Fill Flash Troubles

[ajfetzer]

Hi Everyone
I am trying to get the fill flash technique down. I often take photos of my boys in the middle of the day or morning when the sun's shadow's are really harsh. I have been trying to use the fill flash to fill in some of the shadows but I am getting a very over exposed image. When I have my camera set on Manual I can only set the shutter speed as high as 200 when the flash is on even though when I meter the correct shutter speed should be much higher. What am I doing wrong it seems not to be working for me at all! I know one of you knows how to properly use the fill flash

[bluelemur01]

hi Amie,
for me, using fill flash is always a bit of trial & error. When I use flash outside for a fill on someone's face, I often dial it down to -2/3, or -1 or even -2, depending how close I am and depending on how much fill I really need. Often when the flash is on "full" it's just way too much light. I will often try one pic, see how it looks, adjust the flash, and try again. Then, once I know how much flash is needed in that situation, I can take a bunch of pics & they will turn out well.

You also need to be aware of your camera's flash sync speed. All cameras have a maximum shutter speed they can use with flash. On many cameras, it's 1/200 of a second. If you try to set your shutter speed to MORE than 1/200th of second on that camera, your picture may have part of it that is well-exposed and another part of it, like a vertical strip, that is much darker than it should be. That is because the shutter in your camera, a mechanical moving piece, only moves at a certain maximum speed, and if your flash goes off when the shutter is moving, not all of the picture will be exposed to the light from the flash, and part of the picture will be too dark. Now SOME cameras have a "high speed sync flash" option where the flash flashes in several short bursts while the shutter is moving to thereby expose ALL the picture during the shot, and when you use this option, you can use a much higher shutter speed. But for normal pics in normal circumstances, you need to ensure that you are not violating your maximum sync speed. Your manual will tell you what that is...check the glossary under "Sync Speed" or "Flash sync speed" or similar.

In general, you can think of fill flash like this: You set the camera for the background, and you set the flash for the person/face. Here are a few sites that give information on fill flash; the first one seems to be asking the same question you did!


overexposed pictures outside with fill flash - Mpix.com Community

Fill Flash Can Make Dull Photos "Pop"

[katrinak]

Jennifer gave a great explanation! I too shoot and adjust since there really isn't a magic formula or rule to go by. I was taught (although some disagree with this) that your aperture controls the flash and the shutter speed controls the background. So adjust your aperture up or down according to how much light you want your flash to provide. And then use your feet (moving closer or further to your subject) to adjust the light as well.

Hope this makes sense.