When can I use the flash on my smartphone?
The answer is not simple and the easiest is still to list the times in which it should NOT be used.
- To improve the brightness of a photo in low light: in this case, it is better to go through the night mode of the smartphone. The Night mode of recent Samsung Galaxy smartphones often does much better.
- For taking a photo of a distant object or a wide scene in the dark. We said it a little earlier, for the flash to be really effective, get as close as possible to your subject.
- To take a picture behind glass. It is simply unnecessary, because the light will then reflect in the glass.
It's simple, with its limited range and power, the flash will never beautify your photos. In general, we recommend that you use the flash only for very special situations. Its use is essentially prohibited for practical purposes: to take a photo of an object in the dark for example (to put it on sale on a second-hand site for example) or to take a “reminder” photo (an indication, something to remember) in the dark.
Here is the same photo of madeleines, but taken without flash with the Night mode of the Galaxy S20. The photo is already more successful and much more readable.
It can also come in handy for photographing people at parties in dark places. The harsh light from the flash is then ideal for bringing out the emotions on the faces of people partying.
Two flashes are better than one
Finally, the best use of a smartphone flash to take a photo in the dark is when it is used as a flashlight to illuminate the subject. And to do this, we advise you to use the flash of a second smartphone in the form of a torch to constantly diffuse a light around the subject.
The idea here is to take advantage of the performance of the Night mode of smartphones to highlight a lit subject using one (or two, ideally) flashlight from a smartphone flash. By positioning the light above or to the side of the subject, it is then possible to give a dramatic or theatrical side to your shot.
To get a great photo with a flash, finally, use the flashlight flash of a second smartphone to illuminate the subject. This mini-projector immediately gives much more cachet to the shot.
With this trick, the flash of a smartphone is really useful. It allows you to make a beautiful photo with a very worked atmosphere. Before even activating the flash in the options of your smartphone, instead ask around if someone can light the scene for you with the flash of their own smartphone. It is a simple and convenient source of light to access.
Do a little editing on the photo lit by a second smartphone and you get a really good photo.
