Practical Considerations with Flash

Here are some practical considerations and tips for using flash. Flash is best for illuminating your subject if he would otherwise squint from the bright sun or artificial light. With flash, your subject’s eyes will be open naturally.

Since babies often object to continuous bright light, the short burst of flash light is perfect for photographing them, flash also makes it easier to capture babies' actions because babies move and change expression so quickly. When using flash, remember proper exposure is based on the distance between the flash and the subject. If the subject varies in distance to the camera, the illumination will vary. So it is best to angle your subject, or flash, to provide even illumination. A Ping-Pong match photographed from one end of the table with the flash on the camera would result in one player being too light and the other too dark. Bouncing the flash off the ceiling to illuminate the entire table and playing area evenly is one solution. Another is to fire the flash from one side of the table to light both players equally. Always remember the depth and widths of your subject are important considerations when figuring how to make effective flash pictures.

Common distractions caused by flash are the shadows in the background. A black outline of the subject is often cast on the wall behind. This can be avoided in several ways. lf the flash is mounted or held directly above the camera lens, the shadows from the light will fall directly behind the subject and not be recorded. Unfortunately some hot shoes or accessory shoes to hold flash units are mounted to the side of the camera lens. lf possible, remove the unit so it can be held directly above the lens.

If your flash unit mounting is above the lens when the camera is held in a horizontal position, remember if you turn the camera to make a vertical picture, the flash will then be at the side. Unpleasant shadows can result to avoid this, take the flash unit off the camera and hold it just above the lens.

Before making your picture, remember to check the angle of your flashunit so that it is pointed at the subject. Sometimes, while holding, setting, and then tripping your camera, you’ll inadvertently direct the flash unit in the wrong direction. Check it just prior to shooting.

You also can avoid shadows on the background by bouncing the flash off the ceiling, if possible. Otherwise, move your subject away from the background so any shadows will be lost in the darkness behind the subject. If the flash light cannot reach the background, shadows from the subject cannot reflect back to the film in the camera.

Also beware of shiny objects in the background which may cause a glaring reflection of the flash light Windows or mirrors are the worst. Highly polished wood paneling or furniture, or enamel painted walls, throw back distracting light reflections, too. Move your subjects away from such shiny surfaces, or place your flash so the angle of reflected light will not return into the camera's lens.

Do not tell your subjects when you are going to fire your flash or they may anticipate the bright light and close their eyes. If someone says they blinked during the picture, ask if they saw a pink or white light lf pink, they saw the flash light through their eyelids and so their eyes were probably closed during the exposure. Make another.

Sometimes photographs reveal a subject with abnormal red or pink eyes. This is caused by the flash light reflecting off the retina or interior of the eyes back into the camera lens. Avoid this by changing the location of your flash. Hold it about a foot above your camera. The angle of light will then be different and will not reflect off the, eyes' retinas into your lens. There are special flash extenders to raise camera-mounted flash units.

Likewise, if your subject wears glasses and is looking into the camera, keep the flash angle higher than the camera to avoid a reflection. With on camera flash, have your subject wearing eyeglasses tilt his head down slightly so the flash reflection will be angled below the camera lens.

Your flash techniques will improve with practice. Just remember to try experiments using flash off your camera as bounce light or fill-in light. Frontal flat lighting resulting with on camera flash use will provide acceptable illumination. But other approaches to flash lighting will produce more creative photographs.

Even if you prefer to use only existing light, a flash can be valuable. Buy one and try it. An inexpensive electronic flash will get you started. Later, a more powerful and versatile automatic electronic flash unit may fit into your photographic budget and be a worthwhile addition in your gadget bag.

But be sure to test your new flash equipment before you really need to use lt. Otherwise you may miss an important picture. And always make sure your batteries are fresh or recharged.