Foto Friday – Be a Flasher!

One of the best things EVER that the camera manufacturers put in cameras (either digital or film) are built-in flashes. The built-in ones are pretty powerful, convenient, and help to make better pictures. But you have to know how they differ in use in order to use them to your full advantage:

Auto: Camera flashes when ever it thinks you need light. Used for most general picture taking in any low-light scene. Here’s an important tip: Generally the built-in flash on most digital cameras is good from 5-15 feet only.

Red-Eye: helps a little to reduce those red “demon” eyes you can sometimes get with people and pets.

No Flash: huh? I thought we were talking about flash? All cameras have a way to turn the flash off. I can think of two great reasons: one, you’re in a place where they don’t allow flash (like a museum or a wedding), or two, as a creative choice to photograph with the existing light (which might be subtle and beautiful and that flash would ruin…)

Fill-Flash: (The one mode to know to get better pictures!) Wow, really? Here’s what it does: it gives a blast of light (the power you can set on some cameras) that will allow you to open up your shadows and see more details.

Here’s an example:

No Fill flash

With Flash

Learn your different flash modes and expose yourself to better pictures!

Till next week – Keep Snappin’

Stan

(X-Ray of Flash unit courtesy Creative Commons License)