Baby Photos

[Note: I use a Canon Speedlite 580EX for this lesson, but you can adapt these instructions for any flash.]

Learning to use a flash can be pretty overwhelming. When I picked up my first Speedlite, the manual looked like gibberish to me. A friend recommended I “just put it on ETTL.” I quickly learned that wasn’t going to do it for me. Hopefully after reading this, you’ll have a grasp of how your flash can work for you.

My Camera Already Has A Flash

I know your camera has one built in, but it sucks - trust me.  It’s not bright enough, it’s not in the right place and you can’t choose how to use it. There is only one setting worth mentioning: FIRE. Forget you have it. You’ll thank me later.

Why Even Use Flash?

Available light is sufficient most of the time, especially if you “see” light well. There are times when you need flash just to be able to pick something up on film. There are times when you just need a boost or want to freeze action.  I’ll start with the obvious.

Using Flash To See

When photographing in complete darkness, you have 2 choices; make a long exposure or add additional light. If you are photographing a child, you will want to bring in more light - unless you are photographing him/her sleeping.  :) This is where your flash comes in.

Say you are at a carnival and want to get a picture of your child riding the carousel. That thing moves pretty fast and it’s dark. If you don’t use flash, your child (and the horses) will be a blur. So you need it.

Using Flash For A Boost

When photographing in the shade, you may want just a little more light on your subject to “fill” out the shadows on their face.  When using a flash for fill, you will not be using very much compared to the other light that is available. This also applies in the sun, when your subject’s face is in the shade.

Using Flash To Freeze Action

You may be in a room with all the lights on, but that doesn’t mean you can achieve a shutter speed fast enough to freeze your subject. The burst of light from a flash makes your subject light enough to enable you to raise your shutter speed.

Which Mode?

Well, it’s true you can use ETTL, but here is the problem… your camera is metering again. As we talked about in  What The Heck Is A Histogram, your camera does not know what you are photographing and takes the middle road on everything.  You have to be smarter than your camera.

Example: Your son is wearing a tux. The flash takes the black into account and uses more power to being the tux to middle grey. Since the added light makes the tuxphotograph grey, his face is blown out as well.

I highly recommend using your flash in manual.  You can use full manual, or in an unpredictable situation dial it up or down in ETTL. To change modes, press the “MODE” button.

Full Manual

Full manual is pretty self-explanatory. You can fire at full power, half power, 1/4 power, etc, etc.  Basically, you want to choose a starting point, then dial up or down based on your histogram. There are definitely other settings to take into account, which I will get to in the next lesson.

Speedlite 580EX, Manual Mode, 1/4 Power

Dialing Up Or Down In ETTL

You shoot in ETTL, but add or subtract power to compensate for light or dark subjects. Light subject is up, dark sunject is down. Shooting in ETTL is the flash equivilent of shooting in AV or TV mode on your camera. Remember, your meter is already making compensations - you want to undo them as needed. On a 580EX you would push the middle button, turn the wheel & push the button again.

Plus is more flash, minus is less flash. When bouncing your flash, which I will cover in Part 2, you will want to add more power to make up for the bouncing.

Speedlite 580 EX, ETTL Mode, +1

Here are some example pictures to help you understand the adjustments. These were all shot at the same camera setting, the only variable is the flash.

Manual Mode, 1/2 Power

Manual Mode, 1/4 Power

Manual Mode, 1/8 Power

Manual Mode, 1/16 Power

In Part 2 we will cover bouncing flash & camera settings. In Part 3 we will balance the light using all of our settings. Stay tuned!

Similar Posts:

• How To Use Flash - Part 2 of 3
• What The Heck Is A Histogram?
• How To Photograph Graduation
• How To Use Flash - Part 3 of 3
• What The Heck Is White Balance?