Pro Tip – When & How to Use FLASH
Most folks have a pop-up flash on their camera (and you have one on your phone too!) but everyone ignores it! Fear of the unknown maybe?
1) Indoors
The most obvious. You are indoors in a dark room. Most phones will do it automatically along with cameras if they have been programmed to do so. By all means, if you have a flash, use it inside!
2) Backlighting
Let’s say you are outside and want to take pictures of your group of friends or a selfie of you and some friends. Instead of putting the sun on your face and making everyone squint, do a 180, put the sun behind you, and turn on your flash!
3) Outside/Cloudy Day
Yes, cloudy days can be very good for portraits- in some cases. When we have our really dark grey days though… you will get dark circles under everyone’s eyes and all other subjects will just look a little muddy in general. So, do some fill flash! Basically, have it go off with half or a quarter of the power of the full setting. This will give your images a nice pop!
4) Diffuser
Have a flash, but want a less sharp more pleasing light on your subject? Often flashes come with one already…but I think most folks ignore it. You can purchase a fairly inexpensive one and put it over your flash to diffuse and soften the light. It’s an excellent tool and I use mine all the time! You can read more about diffusers here.
5) Bounce
Another way to get a more indirect or softer light on a subject is to bounce your flash off the ceiling or walls. Keep in mind, if the wall is purple, then the light will be purple, so this works best on a white surface. Always wondered why it pivots or swivels? This is why!
6) Fill Card
Again, this comes built into many flash units, but if you don’t have one a simple piece of white paper or other material will work. Simply attach it to the backside of your flash when it is pointed straight upwards. Your flash will bounce off this card and add softer fill light to your subject as well as providing a different and lower angle of the shadow.
Experiment with your flash! It can really give your photos the pop they need sometimes!
Read more:
