If you’re shooting pictures indoors, there’s a pretty good chance that the available light will be poor and you’re going to have to rely on your camera’s flash to get a good exposure. Yes, the flash will be annoying to your subjects, but the bigger problem with using a flash is that you typically end up with unflattering photographs at the end of the shoot, pictures where your subjects appear older and cast in unflattering shadows and hot spots.
So I was pretty happy to find this helpful article from John Watson on photodoto.com which offers advice on how to take flash photographs indoors without annoying people or making them look bad.
If your camera has an external flash or is mounted on a head that pivots, John recommends rotating the flash head and pointing the flash at the wall behind you. When you follow this technique, you can eliminate shadows from overhead sources while making sure the subject and the near background are both well-illuminated. This also gives you greater control over the intensity of the light, by moving closer or further away from the wall, as well as the direction of the light, by adjusting your flash head and shooting angle. The results: more beautiful, evenly-lit portraits.
Never fear, the article also has advice for people with point-and-shoot cameras that have a fixed flash. You can try to diffuse the flash with scotch tape or wax paper placed over the flash. Another reader offers this helpful suggestion: Bring along a ping pong ball. Yes, that’s right: If you slice open a ping pong ball and slip it over the flash, it will greatly diffuse it. The reader who submitted this helpful suggestion owns a Canon PowerShot S3 and swears by this method.
Be sure to read the complete article for further details. We’re certain these tips will have you taking better pictures at your cousin’s wedding, your child’s next birthday party, or any other family gathering. Also, for additional tips on shooting in low light, be sure to check out our previous Photobird Daily article “A Shot in the Dark”.
Do you have any other suggestions or helpful tips for diffusing a flash? Let us know in the comments what tricks you rely on to get the best photos indoors.
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Tags: Flash, Photo, Photography, Photos
