Flash or LED light?

An article for beginner photographers. There are a lot of LED lights on the market, and I'm often asked, "Should I get an LED light or a flash?" or "Which do you prefer? Constant light or flash?" I always try to explain things as clearly as possible, but I don't always succeed. So I thought I'd bring them all together here. I hope I can shed some light on this topic, as many people clearly struggle with it.

It's been a while since I started serious photography. I also have experience working as a lighting assistant for many of the photographers I look up to because they're true professionals. Clients trust them with the most challenging projects. I've never heard these photographers say things like, "Look, man, there's nothing like daylight" or "Flashes are best, everything else is useless." They know how to work with all these light sources and how to use them when necessary. Sometimes they'll use flashes, then LEDs, and the next day, daylight. They know what works best for their situation.

I could go into detail about the technical aspects—the function and parameters of the flash and continuous light—but I don't think anyone would read it. I'd rather boil it down to a short article.

When to use flash?

We use flash when we want to get the most out of our camera and lens and achieve the highest possible quality. We adapt the flash to the camera, not the other way around. This is the basic rule of using flash. Why? Flash provides us with an incredible amount of light in a short instant when the camera shutter is opened. With a powerful flash, we can use a high aperture to create great depth of field in a photo, reduce noise with a low ISO, and use a fast shutter speed to prevent motion blur.

For example, we might set the shutter speed to 1/200th of a second, the aperture to f/8, and the ISO to 100. This isn't a universal setting; every project requires a unique approach. Next, we set the flash. The flash should be adjusted according to our camera settings. With enough experience, we can estimate the flash power setting. If we're not sure how to adjust it, we can experiment. We check if the exposure is too dark or too light and adjust the power accordingly. A final option is to use a flash meter, which will tell us the required flash intensity, and we can adjust it accordingly. We don't need to worry about camera settings; we simply adjust the light.

What about image quality and sharpness? Is it worth considering, or is it too much of a hassle? It depends. If you're working with freelance art, a little noise or blur isn't something you need to worry about. However, if you're taking photos for advertising graphic design that will be printed on billboards and displayed in prestigious venues, you need to provide the graphic designer with the highest quality possible to allow for further processing and full use of the photo.

Thanks to their performance, flashes are also excellent as fill lights for outdoor daylight shots. Digitalis Pro T battery-powered flashes provide approximately 300-400 flashes at full power. With 600Ws of power, we can achieve enough light for a cyclist photo or even a portrait that stands out from the background.

Flashes have a color temperature of around 5400-5600K, which is often difficult to confuse with natural light indoors. They often contain pilot bulbs. These are continuous light sources that facilitate focusing. Sometimes they're even powerful enough for still photography. But we'll get to that later.

When do we use LED lights?

There are plenty of situations. LED lights are suitable for both photography and video, which differentiates them from flashes. First of all, I must say that their performance is significantly lower than that of studio flashes, so camera settings need to be adjusted accordingly.

In most cases, LEDs are a more suitable choice to complement another light source in a scene, as they often allow you to change the color temperature or even the color itself, making them highly adaptable and creative. For example, when shooting in a hotel room with lamps or daylight, we can use them without disrupting the atmosphere. Their biggest advantage is that there's absolutely no difference between what we see in real time and what appears in the photo.

Can the same photo be taken with LED lighting and flash? Unless we reduce the flash's potential and minimize its power, it likely won't be exactly the same. Camera settings—aperture, shutter speed, and ISO—will certainly be different. If we use the same light scene settings and the same modifiers, we won't notice any difference in atmosphere, color tone, or initial impression. There may be differences in noise and depth of field.

Let's take a look at some specific examples
I will try to cover a few specific photography tasks in detail and explain what is suitable for them.

Indoor portrait

What we need is shade, or at least a semi-lit area. On a bright day, a person in shade will stand out at least slightly against the background. However, if we want the light to be stronger or the surrounding background to be darker, we need to use flash, as only a flash can provide the power needed to set a sufficient aperture. In this case, high-speed sync is an advantage, as shooting outdoors at the 1/200 limit isn't exactly a win-win.

If I were choosing lighting for an outdoor shoot, I'd definitely choose flash because of its output, which you can reduce if you want to use a small aperture. Battery flashes' high-speed sync allows you to increase the shutter speed and then darken the scene.

Glamour/Nude
The same rules apply as for portraiture. However, I must admit that I prefer using efficient LED lights with Bowens mounts for this type of photography because they allow me to pay more attention to the details of the female body; when illuminated with continuous light, I can see them right in front of me and prepare everything before taking the photo. Working with LED lights is similar to working with flashes—at least in terms of lighting and light modification. Even shooting with film the old-school way, I would hear almost no noise. In fact, I think LED lights are a more creative choice for glamour and nude photography, as long as no unwanted light (such as fluorescent lights) enters the scene; otherwise, they can distort the colors or create unwanted bright areas in the photo.

What matters is your idea and the environment you want to shoot in. LED lights are my preferred choice for these types of photos in a studio.

Product photography

In this case, I have absolutely no doubt about it, and I can honestly say that whenever possible, regardless of the situation, I prefer studio flashes. Product photography requires excellent depth of field, good image sharpness, maximum noise-free quality, and a perfect white background. I'm not saying this is impossible with LED lights, but it's unnecessarily cumbersome and inefficient. The flash settings allow me to achieve maximum quality output without much hassle.

What would it look like if the photo were taken with LED lights? To shoot at a high aperture, we'd need a very long shutter speed. This means using a very stable tripod to ensure a smooth, shake-free photo. Only then could we approach the aesthetic aspect of photography. The flash's power allows me to prioritize aesthetics from the outset, as I don't have to make any compromises due to the lack of power.

Product photo taken with phone
Yes, it's something we see all too easily these days. Quality expectations aren't very high for inexpensive, small products, and if you have a phone with a good camera, that's possible.

The solution is to use LED lights. Someone taking product photos with a mobile phone clearly isn't looking for an expensive approach. A two-light set, both affordable and with a product table, can also be used here. The table provides the infinite white background we need for the photo. The two 38W LED lights, with a color temperature of 5600K, are suitable for dark spaces and rooms with dim windows, as they're essential for preventing other colors of light from entering the photo. Diffusion shields for both light and shadows can soften shadows and reflections on the products. For softer lighting, use the umbrella included in the package.

Using an app with advanced camera settings is very useful; you can adjust shutter speed, light sensitivity, and focus. In most mobile phone cameras, the aperture is fixed and cannot be adjusted. However, some phones have overcome this problem by using multiple cameras, which means using a different lens to change the aperture.

Is it possible to use studio flash when shooting with a cell phone? Cell phones can't work with studio flashes, at least not yet. The flash is very powerful, and even if it could be synchronized with the phone's shutter, the image would be white due to the fixed aperture.

Sport
In sports photography, while I understand that LED lighting may be preferable for a specific creative project, I definitely prefer flash. However, flash has the ability to freeze motion, providing enough light to darken the surroundings and create contours, or to provide fill light for the athlete if shooting against the sun. In all photography disciplines, your mind is the most important thing.