How to Use a Camera Flash

Using a camera flash may come in handy when taking pictures indoors, at night or during a cloudy day. When your camera has reached maximum aperture or you are without faster film, using the flash may be your best option. What follows are some basic tips on using the flash to enhance your photos.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Know the advantages of using a flash: versatility (quality of light may be adjusted various ways), portability (most flashguns can fit inside your pocket) and adjustability (brightness may be changed according to the distance from subject and lens aperture required).
2. Learn the disadvantages of using a flash: limited range and coverage (most flashes have a range of only a few meters), short duration (this limits the range of shutter speeds and prevents you from spotting problems before they occur) and heavy battery consumption.
3. Choose a flashgun. The main types of flashguns include Hot Shoe Mounted (fits into a slot in your camera), Bounce flash (provides flexibility with adjustable head that allows bouncing light off any surrounding surface), Hammerhead flash (more powerful gun used by professionals), Ringflash (highly specialized gun designed for macro photography) and Slave flash (secondary flashguns used for fill-in lighting).
4. Watch your shutter speed. Your flash will only work adequately at certain shutter speeds. For example, if the shutter speed is set faster than your flash sync speed, you risk having only part of the picture frame exposed.
5. Adjust the aperture. The aperture controls all of the light entering the lens and is dependant on the power of your flashgun. Exposures can be controlled by either keeping the flash output constant and varying the f-stop or by choosing an aperture and adjusting the flash power to suit it.
6. Use the manual mode for multiple pictures at a fixed distance. Manual flash emits a fixed (or constant) output regardless of changes in light levels or subject distances. Therefore, using this mode will offer consistent exposures.
7. Try using the flash on sunny days. A controlled burst of flash may eliminate unwanted shadows on your subject's face. In addition, daytime flash may be used for fill-in light, leading to more natural (and detailed) pictures. Experiment with your camera to see which flash setting works best.

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