashes to even out the light and consider shooting at slightly higher iso for the background and using the flash more as a little pop of extra light for the main subject.
Expensive, bulky and takes a bit of practice - all the things that might have put you off trying flash are definitely a factor.
A Note on LEDs and other light sources
It’s definitely worth noting that there are other artificial light options other than flash. LED light panels are now available relatively cheaply and while the pro-grade ones are superior in terms of build quality, power and adaptability, the cheap ones are very usable. I use LEDs a lot for on location commercial work where I want the whole scene lit and therefore want mainly that soft, natural light but I also want to add a hint of light in a dark corner or on a particular focus area. For example in the firepit image above, flash would have been too much and would have spoiled the mood, but the LED panel just boosted the light from the fire on the furniture, creating the inviting ambiance that I wanted. You can light lots of things with LEDs, product shots, headshots etc are all regularly shot by professionals using LEDs. You’d be most likely shooting at higher isos as all bar the super-expensive cinema grade panels are much lower powered than flash, but they are a great way to make a start with artificial light for your images and you may find they are all that you need. I started out with a simple LED lightbulb in a lampbase so it’s really easy to give it a try!
Conclusion
There’s no universal right answer to the question of which is better for commercial photography - both natural light and flash have their place. For me the biggest determining factor is whether I need the shot to be repeatable - if I do then it’s flash all the way. If I don’t, then it’s a creative choice between the drama I can get with flash or LED lights, or the softer look I can get with my studio window.