Purple Prose + photography tips

Tip # 15: The mysteries of the flash

What is the flash? It’s an instantaneous burst of white light used when the available lighting is not enough to properly expose a photo. It also enables you to freeze your moving subject when the amount of light requires a slow shutter speed.

Unless you’re using a single use, disposable film camera—and even some of them have flashes built in—chances are brilliant that you have a tiny flash build into your camera. In some models, the flash is located near the viewfinder. In other models, you’re required to push a button, and your flash unit magically pops up above the lens. This location is better than the first one mentioned. The further away from the lens that your flash is, the better the picture will look. It also helps prevent that annoying red eye appearance that we typically want to avoid.

A better choice of flash is the add-on flash that is used with the SLR cameras. There’s a variety to choice from, including the basic no-thrills model (boring, but cheap) to the ones with fancy features, some of which I’ll cover in future tips.

Important things to remember when using the flash:

  • With the built-in and pop up flash, watch out where your fingers are when you take the picture. It’s so easy to accidentally block the light from the flash with a misplaced finger.
  • Turn on the function that prevents red eye. Red eye is caused when the flash reflects off the retina in the back of your eye. A brief pre-flash will be fired first, which will cause the pupil to constrict (shrinks). This reduces the amount of light that reflects off the retina, and thus prevents that undesirable demonic look. Of course, you can always fix the problem with a photo-editing software, but why waste the time when it’s so easy to prevent in the first place.
  • Try modifying the light by placing a single layer of white tissue paper in front of the flash. It’ll soften the light. But remember, it will also reduce the amount of light that hits your subject.
  • Check the optimal flash distance in your manual(s). If the flash is too close to the subject, the subject will be overexposed. Your friend will end up looking washed out—great if you’re going for the pallor vampire look. If the subject is too far away, the flash won’t reach it. The result? An underexposed friend or object.
    Watch out when using the flash with a group picture. Some of your friends might not be within the optimal range.
  • The flash reflects off shiny objects such as mirrors and windows. The result is a bright flash of light in your picture that you didn’t want.


Remember, the flash is your friend. When used probably, it can really make a difference in your pictures. So, I’ll be discussing how to make the most of it over the next few tips.

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Tip # 15: The mysteries of the flash + photography tips