Fill Flash for Wildlife Photography

Fill Flash is supplemental lighting used in scenes or with wildlife under some of the lighting conditions mentioned above. It’s never employed as the main light source but instead provides some gentle light where the natural light is shadowed or weak. The goal is to produce a balance between the electronic flash and the available ambient light.
You should always use TTL (Through-The-Lens) flash metering so that the camera will measure the ambient light and recommend a flash output to create the balance that you want. Sometimes the flash output is too strong, so I’ll dial in flash exposure compensation -0.7 or -1.3. When shooting a scene that has very strong backlight, I’ll add more flash output using flash exposure compensation of +1.0.



Fill Flash with Flash Extenders
One big problem using fill flash with wildlife photography is that the light from the flash doesn’t carry very far in distance. This is where a flash extender becomes useful. A flash extender concentrates the flash output into a narrow angle of view covered by a 300mm lens or longer The light output that would be wasted outside of the angle of view is now intensified and focused into your frame. This pushes the power of the flash to a greater distance, making it useful for telephoto lenses. The two flash extenders I would recommend are the MagMod MagBeam Wildlife Kit (it’s a universal fit for speed light models) and the Better Beamer Flash Extender (which comes in different models for different speed light models. make sure you buy the right model).

Fill Flash with Wide-angle Lenses
It’s possible to use fill flash with wide-angle wildlife photography. First, it must be said that doing any wide-angle photography with wild creatures can be dangerous (to both the photographer and the subject) since you really need to get in close. Each animal species and situation is different so use good judgement here. If going really wide, be sure to check your speed light for angle of flash output so that it matches the local length of your lens. Below, I purposely set the flash angle at 50mm even though the lens being used was 24mm. That’s because I wanted a spot light effect on the foreground seal while keeping the rest of the scene dark.

When using fill flash at close range – such as situations when using a wide-angle lens – the flash output can be harsh and too direct. In these situations, I like to add a small soft box to the speed light to soften the light from the flash. I like the Altura Photo Flash Diffuser Light Softbox that folds flat and fits easily inside my camera bag. The 6×5-inch model works great for me but they also make a 9×7-inch option and a larger 13×8-inch model as well. They attach to the speed light with a simple Velcro strap.
Below you can see the attached Altura Photo Flash Diffuser from the front (left) and the side (right).


IMG using flash
I Love those seals!l Lighter side he or she looked younger.. how faraway were you ? That lion in tree .. she likes that spot.. you were far enough away not to bother her.. wish I could sleep like that in a tree.. nice picture
Thanks, Richard. Very useful information on technique and equipment. This old guy loves adding new skills to improve his photography.
This is wonderful! I love your detailed articles of instruction.. especially for those of us who are amateurs and still have so much to learn! It’s SO appreciated! Thank you for sharing this.. it’s something to place on my goals list!! – After I master my camera settings first! Lol BTW… I LOVED the seal image with the flash..it’s his little personality.. at that moment he felt like a “celebrity!” – I love all your wildlife work..Richard…thank you for sharing your travels with the world!!
Great article Richard. You always provide great information! Thank you!!
I can fully endorse the Better Beamer. Best £50 I ever spent
What do you do when you use a 400 mm lens (where your shooter speed is almost 1/500 sec) and your camera X-sync at 1/200 or 1/250 sec?
“Too direct,” not “to direct.” I weep for the English language.
Thanks for making me aware of the typo. Fixed. Here’s a Xanax
What kind of range is the flash extender useful for? I.e. if I’m shooting birds that require a 600mm lens (on a FF camera) and a 1.4X teleconverter, will the flash extender actually get the strobe light out far enough to make any difference in my photo?
Also, what if I’m shooting birds in flight, with shutter speeds of 1/2000 to 1/4000? Will the light from a strobe using HSS get out that far?
My gut feeling is that the answer is No in both cases.