Is an external flash for my Nikon DSLR mandatory?

I'm not a professional photographer but love photography. I'm more into portrait, indoor, and street/travel photography. I own a Nikon D3200 and the 50mm Nikkor prime lens.

Light is always a problem. No matter how much I tweak the shutter speed, aperture, iso… I'm trading off on some other parameter. On the other hand, external flash is bulky and pricey. Is flash definitely necessary for low light indoor photography or is there any other solution to this

I'm not a professional photographer but love photography. I'm more into portrait, indoor, and street/travel photography. I own a Nikon D3200 and the 50mm Nikkor prime lens.

Light is always a problem. No matter how much I tweak the shutter speed, aperture, iso… I'm trading off on some other parameter. On the other hand, external flash is bulky and pricey. Is flash definitely necessary for low light indoor photography or is there any other solution to this For portraiture, a small speedlight is a must - it broadens your possibilities, and gives you more 'bang for your buck' than fast glass or a new camera body.

Ideally you have the flash off camera, so you can control it's size(via modifiers) and direction.

If you don't use it off camera then you at the very least need one that has a bounce/tilt head so you can bounce the light off of a nearby neutral surface.

It needn't be expensive - a manual speedlight and off camera trigger costs around £45. I wouldn't rely on TTL (Auto) flash - like most things Auto, it often gets it wrong. Learn to light manually.

I use Yongnuo 560-III and RF602 triggers with my Nikons. As a small portable solution, a speedlight, with a head that can be aimed, can do wonders with the right knowledge. Speedlights mount on the camera and those made for your camera (pricier models like the Nikon SB700) have TTL metering which is kind of magic. To use a speedlight mounted on camera, you need to learn about bounce flash. I typically use walls, but ceilings, the backs of people with white shirts, reflector boards, sheets are also fair game for a bounce surface. Visit the Strobist web site, as well as YouTube for some tutorials. http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

You can also use speedlights off camera, however, since your camera doesn't support CLS, you will need to use a cable to connect the flash to the camera or a radio trigger. Radio triggers can get expensive if you want to maintain TTL metering. Dumb radio triggers can be had for under $100.
Cheap cable:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...d_for.html" class='ext_link'>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...d_for.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/..._cord.html" class='ext_link'>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/..._cord.html Nothing is "mandatory". It simply comes down to how good you want your photography to be. Amateur snapshot level or pro level. You use the tools to create what you want / need. If your main interest is portraits and indoor shooting, then you really should have a flash. This way you won't have to compromise on shutter speed or up your ISO too high to get a decent exposure. Having a flash mans you can control the light and the mood of the shot too.

As a small portable solution, a speedlight, with a head that can be aimed, can do wonders with the right knowledge. Speedlights mount on the camera and those made for your camera (pricier models like the Nikon SB700) have TTL metering which is kind of magic. To use a speedlight mounted on camera, you need to learn about bounce flash. I typically use walls, but ceilings, the backs of people with white shirts, reflector boards, sheets are also fair game for a bounce surface. Visit the Strobist web site, as well as YouTube for some tutorials. http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

You can also use speedlights off camera, however, since your camera doesn't support CLS, you will need to use a cable to connect the flash to the camera or a radio trigger. Radio triggers can get expensive if you want to maintain TTL metering. Dumb radio triggers can be had for under $100.
Cheap cable:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/749787-REG/Vello_OCS_N6_TTL_Off_Camera_Flash_Cord_for.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1076233-REG/vello_ocs_n33_off_camera_ttl_flash_cord.html

Nothing is "mandatory". It simply comes down to how good you want your photography to be. Amateur snapshot level or pro level. You use the tools to create what you want / need.

If your main interest is portraits and indoor shooting, then you really should have a flash. This way you won't have to compromise on shutter speed or up your ISO too high to get a decent exposure. Having a flash mans you can control the light and the mood of the shot too.