Take Control Of Your Flash Digital Photography

Photographs are portraits of captured light.  By reflecting and controlling your sources of light, you can greatly contribute to the quality of your photos, whether they are original film photos or digital photos.  Learning how to use a flash in will make your life easier and your photos better.  Most digital cameras now come with some sort of flash unit built in.

Mistakes Are Good

Just like with anything else, it takes a lot pf practice before you can learn a new skill.  Learning how to use a flash in your is no different.  Expect to make a lot of mistakes.  Fortunately with digital cameras, you can just quickly eliminate mistakes instead of waiting for the picture to be developed before you realize a mistake was made.  Even the best professional photographers take loads of shots because they know that inevitably some mistakes will pop up.

Indoor Shots

In most cases, your indoor digital shots will need a flash because there just won’t be enough light present to make a decent image.  Try to avoid aiming directly at a mirror, glass or other really shiny objects, because this will create a blinding glare that will appear like a small explosion. 

Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd

Nikon D80
Nikon scores big with the D80, its new 10-megapixel, sub-$1,000 dSLR.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 (Black)
Though it's not perfect, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5's compact midrange...
(This is the reason for red-eye in photos).

If you are taking a picture of a very small object, you can stand at least two feet away.  But for big objects like people, you need to be at least four feet away from the subject.  Be aware of the objects behind your subjects when using a flash in your digital photography.  If there are any reflective surfaces, then the shot will be ruined.

Recharging

Another tip in using flash is to know how long your flash needs to recharge between pictures.  This can help lessen frustration and everyone standing in a rigid pose longer than they need to be.  You also should have a good idea your camera's batteries can go before they need to be recharged.  This can greatly help you plan shoots.  When the batteries are wearing out, your flash will take longer and longer to recharge.

Practice

The best way to know the ins and outs of the particular flash that your camera has is to keep on taking pictures in a variety of indoor and outdoor situations.  The more you know your camera (and the flash) the more you can know the strengths and limitations of the camera that you can work with to take better flash digital photography.