ENHANCE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Know your flash range

• Pictures taken outside of the flash range will turn up looking too dark. Look through your camera manual to find out its flash range
• The flash range for digital cameras, it’s usually between 2–3 metres.

2. Be aware of your flash “fall off” points

• Flash “fall off” occurs when the flash is more powerful in the middle of the photo than at the edges. Assess the “fall off” points by evaluating the photos taken  on a plain coloured wall at night.

3. Use flash when capturing moving objects

• The short light pulse of Xenon flash (<200usec), which has the same capability as fast shutter speeds, can effectively ‘freeze motion’ during photo taking, thus delivering sharp pictures of moving objects. No motion blur.

• Contrary to popular belief, using flash outdoors helps improve the quality of your photograph. Xenon flash provides an excellent solution for daylight fill-flash when shooting outdoor portraits. It illuminates the dark area of the subject caused by backlight from sun while striking an excellent balance between the brightness of the subject and background.

                                                                    Without Xenon Flash                            With Xenon Flash

Without Xenon Flash                                            With Xenon Flash

5. Use flash when taking Macro shots

• Xenon flash provides the improved lighting required for finer details to be captured in a close up shot.

• Avoid overly strong flashes that can result in the “burst” effect.  The “burst” effect results in reflections, where the subject appears “bursty” with light reflecting too strongly off the eyes and other shiny objects.

• Angling the flash in another direction allows the light to bounce off the walls or ceilings. This diffuses the light considerably while reducing back shadows for a softer looking image.

• Red eye effects on photographs can be reduced with pre-flash features of Xenon flash. Alternatively, you can ask the subject to face the camera but not look directly at the lens.

• Diffusing the light creates warmer, softer pictures. You can diffuse the light by covering the flash with a piece of white tissue, coffee filter or tracing paper.  Alternatively, choose days when it is overcast and cloudy, but bright. The clouds act as a diffuser, effectively creating a warmer ambience.

10. Use flash to improve night photography

• Night photography requires long exposure. When a long exposure is used, more light is allowed into the camera, allowing the details in your night photo to be captured. Using Xenon flash with long exposure enables you to get a little more ambient light while still freezing the action of the object to achieve sharper picture quality.

• Xenon flash provides the excellent solution for indoor photo fill-flash when shooting indoor portraits. It illuminates the dark area of the subject caused by bright backlight and strikes an excellent balance between the brightness of the subject and background. 

• You’ll need practice, practice and more practice. Get accustomed to your camera’s features and practice flash photography with the tips shared here!