How to Do a Manual Flash Camera Exposure
It would be so nice if there would be perfect lighting all the time so that your photos would turn out crisp and beautiful. Unfortunately, as photographers know, this is seldom true. As a result, photographers have to run the gauntlet of lighting for every shot, with each one posing new questions and new problems.
A great way to manipulate your ambient lighting is through the manual flash setting on your camera. Most dSLR and SLR cameras, and even some newer digital point-and-shoots, allow the photographer to choose the flash output level and the direction of the flash.
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Instructions
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If you have a hotshoe or mountable flash, connect it to the camera, but leave the power off. If you don't have one, set the camera to "manual" mode. Consult your camera's instruction manual on how to do this, if necessary
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Set the shutter speed and aperture settings for the ambient lighting for your shot. Again, consult your camera's instruction manual on how to do this, if necessary. It is best to set these settings using the background of your shot and not your subject. Don't worry about lighting your subject now, the flash will take care of that when you shoot the photo.
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Take a test shot. Again, it doesn't matter now if your subject is underexposed. Just make sure the background is at the proper lighting. Adjust the settings, if necessary.
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Turn on the flash. Position the flash where you want your subject to be lit by leaving it directly forward, for front lighting, or by rotating the head if you will be using a bounce flash.
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Set the flash's power to about half. Take another shot. Your background will not change, but your subject should now be lit.
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If the subject is overexposed or underexposed, change the flash's power setting until your lighting is right. You do not need to change the aperture or shutter speed, just the flash setting.
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Tips & Warnings
You will need to reset your aperture and shutter speed settings if your ambient lighting and the distance from your subject to the flash change.
