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Using the Flash
The flash on your camera (either inbuilt, or a separate, more powerful one) is an often forgotten tool that maximises your pictorial potential
To Flash Or Not To Flash
Your built in flash is a great tool and should be used in appropriate situations. For most of its life your camera will function perfectly on auto flash.
Flash, however, is a harsh, un-natural light. It is often not very flattering for portraits, partly because it is too directional and is coming from an un-natural angle.
If you can utilise natural light, you will get a more attractive result. Ask your subject to move closer to a window where the softer, more natural light falls on them. If you can do this, also try turning off your flash (look for the control with the icon like a lightning bolt) and let the camera expose for the existing light. You will need to encourage your subject to be still and you will have to be conscious of holding the camera steady during the exposure.
Generally, your flash will not cope with being closer than 60–80cm from the subject. Any closer will cause washed out photos that are too bright. Check the specifications of your own camera.
Most inbuilt flash max. output is limited to about 2 – 2.5 meters. Beyond that the illumination of the flash falls off very quickly.
So all those flashes you see going off at the MCG, at the Olympics, at concerts are only illuminating the two rows of seats in front of the camera. The visual effect on the TV is stunning as thousands of flashes fire in the stadium but the photos from those cameras will be disappointing to say the least. This is another of those situations where the best solution may be to turn the flash off.
The actual playing field or stage is usually well lit so the cameras auto exposure system will cope reasonably well without the flash. You will need to hold the camera steady and fast action on the field may blur but it's certainly worth a try. One of the joys of using a digital camera is the ability to see what you have taken straight away and re-shoot it if you need to.
If you find that the subject is over-exposed (too bright), most cameras have the ability to over-ride the exposure. Look for the icon on the controls with a + and a – in a square. In this case you can opt to under expose [-] (make darker) so the subject on the field is correctly exposed.
Solving Backlighting Problems
One of the common problem situations we find is when the subject is in front of a bright light source. There are two camera solutions to this.
Using the flash on/fill flash is the easiest. The camera has probably decided that there is enough light without using the flash, depending on how sophisticated the metering system is and how large a proportion of the image the subject is.
Turning the flash on will force the flash to fire and light the subject.
(Another solution is to force the camera to over expose. Again, this is the control with the icon of the + and – in the square. This time we want to over expose [+] (make brighter).
By forcing the camera to let more light in through the lens, we get a better exposure of the subject. The background will wash out dramatically, but we will see more detail in the subject.)
Overcoming Shadows on a Sunny Day
Often when you are shooting outdoors, you will find that shadows fall across your subject. In portraiture that could be from a hat or shadows of tree branches etc.
The solution here is again to use the flash on/fill flash function. The camera thinks that there is enough light so on auto, will not choose to use the flash. But turning the flash on, it will light the subject and get rid of most of the shadows. Remember to work within the distance limitations of your flash, although it may be worth trying even if the subject is a little further away. The effect will be reduced but it may be enough light to improve the photo.
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