Should I invest in an external flash?

I used to think of myself as a strictly "natural light" photographer. I would do almost all of my photoshoots outside, during the day. Then, I had a few clients wanting lifestyle sessions on the inside of their homes. The thing about doing a session inside of someone else's home is that you cannot control the amount of natural light they have inside their home.

I asked for an external flash for Christmas (and got it, thanks Mom), and I was INSTANTLY amazed at the change in my indoor photography. Now, I haven't tried my external on much else besides Indoor Photography, but there's a few blog posts I've been reading and some things I definitely want to try out in the future...

Here is an example of the difference an external flash can make:

The photo on the left was taken with the built-in raised flash on my DSLR. It was about 7:30 PM and noticeably dark outside. There was both a floor lamp and a ceiling fan light on in the room. The photo on the right was taken not even 30 seconds after the first one, but with my external flash. The flash was bouncing off the wall, instead of it hitting her directly in the face so harshly. The photo on the right almost looks like it was taken during the day AND she looks a lot happier because there wasn't a blinding light in her face! AMAZING.

PLEASE NOTE: Neither of these photos have been edited AT ALL.

Again, like I mentioned before, I am no where near a professional when it comes to the uses of an external flash, but if you are a new photographer and wondering if you should invest in an external flash, I vote yes.

The one I was given was only around $50 on Amazon. It's an inexpensive way to improve your photography.

Good luck!