Flash Digital Photography Basics

The most important factor in the overall quality of a photograph is lighting. The chances of finding perfect natural lighting are slim. Using the flash feature will help a great deal with your digital photography.  Here are some flash digital photography basics that will help with your photography.

The top two flash digital photography basics are 1) know your flash range and 2) guard against for red eye.

Most digital cameras have an auto flash feature. This allows the camera to adjust for when the lighting is too low for a good shot and the camera will activate the flash. Many people think that this is sufficient.  The auto flash is on and that is all they need.  Just point and click.  When the photo turns out dark, the photographer blames the camera. After all, the flash was on.  The camera was supposed to handle the lighting automatically.

Today’s camera technology is good.  This is a fact. But it is not a miracle worker. Common sense tells us that if the flash could light up the shadow under a bunch of trees on the other side of the lawn, it would have to be one gigantic flash.  Likely it would be big enough to temporarily blind the people being photographed. 

The average range of a flash on a digital camera is about 15 feet.  Beyond 15 feet, the flash is not very effective. When you consider that flash is typically used for indoor photography where there is not a lot of natural light, you can see that this range will satisfy most indoor photo taking purposes.

The auto flash feature (or the flash feature that you can turn on when needed) will also serve a purpose outdoors. If it is an overcast day or the light is getting dim as the evening settles in, the flash can compensate for the lack of light – but only up to a range of 15 feet.  If you want a photo taken in the shadows under a group of trees, then you can move to within 15 feet of the trees and make sure the flash is on.

A real downside of using the flash feature is that people and animals often end up with the red eye effect. This is cause by the light from the flash striking the retina of the eye and bouncing back. The best way to avoid red eye is to have the subjects keep from looking directly at the camera. This way the light won’t hit the retina and therefore cannot bounce back.  Check your camera for red eye reduction. This feature sends out a little flash just before the real flash.  The effect of this is that the little flash causes the pupils of the eye to contract just before the full flash of the camera.  The reduction in pupil size lowers the bounce back effect on the retina of the eye.

These are two flash digital photography basics that will eliminate a large percent of the problems you have with your photos taken in low light.