Digicam 101 - #4 - How to be a Good Flasher
- copyright 7/00 by Chas Campbell and MNRealty.com Inc. for http://MNRealty.com Inc. members only.

Hello and Welcome.

Shooting interiors and flash photography is harder because you usually don't see the results until after developing the film. Now, with our Digitals, we can shoot and immediately see if we get what we need! But of course you still need to know to look at what you just shot! :)

Flash is all about physics, something we call the "inverse square law" - but don't worry, simply put, this means that your flash gets ALOT weaker (darker) as you get farther away from the camera. It also means that if you are too close shooting with flash, you will "burn out" the image with too much light and get a white blob. Do NOT shoot anything closer than 3' or farther than 20' with a normal camera flash. Be careful when shooting a living room that your flash doesn't burn out on the flower arrangement sitting on the coffee table only a few feet from the camera - I have done this.... ;)

Flash is all about geometry - this means don't shoot flash into a mirror or window head-on or it will bounce right back at you and appear as a big white flash in the middle of your photo. Shiny walls or objects can act the same way. When shooting in rooms with windows, shoot at an angle and you won't see the flash - think of it as "billiards" with light. You can view the shot you just made to see if you have reflections. Note - It's really difficult to shoot in some bathrooms without seeing the photographer in the mirror! :)

ALWAYS TURN ON ALL INTERIOR LIGHTS WHEN SHOOTING INSIDE!!! With or without flash too.

The most beautiful RE photo interiors successfully mix flash and natural light for natural-looking shots. The trick of this is to balance the TIME exposure for the natural light along with the flash output as a "helper" for the parts of the room that are not well-lit. To do this you must usually "fool" your camera:

First, you will need to find and use the camera manual to discover the "modes" of flash available. Most cameras have a few different settings that you can easily master by pushing a button:

1) Auto - this is the normal setting and it means the camera will decide what to do, usually turning on the flash if it does not read enough light. - But if you are pointing into a window with the camera, it will see the light outdoors and not fire the flash - resulting in a great shot of the outdoors but the interior is totally black.... If there is a bright light near the camera in an otherwise darker room, the flash might not go off because the bright light is "fooling" the cameras metering system. Sometimes Auto is Awful....

2) Off - This turns off the flash no matter what. Belive it or not, this is sometimes best to do because you can put the camera on a tripod and it will take a long exposure because it knows it has no flash - the results can be very natural-looking. This is also good when you have too many shiny objects in the picture to use flash.

3) "Fill" or "Slow" - This setting typically will fire the flash AND take a longer exposure, mixing the two sources. This setting is one of my secret weapons in shooting nice RE photos! I suggest trying this setting for yourself, but CAUTION, you must hold still while shooting, because the exposure isn't instantaneous as it is with flash. Or use the tripod.

4) ON - This tells the camera to always use the flash. This works well for twilight outside shooting to add just a bit more light before dark. This helps photos of groups that have bright sky behind them. It sometimes sets the camera/flash to it's maximum output, making it better for larger rooms.

The trick is to actually USE these settings to get the best lighting for your situation. At least TRY some of them to see what the difference is. After experimenting, you will develop a "best" scenerio that you can do quickly. I suggest that you try the Fill or Slow setting, whatever that might be for your particular camera. Also remember that your position to windows and mirrors is important. Finally, use the "Review" or "View" function in your camera to look at the shot to see if it is too dark or if there is a reflection. If so change position and or settings.

I also mentioned a tripod. It's the professional photographer's friend! - No blurry photos - amazingly sharp! You also can take l-o-n-g exposures and get great results without flash. You can use very small lightweight models. Hey, they make nice items to put on your gift or Christmas list for that "Realtor who has everything." :)