Tuesday's Tip....Fill flash...

Back on August 3rd, on my blog about how to "take a better picture", I mentioned using fill flash.  A few of you had questions about this. 

---Appreciate the info Jenny - now can you explain the fill flash on the camera to me?

Posted by: Karen Johnson

I will try to explain this the best that I can!

Fill flash is used to supplement existing light in a scene.  It's generally not the primary light source (as a flash often is in low light situations) but fills in light where natural light doesn't go.  It helps to eliminate shadows cast by facial features (under eyes, noses, chins) especially when light is shining down from above.  It will also help to add a "sparkle" to the eyes of the person you are photographing. 

In most point and shoot cameras the main button to look for will be the one with the lightning bolt (flash) on or near it. Press this multiple times and it will cycle you through the different options for flash (on, off, automatic, red eye reduction are the main four). Some point and shoot cameras even have a ‘fill flash’ option that ramps back the strength of the flash a little which is ideal.

Some more advanced digital cameras will allow you to experiment with the strength of the flash you use. This will enable you to tailor your flash to the situation you’re in.

Rieno posted this question:

--Can you force all cameras to flash if it tells you it is bright enough without a flash?

Posted by: Reino Kuoppala

Reino posted this question, and then called us and we walked him through how to use fill flash with his point and shoot camera. 

When he tried to pop up the flash with the camera in the automatic setting, the flash popped up but did not fire when he took a picture. 

Then we told him to set his camera on manual, so he set his aperature at 1/60th of a second, and his f stop was 5.6.  He then popped up the flash again, and with the camera on manual settings, the flash fired this time.

Notice the flash filled in light on the plants, without having to "blow out" the background.

Thank you Reino for the pictures!

Hopefully this helped you!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!