Flash photography has never really been a major part of my photographic career. Like many photographers, I have used flash when I absolutely needed to, usually in poorly lit rooms, dark venues, or situations where the available light simply was not doing enough. It was always more of a practical necessity than a creative choice.
But over the years, as camera technology improved, I slowly put the flash down. Modern cameras have become so good in low light, with incredible ISO performance, better sensors, and cleaner files, that flash started to feel less essential. Why carry another piece of kit when you can simply raise the ISO, open the aperture, and let the camera do the work?
That was my thinking for a long time, until recently, when I picked up a cheap camera flash for my Leica (a Zeniko ZA-12S, costing $40 / £48) and decided to take it out for a walk. There was no big plan, no technical experiment, and certainly no grand creative project behind it. I simply wanted to see what would happen if I added flash back into my photography, not in a studio or a dark interior, but out in the real world during daylight hours.
While exploring my local area, I stumbled upon a church and started taking photographs. Then I fired the flash. Suddenly, the images had something different. There was a punch, a lift, and a sense of separation that I was not expecting. The light gave the scene a different character, almost as if it had woken up certain parts of the image that would otherwise have sat quietly in the shadows.
What surprised me most was not that the flash worked, but that it made photography feel fun in a slightly different way. It forced me to think again. Instead of only reacting to the natural light, I was adding something to it. I was shaping the image in a small but deliberate way, and that changed how I approached the scene in front of me.
This is where I now see the real appeal of using a camera flash as a fill light during daylight hours. It is not about blasting a subject with artificial light or making an image look obviously flashed. Used carefully, flash can simply lift the shadows, add a little sparkle, and create a more balanced photograph. It can bring out detail in a face, a doorway, a stone wall, or a subject standing against a strong backlight.
For years, I thought of flash as something you reached for when the light was bad. Now I am beginning to see it as something you can use when the light is good, but it needs a little help. That is a very different way of thinking, and it has made me look at a familiar piece of kit in a new way.
There is also something wonderfully freeing about using a simple, inexpensive flash. It does not need to be complicated. You do not need a full lighting setup, stands, modifiers, or a studio bag full of accessories. Sometimes, one small flash on top of the camera is enough to completely change how you approach a walk around town.
Of course, this is not going to replace my love of natural light, and I am certainly not about to turn every photograph into a flash-heavy experiment. But it has reminded me that photography should be playful. It should involve trying things, making mistakes, and occasionally rediscovering tools you thought you had left behind.
For me, adding a flash back into my camera bag has been one of those small creative jolts that makes photography feel exciting again. It has made me slow down, experiment, and look for ways to add light rather than simply chase it. And, perhaps most importantly, it has reminded me that sometimes the cheapest bit of kit can have the biggest impact on how you see the world.
Check out our guide to the best camera flashguns
