Lesson 4: When Not to Use the Flash
NOT EVER! Well, maybe sometimes.....
If you've ever taken a picture through glass and used your flash, I pity you. On second thought, If you've done this more than once, I pity you. I can't tell you how many times as a flight attendant I would watch passengers take pictures from the airplane window and use the flash. It was all I could do not to say "Excuse me Moron, I mean Mam, but all you're going to get when you develop that film at CVS is a white dot from the reflection."
I've never been good at memorizing all those rules we understood to be law back in school - ie: Pythagorean Theorem, Action v. Reaction, etc..., but I do know that one such law states that when a burst of bright light, otherwise known as a flash, goes off a few inches from glass, there will be a reflection. Turn the flash off or expect disappointment. Some examples of places where this might apply would be: in an airplane, at an aquarium, and if you take a picture of yourself via a mirror (please don't).
There are some serious photographers who refuse to use a flash - period. A flash will generally produce a very harsh, unnatural light which ruins a picture. Some of the most expensive, pro, top-of-the-line cameras (like the Canon 5D) don't even come with the built-in flash. If you are going to use the flash, make sure you need it. There are few places when this will be the case. Perhaps, if you're lucky enough to have a life, you'd need the flash to take a picture in a night club of your friends. Or maybe, if you go out after dark, and you need to take a picture outside, you could use it then - but, this will be about the only case when you'll need it until you get to more advanced scenarios.
So you've decided you're going to use the flash. There are some steps you can take to lessen the ghost-effect the flash will produce. First, don't stand too close to your subject. This doesn't mean to stand 20 feet away either because then the flash will do no good, but you can't stand just two feet away. If you get serious about photography, you can use an off-camera flash placed at an angle to produce a more natural light. But, when you're that serious you won't be reading blog posts like this one.
I know this really isn't a lesson - more of a warning to those of you who can't take a picture without using the flash. Don't be afraid to depend on natural light; we call it "natural" for a reason.
If you've ever taken a picture through glass and used your flash, I pity you. On second thought, If you've done this more than once, I pity you. I can't tell you how many times as a flight attendant I would watch passengers take pictures from the airplane window and use the flash. It was all I could do not to say "Excuse me Moron, I mean Mam, but all you're going to get when you develop that film at CVS is a white dot from the reflection."
I've never been good at memorizing all those rules we understood to be law back in school - ie: Pythagorean Theorem, Action v. Reaction, etc..., but I do know that one such law states that when a burst of bright light, otherwise known as a flash, goes off a few inches from glass, there will be a reflection. Turn the flash off or expect disappointment. Some examples of places where this might apply would be: in an airplane, at an aquarium, and if you take a picture of yourself via a mirror (please don't).
There are some serious photographers who refuse to use a flash - period. A flash will generally produce a very harsh, unnatural light which ruins a picture. Some of the most expensive, pro, top-of-the-line cameras (like the Canon 5D) don't even come with the built-in flash. If you are going to use the flash, make sure you need it. There are few places when this will be the case. Perhaps, if you're lucky enough to have a life, you'd need the flash to take a picture in a night club of your friends. Or maybe, if you go out after dark, and you need to take a picture outside, you could use it then - but, this will be about the only case when you'll need it until you get to more advanced scenarios.
So you've decided you're going to use the flash. There are some steps you can take to lessen the ghost-effect the flash will produce. First, don't stand too close to your subject. This doesn't mean to stand 20 feet away either because then the flash will do no good, but you can't stand just two feet away. If you get serious about photography, you can use an off-camera flash placed at an angle to produce a more natural light. But, when you're that serious you won't be reading blog posts like this one.
I know this really isn't a lesson - more of a warning to those of you who can't take a picture without using the flash. Don't be afraid to depend on natural light; we call it "natural" for a reason.
posted by CThompson at 2:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home