Flash photos taken at night often have dark or completely black backgrounds which are frankly most un-appealing. In this video we’re going to show you how to bring the background to life by using a slow sync flash.

When you make a slow sync flash exposure you’re actually making two exposures at the same time ­ a flash exposure for the subject and a time exposure for the background.

I know slow sync sounds complicated but I promise it’s easy once you have a few pointers to work with.

Not only is slow sync flash great for lifting the background in your night shots, you can use it creatively to add a sense of life and movement to an image. I do it all the time when photographing people dancing at weddings and at the end of this film I’ll give you some ideas for where to begin doing it for yourself.

On camera flash is never the best lighting so I recommend using a diffuser. For anyone who doesn’t have a dedicated flash unit we’ve made you a film showing you how to make a DIY pop up flash diffuser which certainly helps soften what would otherwise be a very harsh light.

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