Is natural light always best?

I used to pride myself in being a natural light photographer. I actually love natural light and still love to photograph with only natural light. But the downside of only using natural light is that it limits when I can have sessions, and it is VERY limiting on a wedding day.

Thankfully, a few years ago I joined a group of local photographers and we were introduced to flash photography in a whole new way. I learned how important it is to understand light, natural and flash, in order to create beautiful images. I learned how I could use flash on and off camera to manipulate the light in any circumstance. MIND BLOWN!

It sounds very "natural" and "organic" when someone says they are an all natural light photographer, BUT what happens when your wedding venue is in an amazingly rustic, but altogether dark, barn?? What happens when your wedding is in the winter and it's after 4 PM and there is no natural light to be found for your photos?? What happens when you want the lit up bridge or marquee in the background of your photo but you're in the dark?? FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY is what happens!! And it can open doors to amazingly creative images.

Like I said, I still use natural light ALL the time in photography, but often you will notice that I bring some additional lighting equipment to compliment the natural. Don't be afraid when your photographer suggests that your session ends after dark...it just means you're going to get something unique and amazing!!

***all the images below I used off camera flash to enhance or create light.