How to Turn on the Fill Flash on a Canon A95

The term “fill flash” is used to describe when a photographer has used their flash to "fill in" shadowy or darker areas of a photo, and can be an effective tool for enhancing the visibility and clarity of your images. The objective of using fill flash is to help illuminate a scene to see desired details. Here are some key steps to using a fill flash with the Canon Powershot A95.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Know what your camera’s flash is capable of doing. This means studying and testing the different options and settings of the Canon Powershot A95 User’s Manual (see Resources below).

2. Test the flash’s power. Experiment with different “dark” shots, shooting one with, one without the fill flash, so you can determine its brightness and how it helps (or hurts) the planned photo. It’s important to have an idea what you would like the image to look like prior to using the fill flash so you can see if the lighting is achieving your goals.

3. Experiment with the flash’s proximity ranges. No surprise, a bright flash used close-up can “blow out” an image to the point it appears white. By testing different shots and distances, you’ll know the optimum ranges in which to use your fill flash.

4. Set the flash on the correct mode for what you want to do. On the Canon A95, if you want the flash to always fire, set the mode to Flash On (the lightning bolt icon).

Tips & Warnings

• Look under “Using the Flash” in the Instruction Manual (see Resources) for specific settings.
• Shadows can be an important part of a photo’s “texture.” Use a fill flash judiciously depending on what you want the image to look like.

Resources

• Canon Powershot A95 Instruction Manual