Benefits of an Off-Camera Flash - Using the Olympus FL-50R

You probably have a digital SLR, or you wouldn't be reading this.

And if you are like me, there are times when you have needed to use a flash. You may have been indoors, or the lighting may have been really weak when you were taking pictures outside.

And in those times, you had to use a flash. So you used your digital SLR flash. I have an Olympus, and I used its on-camera flash.

And in those times, I wished I had something stronger. Something more flexible. Something much more versatile.

It wasn't until I bought an off-camera flash, the Olympus Flash FL-50R, that I realized what I had missed.

The main benefit of an on-camera flash is that it is extremely small, and you don't need to carry around anything else with you. I used to think that this was good enough. That it wouldn't affect my pictures negatively.

I was wrong. Although it pops up whenever your digital SLR, such as your Olympus, needed more light, it simply did not provide enough creative freedom.

Professional photographers have talent, but one thing they have mastered is the use of light. And you cannot benefit from light if all you use is the on-camera flash.

Your on-camera flash does not move. It will always hit your subjects at the same angle. It is not very strong. It cannot light up entire rooms.

In most cases, it simply isn't enough!

One day, I bought an Olympus FL-50R. It was an investment, but I wanted to try using it to see how it will affect my pictures. At the time, I thought that if I didn't like it, I could sell it again. That thought never crossed my mind once I used it.

Off-camera flashes can tilt and swivel, which allows you to bounce the light off of ceilings and walls. This allows you to take pictures that aren't washed out. This versatility in movement gives you softer and more realistic lighting.

Furthermore, if you have a flash cord, you can take your flash off of your camera. You can lift it higher than your camera, or place it below your subjects. You can place it to the side, and create awesome shadow effects. You can have fun.

My Olympus FL-50R also helped a lot with autofocus capabilities. I take a lot of pictures in nightclubs, and the autofocus is weak. With the off-camera flash, I have an extra red light that helps make this autofocus much more accurate.

Finally, the Olympus FL-50R is much more powerful than the on-camera Olympus flash. It allows me to light up the entire room if I need to.

I highly recommend at least playing around with an off-camera flash when you get the chance. The quality of pictures you obtain are worth adding it to your camera toolbox.

And most importantly, have fun!