Articles from Parent Magazine
by Matthew Panzarino
Summertime Photo Blues
It’s summer again! Welcome to the land of shadowy faces and squinty eyes! It always seemed so ironic to me that the season where the most pictures are taken is the one where the pictures turn out so disappointing….a little too ironic…dontcha’ think? But I digress…Here’s one way to get your summer pictures to look great.
One of the great hidden-in-plain-sight features on digital cameras is the fill flash mode. By taking control of the flash so it fires when you want it too, you’ve just taken the important step toward getting great summer pictures.
As you’ll notice in the picture at left, with fill flash, the camera exposes for the background first, then adds just enough flash to “pop” your subject. By placing the subjects in the open shade beneath a tree and turning on the fill flash, both the boys and the background are properly exposed. If you try and move your subjects into o the shade, this will keep the kids, aunts, uncles, relatives and friends comfortable and cool with no squinty eyes from the harsh sun, and this often results in a more relaxed looking portrait. The result is a professional looking picture where everything in the frame looks good. Photographers have been using this technique for years.
Remember, though, that most built-in camera flashes only have a range of about 10 feet or so, so make sure you don’t stand too far away when using fill flash outdoors. Stop by Horn Photo this summer to receive your FREE fill flash training. We’ll show you how to turn on and use the fill flash on YOUR camera
