Turning off your flash
Monday, February 15th, 2010Good morning all. It’s Cyndi, here this Monday morning to give you a little photography tip. I’ll be addressing primarily the DSLR crowd for this piece.
For my last birthday I got a wonderful 55mm prime lens. It had been on my wish list for quite a while. I was so tired of dark indoor shots where my flash barely lit my subject and then nothing of the background behind them. Not to mention the ugly palor it gave any living person in my shots. Unfortunately, I have folders and folders of these pictures that I can find no inspiration to scrap. The picture really does make the LO for me.
After receiving my new lens, I made it my goal to use only natural lighting (no flash) unless absolutely necessary. The new lens has definitely made it easier to get light into these pictures but I’ve still had to learn a few tricks along the way to make sure I got the best shot.
Here they are:
1. Increase the ISO. I shoot comfortably at 800 with not a lot of visible noise. But every little bit helps. Just remember to turn it back down for outdoor shots. I’ve made this mistake more than once.
2. Shoot in aperature mode. This allows me to control the amount of light into the shot and lets the camera decide how fast the shutter needs to open and close.
3. Assume the position. That is… elbows or arms on a stable surface even if it is your knee or thigh or arms tight to the body. It also helps to hold your breath. Not too long, of course.
4. Take more than one shot. If you’re shooting people, you’re dependent on them to hold perfectly still. If it’s a group, it makes it even tougher. It seems someone (kids) always moves just a smidge and that’s all it takes to turn your perfectly sharp and wonderfully lit photo into a blurry mess. I make it a habit to take 4-5 shots of the same pose in low light conditions just to make my chances better of getting a great one. They’ll get used to it, believe me 
Well, hope you learned something new today. And if not, maybe I reempasized or reminded you of something you already knew and now you’re determined to use it too.
Have a wonderful week and happy shooting!!
