I do use it in outdoor portraits when I have to. I much prefer to use a reflector to keep the more natural look to it. Its not always the best way to go, It can be overwhelming sometimes, and hard to get right sometimes. I'm not really keen on what flash does to skin tones, but in lieu of having dark pics, I'll take the flash. Fill flash in daylight is the only time I ever use the on camera flash, so getting a good external is a great investment. Good Luck.