The Basics of Using Flash and A Canon Digital Camera

Using a flash to take pictures make seem like just a point and shoot thing for most people. There is a bit more to it than that.  You must consider the reflective surfaces around the area receiving the flash. You must consider "the bounce effect" of the flash.  If there are people in the flash, you must consdier "red eye" caused by the flash reflecting off the rear of the eyeball.  However, to become proficient with  the technique of good photo taking with a flash you must master some skills. This is due to the fact that flash photography works in micro seconds and our eyes cannot distinguish the differences within that short period of time. In addition, we are also not able to see the flash working as we are looking through the viewfinder of the camera. Here in this guide, we will show you how with 5 simple tips you can achieve better flash photographic techniques.

Using the Canon Digital Camera Internal flash as opposed to the External flash.

Generally when we take pictures in settings like a restaurant or party situation, the use of an internal flash is more than adequate because the subjects to be photograph is usually at a close distance in addition, those areas tend to be fairly well lit.. The power of the internal flash unit will be powerful enough to finish illuminating the scene.  Although the light from an internal flash is  rather harsh, the conveniences of not lugging around an external flash unit far outweigh its drawbacks. However, if the situation calls for a more professional photographic quality, you will need to use an external flash to do the job. By using an external flash, you will be able to soften the light of the flash unit by reflecting the light off the wall (called "bounce light".  if you are a serious photographer, you probably have hair lights, foreground and background lights.  You may also have a reflective umbrella to move the light to where it is needed.  Use of these units provide a softer light that is more forgiving to the subjects.

Compatibility of Old flash Units with the New Canon EOS digital camera.

To see if your old flash unit is compatible with the Canon new EOS digital camera, you will need to check the Speedlite flash units to see that it ends with the letters "EX" behind its model designation. Only these models will  work with the new EOS digital camera.  The other models whose numbers end with "E" or "EZ" model designations at the end will not be compatible with the new EOS digital cameras. Flash units from a third party will need to support E-TTL (TTL= through the lens) flash metering system in order for it to work with Canon digital cameras.

Unappealing pictures taken under harsh lighting.

Natural looking soft light comes from a large area. As such, the internal flash unit cannot provide soft light as found in the real world. Since the flash unit is located so near the lens of the camera and only illuminates a small area the light will be hard. To solve this problem,  you can  bounce light off the wall onto the subject thus softening the light. Doing this allows you a more natural looking picture than when you illuminate it with soft light. On the other hand, you can also use a diffuser to diffuse the light so that you also achieve the same result.  A diffuser can be created by using something such as baker's paper between the subject and the flash.  I have even heard of people that put vasoline on the lens of the camera to accomplish this.  I have never tried this as it seems to cause a good bit of additional work cleaning up.

Red eye effect of Flash photography

Earlier, I mentioned the redeye effect.  My poor mother never snapped a photo involving humans that didn't end up with redeye (where a flash was used.) This is a very common problem with pictures taken with a camera internal flash. The cause of this is due to the fact that the blood vessels in our eyes reflect the flash light back into camera producing the "red eye" effect. The related "green eye" effect is produced in animals. One way to avoid this is to use an external flash and hold it off to the side so there is no direct reflection to the lens.  Many of the point and shoot cameras such as the one my wife uses come with a redeye reduction feature.  This works by flashing 3 times in rapid succession and then snapping the picture.  The theory is the eye will have accustomed itself to the flash and thus no redeye.  .All photo editing software provides for repairing the redeye during the editing process,

How to take several photos in rapid succession using the flash.

Firing off the flash unit necessitates some time to charge up. Therefore if you keep taking pictures in rapid succession you will have to ensure that  you have a flash unit with the rapid fire feature.  Actually, this means the flash will work before it has reached full charge. Don't forget, your flash batteries play a part in the ability of the flash unit to recharge quickly too.