Help!!! I'm afraid of the flash

[Snurk71]

Just got back from a week at WDW, first time with the XT. Before we left DW made a comment about making sure not to miss candid moments fiddling with the settings all the time, which I agreed with. So for the most part I had the camera on P mode (camera sets its own speed and aperature), and only adjusted the ISO for the light.

I guess I've kind of made myself afraid to use the flash, not wanting overexposed pictures. Most of the pictures are good, but I notice some motion blur (a hand or arm moving) in more pictures than I would like.

So anyone have any suggestions on how to overcome a fear of using the flash for overexposure or when to use the flash? When I could tell the shutter was slow for handheld (either by sound or a quick review) I would either bump the ISO or pop up the flash. But it looks like I missed some too.

 

[Gdad]

Unfortunately I don't think the onboard flashes on dslr's (at least mine anyway) are much better than P&S cameras. Getting a speedlight you can control/bounce/etc. made all the difference for me.

 

[tinksdad]

A big AMEN to that!! On camera flash can be good, but since it's directly inline with the focal plane it can do more harm than good many times. Red eyes, over exposed highlights and harsh shadows are all hallmarks of the onboard camera flash.

Like Gdad says, if you can bounce the flash off a wall, ceiling or even bodies it will help soften the flash and give the photo a more even look with nice lighting. Since most of the cameras offer a iTTL connection with the speedlight it will be almost foolproof as long as you aim it so it does the most good.

 

[Groucho]

The other thing that you can do is try to acquire a faster lens or two - that should cut down on the need to use a flash at all.

But, alas, I think there are times where a flash is almost mandatory. I have a handful of shots that really would have benefited from a good flash unit (I rarely used flash and only my onboard... I have an external flash but it's, oh, 15+ years old and not exactly what my DSLR would like to use!

 

[wdwpluto]

The one thing you can do with the onboard flash is dial it down a bit. I have the flash compensation (not sure what the setting is called) on my xti dialed to -2 and while it's not as good as a bounced external flash, it minimizes some of the flash shadowing.

 

[handicap18]

I guess I've kind of made myself afraid to use the flash, not wanting overexposed pictures. Most of the pictures are good, but I notice some motion blur (a hand or arm moving) in more pictures than I would like.

So anyone have any suggestions on how to overcome a fear of using the flash for overexposure or when to use the flash? When I could tell the shutter was slow for handheld (either by sound or a quick review) I would either bump the ISO or pop up the flash. But it looks like I missed some too.

Based on your post, a lot is going to depend on what you were taking a picture of. If you were trying to take a picture of the castle near dusk then you would not use the flash (any flash for that matter). In this case you would want either a faster lens (f/2.8 or wider) or a tripod. However, if you wanted to take a picture of your family in front of the castle at dusk, then you would use the flash.

There's really not hard and fast rule about when to use and when not to use your flash. Among the "pros" you'll get very different answers. I like to use below 1/60th or so as a guideline. After that its going to depend on the subject, lighting location and other things.

For indoor pictures (not on rides where flash photography is almost always not allowed) use the flash, especially if there are family members part of the pic.

I have no problems using a flash when I think its needed. I normally try to use my speedlight and then most of the time when I do use it I have a diffuser on it.

Post a few examples if you can so we can get a better idea of your issue and hopefully get a better answer or give better advise.

 

[Snurk71]

After looking closer at some of the pictures, I see a trend where the outside ones with plenty of light are fine - it's some of the indoor ones without as much natural light that I'm not happy with. And I can tell why in looking at the shutter speed - always too slow what. I know it's a general rule, but I've heard the lowest shutter you should have is the inverse of the mm on the lens. In my case most of the pictures were with the Sigma 18-125, shot at 18mm, and the shutter speeds were often at 1/15 or slower.

I guess that's what I get for relying too heavily on the <P> mode (leaving the ISO at my default 400). In hindsight may be I should have shot in <Tv> and set the speed at 1/30 - 1/50 to make sure I eliminated camera shake and small movements and hope for the best (fixing anything too dark in post).

Live and learn, I guess. DW's a little unhappy with where I choose to take my learning though.

 

[gruZ]

Keep in mind when using the 1/focal length rule that your camera has a 1.6x crop / zoom factor due to the size of the digital sensor. For example, if you are using your 18-125 and it is zoomed to a focal length of 50mm, the picture when viewed or printed will look as though it was at an 80mm focal length if taken on a full frame or film camera. What this means is you would need a shutter speed of 1/80, not the 1/50 you thought you needed based on the focal length you zoomed to.

The concern with setting at shutter priority all day long and dialing in 1/50 or 1/60 is that in some indoor settings there won't be enough light - even with a faster lens. Your pictures will be very dark, and while you could do some rescue in Photoshop, you'll lose some color saturation and increase the noise level when you boost the exposure.

Using the flash indoors (even on board flash) is not a bad idea. Unless I'm in a well lit room where the shutter value can be assured of stopping camera shake, I'll use a flash. While I have an external flash, I won't bring it along all the time, in which case I use the on board. Remember as well that your camera will do different things with your flash depending on which mode you have it set in - Av will meter for the natural light and use the flash as fill-flash, so you will see some much lower shutter speeds in this mode even if the flash is up. Tv will also use flash as fill. P will automatically set shutter and aperture, and the camera is assuming the flash is needed to light the subject.

Most of the stuff I've written here has to do with preventing camera shake - and may or may not be effective in "stopping the action" - like preventing a waving hand from being blurred. Depending on the speed of the moving object, faster shutter speeds may be needed.

Overall, experiment and have fun. The beauty of digital is immediate feedback, so shoot and learn!

 

[jann1033]

Just got back from a week at WDW, first time with the XT. Before we left DW made a comment about making sure not to miss candid moments fiddling with the settings all the time, which I agreed with. So for the most part I had the camera on P mode (camera sets its own speed and aperature), and only adjusted the ISO for the light.

I guess I've kind of made myself afraid to use the flash, not wanting overexposed pictures. Most of the pictures are good, but I notice some motion blur (a hand or arm moving) in more pictures than I would like.

So anyone have any suggestions on how to overcome a fear of using the flash for overexposure or when to use the flash? When I could tell the shutter was slow for handheld (either by sound or a quick review) I would either bump the ISO or pop up the flash. But it looks like I missed some too.

if you haven't already, you might want to look at the thread "canon speedlite 550..." as there are a couple links there to articles on flash

 

[Ratpack]

An add on flash unit and faster lenses are the answer. I have been learning a lot from a friend of mine who shoots for some major magazines such as SI, and he recommends to almost never use the camera's built in flash. In fact he hardly ever uses a flash. He recommends getting lenses with at least 2.8 or faster and they will work well in low light conditions. Then if you must use a flash, use an external and bounce the light. He showed us a neat trick where you point the flash straight up and attach a business card to the back side with a rubber band (white side towards flash) and the business card bounces and diffuses the light for a nice effect.