Either proudly positioned in the front of the camera, or mischievously jumping out from a little box in its head, we (wrongly) think of the camera flash as a small but powerful light that frees us from depending on environmental light. With a flash, you can take pictures everywhere and in every lighting condition, including total darkness. Or not, as we are about to find out.
The Problem with the Flash
The flash gives us a quick and easy solution for filming in weak light, such as street light at night. The problem is that the picture will look bad. The photographed people's faces will look bright and even burned, their eyes will be red, their skin shiny and the background will be darker than night. It's easy to turn on the flash and flood the picture with light, but it's much more difficult to use the flash and receive a natural and flattering look for the people photographed.
In order to know why this happens and how to correctly use the flash, we need to understand the characteristics of the flash's light: the flash is a small, close source of light and disperses and weakens the more the distance from the camera is increased. The maximum distance that the flash's lighting reaches is usually only five to six meters. Therefore, if we'll continue with the example of the photographed people at night, we'll find that the flash illuminates the people close to the camera, but it isn't strong enough to illuminate the background. A dark background is produced this way, which sometimes confuses the camera's light meter and causes it to overexpose the photographed people's faces.
An additional problem is that a small light source creates sharp shadows and too big of a contrast in the picture. As if these problems weren't enough, the flash's lighting has an artificial look. Why? Notice from where the sources of light around you arrive: the sun and home light bulb arrive from above; window lighting arrives from the side. That is how we've become accustomed to seeing the natural lighting and the shadows it casts. And where does the flash's lighting come from? From in front, of course. A front lighting is not customary; therefore it will give the picture an artificial and unpleasant effect.
What Modes Does the Flash Have?
The best use of the flash is not as the main and dominant lighting in the picture, but as an additional lighting. We'll immediately explain how to operate the flash as a smart addition to natural lighting, but first we must check which photography modes with flash are offered by the camera. In most of the cameras, you can choose among the various modes by a push button on the body of the camera which has a lightning symbol on it.
Automatic flash mode: We use this mode for spontaneous photography and when we aren't interested in messing around with camera tune ups. For example, in a trip or family event where we have to quickly pull out the camera and take a shot. The downside in this mode is the lack of control of the flash. The camera measures the power of light in the environment which we are photographing, if the existing light isn't enough, the flash is triggered. Therefore, we can't manually control the flash and use it as complementary light.
The flash mode is constantly on: the flash is operated in every shot, regardless of lighting conditions, whether photographing in full sunlight or in weaker lighting. In many cases, this mode is preferable to the automatic flash mode, because we can control it. An example for common use of this mode is when photographing a portrait in front of the light; the person's face will appear as a shadow. If we turn on the flash, it will illuminate the person's face and we'll produce a balanced picture.
Photographing without flash: is appropriate for photographing with existing lighting, like when photographing in the house. In this mode we enjoy natural lighting without having the flash damage it. Always keep in mind that a picture taken with flash has a totally different ambience to a picture taken in natural lighting arriving from a light bulb at home, or a side window. Here is an example for using this mode: have you ever tried to photograph a boy blowing out birthday cake candles while using the flash? You won't see the candle lights, because the flash is much powerful than them. Turn off the flash and you'll enjoy a warm candle light. It's best turn up the sensor's sensitivity (ISO menu or Sensitivity) to the camera's maximum, usually 800 or 1600. When photographing sites or views, a tripod might help.
Red eye reduction mode: one of the most irritating phenomena when photographing with flash is the photographed people's eyes, which receive, in most cases, a peculiar red color. This is caused because the flash directly hits the blood vessels in the eyes. In compact cameras, the flash is placed near the camera's lens, which increases the phenomena. In red eyes reduction mode, the camera tries to overcome the problem by shooting a few preliminary flashes which causes the people's pupils to contract, thus concealing the blood vessels. The problem in this method is that the preliminary flashes bothers people and sometimes causes them to wipe off the smile that was on their faces a second ago. Camera manufacturers mark the red eye reduction mode with a symbol of an eye. Usually an eye symbol appears together with the automatic flash's symbol or the flash that is constantly operated.
When Should the Flash be Operated?
In cases where you must quickly react, pull out the camera and photograph - the automatic mode will usually do a good job. However, if you would like a higher quality picture, the constant flash mode can be used, thus using the flash as complementary lighting. For example, when photographing in sun light, the flash balances the high contrast of the sun and illuminates shaded areas, so that details in them can be seen. So is the case in a house, if you'd like the flash to complement the relatively weak natural lighting, but not replace it altogether.
If you have photographed in the sun or in the house, and discovered that the flash's lighting was too strong, many cameras have a flash exposure compensation feature. This feature is called Flash Exposure Compensation in the camera's menu or Flash Output and marked by a lightning symbol and a plus / minus beside it. By using it you could weaken the flash. It should be set to 1, if that isn't enough set it to 2.
How to Preserve Natural Lighting
In conclusion, an important tip for photographing with flash in the house, in a restaurant or in the evening: in order to preserve natural lighting, but also illuminate the photographed figures, the sensor's (ISO) highest sensitivity should be defined. The flash should be set to automatic or constant operation mode. If the flash is still strong and conceals the natural lighting, flash exposure compensation should be used, as explained above.
These days, camera manufacturers work hard on developing sensors with high sensitivity traits for photographing in weak lighting, with very little disturbance, which will help in effectively using the techniques we've explained. In the future, it will be much easier to photograph in regular home lighting, without getting the typical look of the pictures taken in weak lighting.
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