I cannot stress enough how important gaining a solid understanding of flash is when it comes to good portraiture-both in and outdoors; without it you are limited to what ambient light can provide; in learning flash you truly begin to learn light. How it moves, bends, and bounces. The shadows it casts and the reflections it renders. Learning flash teaches you little nuances about light in a controlled environment that you can than take with you and apply to the outside world. And before long you find yourself looking at subjects in a whole different way. How does the light fall? How will it bounce, diffract, or diffuse in the environment you’re in? Where are the shadows falling? Are they sharp or soft? Are we working with direct hard light, or the lovely soft light that a cloudy day provides. Harsh mid-day sun but that is our only option you say? Ok, time to overpower the sun with some high-speed sync and balance out those harsh shadows and make for a lovely image! Simply put, learning the “Art of the Portrait” causes you to look at the world of light in a whole different way.