HSS Flash Makes Bright Sun a Dramatic Background

HSS photography featuring a Maria Callas rose blossom with pink petals, surrounded by dark green leaves. — *Maria Callas rose*

An HSS flash is a great piece of equipment for any photographer’s kit. I recently used mine at the Jindai Botanical Garden Rose Festival in October 2022 and was thrilled with the stunning results it produced.

In the past, my photos were often nothing special—typically just flowers in a garden, sometimes with a bit of bokeh. For this shoot, however, I wanted to create something a little more eye-popping.

Jindai Botanical Garden featuring a central fountain and paths, with a large greenhouse and trees in the background under a blue sky. — *Jindai Botanical Garden’s rose garden with the greenhouse in the distance*

My goal was to make the flowers pop with vibrant color, but the harsh midday sun made that impossible. I knew I needed something special. It was time to reacquaint myself with an old friend: High-Speed Sync (HSS) flash.

HSS photography featuring a dark pink dahlia Fuyu-no-Seiza flower with a yellow center against a dark background. — *Dahlia Fuyu-no-Seiza*

HSS flash can overpower the sun. It created dramatic effects that were perfect for the striking, spiky shapes of the Dahlias that were also in bloom nearby.

HSS photography featuring a Queen of Jindai rose blossom with dark red petals against a dark background. — *Queen of Jindai rose*

What is HSS flash photography?

Have you ever used a flash? Using them is a good idea when you need more light. But they can be problematic for photographers. What is the problem?

Ingrid Bergman rose featuring a honeybee pollinating its petals, surrounded by dark green leaves in a garden. — *Ingrid Bergman rose*

The problem is timing. Most cameras have a maximum flash shutter speed, known as the “sync speed.” On my Fujifilm X-T3, it was 1/250 of a second, though it may vary on other brands. If you try to shoot faster than this limit, a dark bar will ruin your photo because the shutter isn’t fully open when the flash fires.

HSS photography featuring a Selina dahlia flower with red petals and a bee on its yellow center amidst green leaves. — *Dahlia Selina*

Thankfully, HSS (High-Speed Sync) lets you ignore that barrier. With HSS enabled, the sky is the limit. I could use my Fujifilm X-T3’s maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 of a second, which allowed me to darken the background.

HSS photography featuring a Kronenbourg rose blossom with red and cream petals against a dark background. — *Kronenbourg rose*

A general guide to setting up HSS

While every camera is slightly different, the process is generally the same. You don’t need a manual, just look for these settings:

On your flash: Find the button with a lightning bolt symbol and an “H” or the letters “HSS.” Press it until you see “HSS” appear on the flash’s LCD screen.
In your camera menu: Go to your camera’s “Flash Settings” menu. Find the option for “Flash Sync Speed” and set it to “Auto FP(HSS)” or the highest available number with a sync symbol next to it. This tells the camera it’s okay to break the normal speed limit.
Go manual: Switch your camera to Manual Mode (M). This gives you full control to balance the dark background (controlled by shutter speed) with the bright subject (controlled by flash power).

That’s it! You are now ready to start shooting in HSS.

Remember this, though. HSS flash photography requires equipment that is capable of doing it. Check before buying anything. If you are not sure, ask the store staff.

HSS photography featuring a dahlia Helena Ruzickova flower with yellow and red-tipped petals against a dark background. — Dahlia Helena Ruzickova

Why use an HSS flash?

Control & darken ambient light

To reduce ambient light, lower the ISO or increase the shutter speed. That might be problematic, so use HSS!
You can darken backgrounds, which is what I did at Jindai. Or, try it with a model at sunset. It can add drama to the sky! Seriously, it will be stunning.

Maintain a shallow depth of field

Some photographers love to blur out backgrounds with a shallow depth of field. Doing this in bright daylight makes it hard to get the proper exposure. They might end up with overexposed photos. Use the HSS flash to kill the ambient light. Yes, this is connected with the previous reason.

Overpower strong sunlight

Many people prefer to shoot around golden hour lighting. But that isn’t always possible. Sometimes, constraints force a shoot during the middle of the day. HSS allows that.

Capture motion on bright days

It’s hard to capture fast-paced movement since most cameras have a flash sync speed of 1/250th of a second. HSS allows you to use high shutter speeds. Let’s be honest. Flowers don’t usually move! Well, if it is windy, they will.

HSS photography featuring a duo dahlia flower with red petals against a dark background. — *Duo dahlia*

How I used HSS at Jindai Botanical Gardens

My equipment

I used a Godox V860 II flash with a homemade bounce card.
I enabled the flash to fire when the camera’s first curtain opened. To do this, check the operating manual.

My camera settings

My base camera settings were:

Shutter speed 1/8000
ISO 200
Aperture f/8.0

HSS photography featuring a red rose blossom surrounded by dark green leaves in a garden.

Is HSS worth learning?

I couldn’t have been happier with the results. As you can see with the rose and dahlia photos, using an HSS flash is a game-changer for controlling harsh ambient light.

HSS photography featuring a Montparnasse rose blossom with coral-pink petals against a dark background. — *Montparnasse rose*

It allows you to bring beautiful, vibrant colors to the forefront while turning a distracting background into a dramatic, dark canvas. If you’ve ever struggled with the midday sun, I highly recommend giving HSS a try.