Twelve Weeks to Better Photos: Week Four, Flash

See the full PDF lesson for the lesson on flash here.

So far this photography course has covered some great information about how to maximize the light you have by using aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Sometimes though, despite all our hoping and wishing, there just isn't enough light available to get the shot you want. Bummer. And that's when you're forced to use your flash.

The reason I say "forced" is because one of the first tips I read anytime someone posts about "how to take better photos" is to turn the flash off. It seems like flash can be a four letter word for a lot of people when it comes to photos. So far in my photography journey, I really have to agree. I've never been able to utilize my flash in a way that enhances photos. I always end up with harsh shadows, red-eye, or washed out skin tones.

Despite that though, I always think "the flash is there for a reason, right? If it just makes things worse all the time, what's the point? Why is it there? It HAS to be good for something!"

In my quest to explore how best to use flash I found some useful tips around the interwebs.

Tips for using flash

-- Make sure your subject is between 6-12 feet away from you. A flash only works so far away (so don't bother using a flash for things that are off in the distance) and by moving your subject away from you it will make the light less harsh so the people you're taking pictures of won't look washed out.
-- Move your subject as far away from the wall behind them as possible (that will prevent harsh/giant shadows in the background)
-- Turn the flash down. Many cameras will let you reduce the intensity of the flash so it's not at full force all the time. Try taking it down a few notches.
-- To avoid red-eye, have your subject look over your shoulder. It will still appear that they are looking right at the camera, but it will prevent the flash light from bouncing off their retinas and creating red-eye (this really does work!)
-- If you're using an external flash, bounce the light off of the ceiling or a wall instead of pointing the light directly at your subject.
-- If you're using the built-in camera flash, consider investing in (or inventing) something that will redirect or diffuse the light. You can buy something (like a lightscoop or diffuser) or DIY something.

DIY diffusers with a plastic bag and index card


The Assignment

The assignment this week was to head outside and experiment with fill flash. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get that done (sorry, I've been sort of busy!) but you can read all about how to use fill flash in the PDF of the lesson. Instead, I took some pictures inside illustrating the difference that flash can have. Since I knew this lesson was coming up and I'd read such great things about it, I also invested in a lightscoop. A lightscoop is basically a little doo-dad that attaches to the camera over the pop-up flash, that redirects the light so that it bounces off a ceiling or wall instead of hitting your subject directly in the their face. All that for only $30.

With full-on flash:

f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO 400

No flash:

f/3.5, 0.8 seconds, ISO 400

Flash with scooplight:

f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO 400

All of these photos are SOOC (straight out of the camera), so no post-processing or editing was done. Although I sure would have liked to photoshop out all of those wrinkles in that sheet. Don't judge me.

At first glance, I still preferred the no-flash photo. It's too warm/yellow, but that could be corrected with a little help from Lightroom or Picnik, and I like that Heidi doesn't have laser-beam eyes. But then I looked closer. Check out that shutter speed - it was open for almost a full second - that's FOREVER. I don't know why my f/stop is smaller in the second photo, but that doesn't account for how much longer my shutter had to stay open to get the image. Looking closely, I can see that one side of Heidi's face is blurred like she was blinking when I took the photo.

On the other hand, in the third photo where I used the lightscoop, I still had a relatively quick shutter speed (although I like faster when the dogs are moving around) and I avoided crazy eyeballs. It's a little dark, but nothing that couldn't be improved on with a little editing. And I love that you can see the little spots on Heidi's nose. All in all, I'm thinking my lightscoop was a good investment right now. We'll see if that remains true over time.


Did you do this assignment too? Link up here to share what you've done!



I'm leaving the linky party open for the duration of the entire 12 weeks so you can link up as you do the lessons on your own.

Coming up next week: Composition! Finally some fun stuff! How to create a picture that's interesting and pleasing to the eye.





top image of canon speedlight from digital photography school via pinterest
image of camera with plastic bag diffuser from Quirky Momma via pinterest
image of camera with index card diffuser from DIY Photography via pinterest