Speedlight/flash question

[TwinMommy402]

Hi,
I am as amateur as they come, so hope this isn't too silly to ask?

After 3 years of having my Rebel XT, I am trying to venture off Auto and shoot on Manual. I am just learning and no so little.

When do you use your flash or speedlight?

Do you ever not use them, if so when?

Thanks for all your input!

Jenn

[Skid]

I've had my 400D (XTi) for a little over a year, and I've always loved natural light (prefer the look) - so I've always shot without a flash. I've just recently bought one, and am having some fun with it (for example, you can change the light it fires by adding gels in front of the flash head - and change background colours of walls, etc). Indoors, I find it difficult to shoot, unless near a window (with a flash) - so now I'm bouncing the flash off the celing, and am getting much nicer exposed photos.

A great place to read up about it is http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash

I started there - almost through it all, and then onto the strobist blog - http://strobist.blogspot.com/

I've also asked a million questions here

[TwinMommy402]

Thank you.
I find some times when I shoot without a flash on manual, my pics are kind of blurry. Probably cause I have no clue which settings to use yet.

I have so much to learn!
Anyone live in NYC and wanna teach me?

[jcolman]

Originally Posted by TwinMommy402

Thank you.
I find some times when I shoot without a flash on manual, my pics are kind of blurry. Probably cause I have no clue which settings to use yet.

I have so much to learn!
Anyone live in NYC and wanna teach me?

They are blurry most likely due to camera movement and/or subject movement. You should really pick up a book on basic photography and learn the camera settings. Otherwise, you're just going to be frustrated when your pictures don't turn out.

Here's a short tutorial on photography 101 I wrote for another forum a while ago. Maybe it will help you.

http://forums.offtopic.com/showthread.php?t=2292040

[TwinMommy402]

Thanks off to read!

[Curtis N]

Flash allows you to add light to a scene. There are many reasons for doing so, such as
1) Available light quantity sucks (too dark)
2) Available light quality sucks (ugly puke green fluorescent or sodium vapor)
3) Available light harsh, or coming from the wrong direction (sunny day)
4) To equalize exposure of subject and background (shaded subject with sunny background)
5) To make your subject brighter than the background
6) To freeze motion of a moving subject

Flash also has its drawbacks. It limits your shutter speed, can be distracting and annoying to subjects, requires recycle time between shots, and may be a different color temperature than the ambient light.

The ability to add light to a scene makes the difference between capturing an image and creating an image. It can take your photography to a whole new level.

As you venture into the world of flash, just remember that every flash photograph is two exposures in one: An ambient light exposure and a flash exposure. You will need to learn to think about the two exposures separately and learn to manage both.

Its an exciting world, but there is a serious learning curve.

[agedbriar]

Originally Posted by Curtis N

The ability to add light to a scene makes the difference between capturing an image and creating an image. It can take your photography to a whole new level.

How true!

That's why I'm now doing my best to finally learn flash, after decades of disdain.