Tips On Using Fill Flash

A fill flash is a simple yet effective way to improve the quality of photographs. Virtually every camera has manual flash setting. This allows you to trigger the flash even when there is plenty of ambient light. This manual flash illuminates otherwise dark areas of a picture. A fill flash is handy when there are annoying shadows, the sun is high in the sky or the background is much brighter than the subjects of the photograph.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Adjust your camera for a fill flash. Set your camera for manual adjustments. Find the button or switch that controls the flash. Scroll through the flash menu until you find a symbol of a lightning bolt with an arrow at the bottom. If it is standing by itself your camera will flash regardless of the lighting conditions. This is a fill flash. Do not use the setting with the lighting bolt crossed out or the lighting bolt with an "A." These are the "don't flash" and "automatic" settings.

2. Use a fill flash to brighten faces. It is common to have plenty of light for a photograph but poor lighting directly on a person's face. The result is a shadowy portrait. Use a fill flash when you want to highlight expressions or reveal facial details. If you are not sure whether a fill flash is called for, take one photo with it and one without. This will quickly teach you when to use a fill flash.

3. Cast away shadows with a fill flash. If your subject is between conflicting light sources it will result in conflicting shadows. This also happens if your subject is obscured beneath branches of a tree. A fill flash gets rid of these shadows in an instant. Make sure that you are within 15 feet of your subject. If you are any farther away most of the light from the fill flash will dissipate.

4. Compensate for an inconveniently placed sun with a fill flash. At high noon the sun is pretty much directly overhead. This causes "raccooning" on faces. That is when a shadow from the upper brow is cast around the eyes and people look like raccoons. A fill flash fills in the eye sockets with light. Similar shadows are cast by cheek bones, noses and hair when the sun is at various angles to the face. A fill flash compensates for all of them.

5. Make your subjects stand out against an unusually bright background. When bright sunlight or artificial light bounces off a shiny surface but not directly on your subjects, anything in the foreground will look like a silhouette. This can happen in front of a canyon wall, a light-colored building or a neon sign at night. A fill flash brightens the subjects in the foreground while allowing the background to retain its brilliance. It focuses attention on objects that are closer to the camera.