I am sure you all know that I usually use flash in my photography. But not always.

I use flash to get light under my control. Light that goes where I want it to, from where I want it to come from. I do this to get modelling, to get shadows with effect, to get dark backgrounds and great contrast. Hard light is fine, even – as long as it is off camera.

But sometimes, existing light gives me that:

This gave me what I wanted:

• The shaft of light coming diagonally from the side.
• The shadow coming from Mau’s head.
• The whiskers sharp, offset against the dark.
• The eye sharp – view at original size to see this.
• Simple – simplicity is everything.

Nice, no? And done manually, with manual focus. And no adjustment in Lightroom except a very slight crop.

So while flash gives you the possibility to make this kind of light every time, if it’s already there, you do not need to create it.