Tipster: Creative Use of Flash With the LomoApparat

The potential to create incredible pictures is at the tip of our fingertips. It’s as simple as switching up the camera settings and opening up a new world of wonders. A flash is a powerful tool in the hands of a creative photographer and can add a touch of unexpected magic to your photos.

It's time to get the LomoApparat and load a roll of Lomography Color Negative 35 mm ISO 100. You will be amazed at the simplicity and the fun of this technique.

What's Going On?

Photographers use flash for many reasons. Commonly, it is associated with the absence of other light sources, and used to shoot in these challenging situations. But going beyond the basic use, let's turn something as simple as a flash into a powerful feature that sets our photos apart.

When our camera is on bulb mode, the longer we keep the shutter open, the more light we can record coming in. When we add the flash this freezes the composition.
When combined, the flash allows whatever is moving in front of us to be frozen, and at the same time, the subject is wrapped in mystical lights.

How Do We Do It?

For these photos, our exposure time was relatively short, between 5 and 10 seconds. Before the flash fired, we moved the camera to get the lines of light, and after the flash fired, we released the shutter.

To get different effects with the lights, press the shutter button, keep it open and move the camera, this way you'll get defined lines from the illumination you have set up. Alternatively, try to move synchronized with your subject, and you should get elongated lines.

Both ways are valid methods that you can experiment with. See what you like best and how you get the best results. As always in analogue photography, there is no way you can see beforehand what the result will be. Even testing with a digital camera will not guarantee the same result on film.

We tried the technique outdoors as well, but the street conditions were not as easy to control since many factors can influence the photos. The flash must be close to your subject for it to completely freeze the action. With the LomoApparat, the flash on the camera can be overpowered by the ambient conditions.

However it can result in a pleasing abstract composition, with the lights becoming shapes and forms that field the frame instead of going for classic street photography. It can be a challenging way to create photos, but when executed correctly, you can achieve unique photos.

How do you usually use your LomoApparat flash? Share your tricks in the comments below.

written by eparrino on 2024-02-18 #gear #tutorials #bulb-mode #flashlight #long-shutter #lomoapparat #freeze-subject