Going flashless -
tips & insights

Note: For advice on buying cameras, click my camera equipment buttons in the left column.

Practice using

your camera indoors

without flash

The better your camera, the more often you will be able to take indoor pictures of people without having to use a camera flash. Professionals use this technique to induce a subdued glow - and to avoid the shortcomings of the camera flash (see my "Flash" page). They use indoor incandescent bulbs and/or the soft natural luminosity coming through a window.

Best outdoor

times of the day

Most vacationers think midday is the optimum time for outdoor photography. It's actually the worst time if it's sunny because the overhead sunlight is strong and harsh, which can wash out your photographed colors.

The two best daylight times are in the early morning and late afternoon. The low-angled sunrays grace landscapes and people in soft, rich, warm colors (yellow, reds, and oranges). And, the long shadows produce interesting contrasts.

Cloudy days

If the sky is overcast or hazy, don't put away your camera. Such skies are better than sunny ones for photographing people up close because the diffused illumination softens facial features. Flowers also look their best under grayish skies - their colors become vivid.

What you don't want to do is to include too much of a gray sky in your photo because that could depress the overall mood of your picture.

"Sun behind you"

Almost everyone knows the "shoot with the sun behind you" rule.

That's good advice, but not if the sun is directly behind you. Your subjects would be directly facing the sun. The resulting photo could show them squinting, and with washed out skin tones.

Wiser advice would be "have the sun behind you, but to one side". This way, your companions won't be looking directly into the sun.

You can usually accomplish this by taking a half-dozen steps to your left or right.

Or, you could ask your subjects to move into the shade.

Outdoor

fill-in flash

Sometimes it's unwise to go flashless even though it's high noon. Your camera's fill-in flash mode provides just enough brightness to reduce unattractive facial shadows caused by the midday sun. Those shadows appear under a person's hat, eyes, nose and chin.

Flash fill can also add vibrancy to a person's eyes.

Click to learn

these candid

photo tips & insights