Understanding the Exposure Diamond and How It Affects Flash Photography

Up until yesterday, I only thought there was the exposure triangle (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed) that was required to create a balanced image but turns out that immediately you introduce strobe/flash into your photography, the dynamics for getting what is considered a balanced image completely changes.

Mark Wallace of Adorama TV breaks down the exposure diamond (four parts; ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, Flash) and how it works. While the diamond consists of four parts, the way it works is broken into two triangles; the exposure triangle (ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed) and the flash triangle (ISO, Aperture, and Flash). The shutter speed and flash control two separate segments of the image and as such work independently of each other. The shutter speed controls the ambient light while the flashlights the subject, so dependent on the look you’re aiming for, you can either adjust the flash or shutter to achieve the desired results.

Watch the video below to get more detail on the subject matter: