Turn It On

By now I'm sure anyone who has come across this blog fully understands my stance on the flash. My message, 99% of the time is simple. Turn it off. Well, now that that's been drilled into your heads, I'm going to talk about that 1% that's still looming out there.

The other evening when we were poking around in the back yard, my youngest found a ladybug. She delights in all things rollie-pollie so it was adorable to see her tenderly watching, gently prodding, and belly-laughing at this little buggy. What did I do? Well, of course, grabbed my camera.  But I was noticing the pix were coming out rather flat and boring ( the joy of the digital) so what did I do next?? I TURNED ON MY FLASH! Just for kicks and to see if the pix improved. And, as I had suspected, it brightened things up just enough to make it interesting. I shot up close so the flash did make a difference (if you try to use when the subject is too far away it won't work one lick). Here's one of the shots.

See the ladybug? Right next to the Dora tat...the one that's been there since her birthday which was like eons ago. Anyway, if you look really close, you can find proof of the flash. Look at her bottom lip. It's got a small highlight (the reflection of the flash's light). Her skin tone brightened up and the background went a little dark. I think the flash here makes all the difference. Subtle, yes, but, that's a good thing.

Another example of when to try out the flash would be in the bright sun. Like at the beach. I'll be posting a few of those pictures next week (I've got some good ones) so you can see outdoor shots with and without the flash. You'll be amazed. Just because you're outside doesn't mean you have ideal light. SO, when you find circumstances not to your liking, I'm giving your permission now, to turn your flash back on and see what happens! Isn't that nice of me?

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Keep checking out the Blur Album. I'll be adding more shots as they come in. Thanks.

Comments

[Rebecca]

I'm finding your blog so helpful - I'm trying to really learn how to take good photos, and your tips are the best. Thanks!

[tracey]

Rebecca, will you marry me?
Thanks for the super-compliment.
Please pass the Picture This address to your Mommy Friends!

[Annetta]

I spent a lot of time in the past torn between flash and no flash. Now I tend to take one or two of each. Is that chicken of me? :)

LOve your Blog!

[Beth]

Can I whine for a minute? Our fancy new digital SLR camera? It is so hard to figure out how to turn off the flash that I usually just give up. I know, poor me.

[K.]

I can't wait to see the outdoor photos where a flash was used. My 35mm SLR (Nikon N75) has an automatic flash that pops up at what seems to me to be the most inopportune times. Perhaps I should just go with the flow and trust the camera....

[Alissa]

Alrighty... here's my beef. I know how to turn OFF the flash when I don't want it but I can't figure out how to FORCE the flash ON when we're outside and I want to use it for fill flash. I have a Canon Rebel too. Do you have any insight?! I'm trying to read the manual but everytime I pick it up I get distracted by some other fun feature the camera has that I simply MUST put the manual down and go play with that. I know... I'm like a child that way.