Twenty Something Sense

Why do so many people not understand when to use their camera flash? I’m amazed at how often I see people using the wrong flash setting which very simply can be the difference between a good and bad picture. I’m far from a professional photographer, but let me try to lay out some very basic advice that should help everyone get a few more pictures to turn out.

Practically every (point and shoot) digital camera made gives you three flash options – On, Off and Auto. You will generally want to keep your camera on Auto, but there are times you will need to manually set it On or Off.

1. A basic camera flash will only project light about 10 feet. If you are taking a picture of something in the distance at night or in low light – turn your flash off. Leaving your flash on (which the camera will do if you have it set to Auto) will light up the foreground and cause the background (what you are taking a picture of) to be far too dark.
2. If you are taking a picture of people with a very bright background, such as the sun or a bright blue sky, you should make sure to have your flash on. Leaving the flash off (which the camera will do if set to Auto) will leave the faces of the people very dark and you will be disappointed.
3. Taking pictures through a window, perhaps a car or bus window, or say looking out from a scenic viewing area on top of the Hancock building in Chicago or the CN Tower in Toronto, is risky enough with the dirty glass covered in endless water spots and fingerprints that you must shoot through. Adding a camera flash to this equation is suicide for your prints because of the reflection of the flash off of the glass that will appear in all of your photos. If you are taking pictures of an object through a piece of glass – turn your flash Off.

Any other flash tips from the group?