What can you do with just one flash? (Part two)

By Greg Basco | 7 October 2026

This is the second part of a two part series on off-camera flash photography. You can see part one, from last week, here.

Use Flash to Create Your Own Lighting

To completely craft your own light, you must eliminate ambient light from the equation. This means achieving an exposure that would be pure black without my flash.

That is, you want to completely underexpose your photo. This is basically impossible in any of the priority camera modes. You need to be in full manual shooting mode so that you can have full control over aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Now that the flash is your sole light source, get it off-camera using a transmitter or sync cord. Leaving the flash on your camera hot shoe creates flat, direct, on-axis light with no shadows—which is exactly why many flash photos look artificial.

Off-camera flash allowed me to create beautiful soft light on this nocturnal Brown Vine Snake (Oxybelis aeneus). Canon 7D Mark II, Sigma 150mm macro lens. 1/200s @ f4, ISO 100. Godox flash transmitter, Godox V860 flash in TTL mode, LumiQuest softbox.

Use Flash to Portray Motion and Freeze Action

Flashes don't just add light; they can act as an incredibly fast shutter speed. To freeze hyper-fast action, kill the ambient light in full Manual Mode, and switch your flash to Manual.

The duration of a flash burst changes based on its power setting. High power (1/1 or 1/2) requires a relatively long blast of light (around 1/750th). Low power settings (1/16th or 1/32nd) produce incredibly brief, microscopic bursts of light that last only 1/10,000th or 1/20,000th of a second.

Since you’ve eliminated ambient light from the sensor, your true exposure time isn't your camera's shutter speed; it's the duration of the flash.

Here, I used off-camera flash set at low power to produce a very brief flash pop that gave added sharpness to contrast in this image of a Violet Sabrewing hummingbird (Campylopterus hemileucurus) with wing blur during this slow shutter speed image. Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 70-300mm lens @ 300mm. 1/50s @ f5.6, ISO 800. Induro tripod, Godox flash transmitter, Godox V860 flash in manual mode.

An interesting way to capture both blur and frozen action in the same photo is to combine a slow shutter speed (which allows light to build up on the shutter over a longer period of time) along with a short flash pop that will freeze the action for just a split second.

So, for example, if you have a continuous light source (such as natural light or a small LED panel or flashlight) you could set your exposure for a moving subject at 1 second.

There is going to be a lot of blur as the subject moves during that time, but there will be an area of defined sharpness from the flash pop. This is effectively a double exposure in a single frame.

A red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) on a Panama Hat Palm leaf. Canon R5, Canon 100mm macro lens. 1/200s @ f16, ISO 100. Godox X Nano C flash transmitter, Godox V860 II flash in TTL mode held off-camera with LumiQuest soft box. Handheld.

My Recommended Flash Gear

Following are a few of the products that I use on a daily basis in my photography. I highly recommend the Godox flash system as there is compatibility across the lineup from the smallest flash units to large studio strobes.

And any given Godox flash unit with built-in wireless capability will work with any camera system! You just need to have a Godox flash transmitter that matches the camera brand.

These flashes and accessories help me to capture images on a daily basis wherever I work.

Godox V860III – A great all-around hotshoe flash with built-in wireless capability, rechargeable Lithium battery, and a modeling lighting
Godox V860II – The previous version of the above flash lacks a modeling light but is still a fantastic all-around flash
Godox AD200 – This flash packs the power of a studio strobe in a smaller, portable form factor. I use it when working in bright sunlight
Godox TT350 – This small flash unit is not powerful but has built-in wireless capability and is great for macro photography
Godox TT685 – This flash is very similar to the V860 line (but uses regular AA batteries), making it a great and even more affordable all-around flash unit
Godox TT600 – Similar in size to the above flash, this unit lacks TTL functionality but is a great, inexpensive flash for someone who wants to give flash a try without breaking the bank
Godox Nano X3 Pro – This small radio frequency flash transmitter has a touchscreen and charges via USB-C
LumiQuest SoftBox III – This is my softbox of choice for macro photography because it provides for incredibly soft light.
Better Beamer – This handy little flash modifier uses a fresnel lens to give your flash a little extra boost. This allows to reach further and to recycle more quickly between shots.
Vello TTL Flash Cord – This is an affordable and reliable flash cord that allows you move your flash off-camera for macro work or for use with a telephoto lens flash bracket.