There are many things about photography that I'm pretty comfortable with. Exposure? Check. Composition? Check. How to get a 2-year-old to look at the camera? Check. Manual mode? Check. Flash? Not even close. As a natural light, on-location photographer my flash is rarely used. And when I am feeling brave enough to use it, the results are almost always disappointing and even a bit embarrassing.
Here's a bit of info about my equipment: I have a Canon 5D which does not come with an on-board pop-up flash, so I have a Canon 430-EX Speedlite which mounts to the flash shoe on the top of my camera. I also have a Panasonic DMC-LX3 point-and-shoot that I'm very happy with.
I always start any kind of photography tutorial with the same four suggestions. READ YOUR CAMERA/FLASH MANUAL. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. Go on, I'll wait.
Here's the rub, though. Because I suck at using my flash because I myself have not read my own flash manual, we're going to do a bit of learning together here. For the past decade or so, whenever I want to learn about anything, I turn to the internet. There is such an overwhelming wealth of information out there and thankfully for us, tutorials and information on how to work with the flash you have to get great results are quite easy to find.
General Flash Info
Here are some great general rules and things to keep in mind about using your flash:
Choosing the Right Flash - Canon
Flash Photography with Canon - Part 1
Flash Photography with Canon - Part 2
Some of the articles linked here have a great deal of information that upon first look might have you reaching for "War and Peace" for some alternative light reading. But if you look through it and find an a particular topic that interests you, read on. And maybe save the link to your browser to go back to at a later date.
Now for most of us, I think the problem is that our flash photos are either too dark, blown-out, red-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights, or freaky acid-trip photos of our sweet grandmother at the family Christmas gathering. Whether your flash is in-camera, pop-up or external, there are several things you can do, from DIY flash diffusers to weird frosty cup-like things that attach to them, and something fun called bounce flash.
External/Shoe-Mounted Flash
If you have an external flash, like a Canon Speedlite, the top half of your flash swivels and bends to send light in a variety of different directions. With the flash pointed straight at our subject, most of us get the harsh-looking result with weird shadows. Like this one:
But when I swivel the flash a bit behind me and over my shoulder so that the light bounces around the room, I get a much softer result with no crazy shadows, and even a bit of a catchlight in her eyes:
(Thanks to my almost six-year-old model who got pulled away from story time with daddy to take these photos.)
I took these photos in Auto mode on my Canon 5D with my Speedlite 430EX. I did not do any fancy editing either, pretty much SOOC (straight out of the camera).
In-Camera/Pop-Up Flash
If you have an in-camera or pop-up flash there are diffusers and other tricks you can do to help soften the effect of the flash. Since these flashes don't swivel or move, there are other ways to get a bounced effect. Here are some links to some diffuser options for these types of flashes:
Gary Fong's Puffer diffuser for most DSLR pop-up flashes (there's a video tutorial, too)
Gary Fong's Point-and-Shoot Flash Diffuser (see the list of cameras this is compatible with)
Or your can MacGyver your own diffuser and bouncer:
For this slightly strange photo I folded a piece of regular white copier paper in half and placed it in front of the flash as it fired. No too terrible, but still too harsh. The flash was bright enough to go right through the paper.
For this next one I folded the paper again (that would be in fourths) and held the paper against the flash but at an angle so that the light would bounce onto the paper and up and away from my (somewhat creepy Chucky-esque) subject and come back all nice and diffused:
Much softer and more natural, not so harsh. Mrs. MacGyver at your service.
So there you have it, friends. A bit like the blind leading the blind here about working with flashes, but we're getting there. I still believe that good old Practice Makes Perfect when it comes to mastering any aspect of photography. But just in case you'd like more direction, here are some options to consider:
The Photographer's Workshop - Karen Russell
Moving Into Manual - Elisha Snow - BPS Workshop (class begins February 18, 2010)
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more photography articles coming soon!
