Introduction Skills of Digital Photography (4)

Flash User's Guide for Digital Cameras Generally, low-end digital cameras have three flash modes, namely automatic flash, red eye removal and off flash. More advanced products also provide "forced flash" or even "slow flash" function. So, what's the difference? What are the points for attention when actually shooting?

Automatic flash

Generally, when the camera (using film) and the digital camera do not change any settings, the flash mode is preset in the "Auto Flash" mode. At this point, the camera will automatically determine whether the light of the shooting scene is sufficient. If it is insufficient, it will automatically turn on the flash when shooting to make up for the lack of light. For most of our shooting, the "auto flash" mode is enough.

Eliminate red eye

The phenomenon of "red eye" often appears when taking portrait photos (especially in close range and dark environment). This is caused by the flash reflected from the retina of the eye. If you don't want people's or animals' eyes to have "red eye", you can use the "red eye elimination" mode of the digital camera, and let the flash flash once or several times before the main flash and shooting to adapt to people's pupils.

Turn off the flash (force no flash)

As the name implies, it is to force the digital camera to turn off the flash. No matter what the lighting conditions of the shooting environment are, no flash is allowed. This function is most suitable for shooting in places where flash is forbidden. For example, the author once used this function to shoot the Golden Buddha in the Wannian Temple in Emei Mountain and the Dragon Ball in the Forbidden City. In addition, through this function, you can create a natural shooting atmosphere at dusk or in low light.

Forced flash

That is, contrary to "turning off the flash", that is, whether in bright or weak light environment, you should turn on the flash to flash. Usually used to shoot people with their backs to the light source. Because when shooting a person, if the subject is in the backlight position (for example, shooting a person with his back to a bright window in a dark room), then the front of the subject will be in the shadow and can't see clearly. At this time, with this function, you can take a photo of the subject receiving uniform light within the effective coverage of the flash.

Slow synchronous flash

When taking pictures in dim light, if you use a flash and a high shutter speed, it is easy to cause the foreground subject to be too bright or even dazzling, while the background is still gloomy and it is impossible to distinguish the details. "Slow flash synchronization" will delay the release speed of digital camera shutter, use flash to illuminate the foreground, and cooperate with slow shutter (such as 1/5 seconds) to expose the weak light background. In this way, you can take photos with harmonious exposure before and after. The author's own practical experience is to shoot "Welcome Pine" on Huangshan Mountain in rainy and foggy days, and the effect is satisfactory. However, there are two points to note when using this function. First, when shooting in low light, using a slow shutter may lead to blurred photos because the photographer's hands are shaking. I suggest that you support the digital camera with a tripod dedicated to the camera to keep it stable. Secondly, when using flash to assist shooting, pay attention to the shooting distance within the effective coverage of flash. The built-in flash coverage of middle and low-end digital cameras is limited. In the words of photographers, its flash index is low (generally within 1~9 meters), but it has basically met the needs of ordinary shooting.

Play with your digital camera

The world is changing so fast! In human history, our ability, function, speed and control to express ourselves visually have made rapid progress than before. You can pick up a digital camera and take a picture of your child. After a few seconds, you can input the image into the computer and freely process it with image editing software. Then you can print it out as a photo or send it to friends far away through the Internet. And all this can be done without leaving home. Our "digital magic box" also has the same characteristics as traditional cameras when recording pictures: they need enough exposure and some stable methods when exposed for a long time in the dark. When shooting with long focal length lenses, we also face the same problem: they will close our sight and increase the vibration of our camera. In other words, in the case of low light or long focal length, you need to use a tripod or a monopod, otherwise the photo is likely to be blurred.

Let the digital camera "calm down"

Digital cameras are expensive and very afraid of heat. So it's best not to expose them to the sun or put them in the car in summer. But if you do, you'd better let them cool down before shooting, otherwise it will damage the heat-sensitive electronic devices inside the camera.

Limitations of liquid crystal display

The liquid crystal display on digital camera can let you see the effect of photos immediately, but it also has limitations. Here, we only pay attention to its clarity. Generally, the LCD screen only has a certain number of pixel values, and its diagonal is generally 1.8 to 2 inches. In other words, it can only show the general appearance of the image, so if you want to know whether the photo you just took is clear, you should immediately switch the camera to playback mode, and then zoom in and move the image to see if it is clear.

A little flash

Standard color temperature flash: You will often see such flash modes: automatic flash, forced flash switch, or similar modes. These modes allow you to use the flash under any conditions. When shooting during the day, you can also fill the dark shadow with a flash, or fill the face in the shadow.

Effective flash range: In most digital cameras, the effective range of built-in flash is generally only about 3 meters to 5 meters. Beyond this range, the brightness of the flash is not enough, and the image will be very dark, just like the film is underexposed. Some advanced digital cameras can be connected with a flash, and adding a flash with a large index is naturally helpful for digital cameras.

Slow synchronous flash: Slow synchronous flash mode is mostly used for portrait shooting at night or in some dark conditions. In slow synchronization mode, the camera will illuminate the foreground object and increase the exposure with a longer shutter opening time. Slow synchronous flash mode can make the exposure of foreground and background as close as possible. However, due to the long exposure time in slow synchronous flash mode, tripod is very important.

Flash mode to reduce red eye: the anti-red eye function can minimize the reflection of human retina. The red-eye prevention function can automatically pre-flash before shooting, which narrows the pupil of human eyes in advance, thus minimizing the reflected light of retinal red, and then the flash will flash again for exposure.

Turn off the automatic flash mode: Sometimes photos taken indoors or in dark light look good on the LCD screen, and the flash will lower the level of the subject and the picture will look dull. At this time, please turn off the automatic flash mode and trust the soft and natural lighting.