Speedlite and flash photography

I recently purchased a Speedlite 430ex ii and though I havent had as much time to use my camera I'm starting to wonder is there a need for this flash. My main purpose of my camera long term will be for hobby film making, short movies and things of that nature.

I currently use a walk around lens and my nifty fifty for street photography but never really seen myself doing weddings or portraits or anything professional in terms of pictures.

I do sometimes go to events and venue's and hope for nice quality pictures, and with my eye fi I sometimes sell the photos of people in groups for $5 or so bucks via text but thats all.

Is there something more to flash photography that I should know???? I paid full retail for this, but thinking of taking it back to get a Rokinon Cine lens and Neewer LED light that will actually be used towards filming.

There is a ton of things about flash photography that you should know. People tend to think that a flash is about times when you need more light, when in reality its about putting light where you need it more often than not. Whether you want to learn it, and whether its worth the price for you to keep it, is a personal decison. But once you learn how to use a flash properly you'll not want to be without one ever again.

gonzogolf wrote in post #16063541
There is a ton of things about flash photography that you should know. People tend to think that a flash is about times when you need more light, when in reality its about putting light where you need it more often than not. Whether you want to learn it, and whether its worth the price for you to keep it, is a personal decison. But once you learn how to use a flash properly you'll not want to be without one ever again.

Ahhh thats what I was thinking, have you ever used any of the Yongnuo? I think flash could help but just not sure if the $265 (after tax) price point I paid is worth it to me, but a flash for $100 would definitely be worth the value.

KeenanRIVALS wrote in post #16063564
Ahhh thats what I was thinking, have you ever used any of the Yongnuo? I think flash could help but just not sure if the $265 (after tax) price point I paid is worth it to me, but a flash for $100 would definitely be worth the value.

I dont have any real personal experience with them. Their original models were a bit shaky in terms of build quality, the newer ones seem to be better. I have some other YN products that I quite like however. If you get one, make sure its an ETTL capable model.

KeenanRIVALS wrote in post #16063564
Ahhh thats what I was thinking, have you ever used any of the Yongnuo? I think flash could help but just not sure if the $265 (after tax) price point I paid is worth it to me, but a flash for $100 would definitely be worth the value.

The 430ex2 is a great little flash. Actually, its pretty powerful - Ive used it with my Mamiya RZ67 and a wireless trigger/receiver pair from calumet.

Additionally they seem to hold decent resale value should you choose to sell the 430 and get something else in the future. What that something else looks like is entirely up to how you shoot

think about it this way. Imagine how a show like "LIVE with Kelly and Michael" is lit for tv broadcasting. With a lot of powerful LED lights of course. Sometimes the show will leave the studio and go on location somewhere. Even for outdoors, the lighting goes with them. If they go somewhere indoors, it's the same scenario. You can't rely on surrounding light all of the time. It's too limiting to think that 100% of the time you can rely on ambient light. And when you have to shoot in a spot with bad light (i.e. fluorescent) your flash gives you the ability overpower the available light and produce clean light from a source/direction/size/​softness/etc of your choice. As a wedding photographer, I see a lot of BAD light. Whether there just isn't enough of it, or if the color of the light is just crap, the bad typically outweighs the good. I'm in the business of taking good pictures. I want my business to move forward. I can't maintain happy customers using the crap light that is naturally available. You don't have to be a wedding photographer to be in a position to start taking control of light. You just need to want to control light to be a better photographer whatever it is you're taking pictures of - pretty much what gonzogolf already said.

ETTL is a good tool for fast changing light conditions. I've locked my canon speedlight into manual mode before with fairly consistent results. It would be tricky shooting with just my vivitar flash as it is far less reliable (they often act up, stop functioning) and the lack of features make is useful for only a few situations compared to the convenience of the 580EX.

I consider a good on-camera flash an ESSENTIAL if you want decent pictures at events, parties, gatherings, etc. If you want amazing photos, you'll need to get the flash off camera and put it on a stand to the side. When I first started with photography, I also got the 430exII. I learned how it behaved in ETTL mode while in Av mode on the camera, I learned that in some settings, the flash automatically sets the power a bit too low for my taste, so I know I have to boost up the power with flash exposure compensation. Learn the different effects you get with aiming the flash directly forward, bounced up to the ceiling, bounced to the side wall, and even bounced directly behind you to a wall. They all have different effects and when you learn it, it'll separate you from the compact point n shoot camera users and get you into a true DSLR user.

Also... I hated the 430ex for one thing, the buttons are ridiculously hard to press if you have large fingers. If possible, get a used 580ex since they are selling for fairly cheap nowadays since the 600ex came out