General Information Class Location, Timing & Parking 1. 807 Rochow St., Houston, TX 77019 (View Google Map) 2. Arrive 10-15 minutes early to find parking and settle into your seat. 3. The class officially begins at 6:00pm sharp. Please be on time so you do not interrupt others. 4. PARKING IS LIMITED. We appreciate your understanding on this. We are only able to provide approximately 6 parking spaces for our students. 5. Once our parking spaces are filled you will be responsible for finding parking elsewhere. (see attached parking map) **EverydayPhotoClass is not responsible for public parking citations and/or towing. PHOTO3 Perfection What to Bring With You 1. Print the downloadable notes through your account on our website and bring them with you to class. (If you have forgotten your account password you can recover your password by using your email address.) 2. Bring a pen and some paper in case you would like to take extra notes during the class. 3. Bring your camera, lenses and flash if you have one. Make sure you have charged the camera battery ahead of time. Class Description This is a one-day 2-hour class that focuses on using your camera's flash settings to enhance lighting in your pictures. Learn to overcome the greatest difficulties in photography which is dark/indoor lighting. Also learn to produce soft, natural looking light rather than the harshness you are accustomed to seeing from your flash. Everything you learn applies to your camera s built-in flash as well as an external flash attachment. However, one small portion of this class shows you the one thing an external flash attachment can do that the built-in flash cannot. This short portion of the class is jaw dropping and will make you drool for an external flash if you don t already own one. After taking our three photography classes you are will be fully equipped to take the amazing pictures you have always been hoping for and you can now attend our monthly practice sessions for hands on coaching. Topics Covered 1. Using Flash with Aperture Priority/Shutter Priority 2. Flash Compensation 3. Making the flash travel farther 4. Slow Sync/ Rear Sync (1st/2nd curtain) 5. Bouncing a flash indoors and outdoors 6. Enhancing light without a flash
Rochow St. Parking Map D Amico St. P Leonidas St. EverydayPhotoClass P Private Parking Lot $5 Fee W Lamar St. No Parking Area Free Public Street Parking Limited Student Parking EverydayPhotoClass W Dallas St.
1. START WITH ISO 400 2. CHOOSE APERTURE or SHUTTER PRIITY Aperture Priority -To play with Depth of Field (Out of Focus Background) -Appropriate for subjects NOT moving erratically Shutter Priority -To play with the look of Motion and Moving Subjects -Appropriate for subjects moving erratically 3. CHOOSE THE APERTURE SHUTTER SPEED SETTING YOU WANT TO USE Aperture Priority Large Depth of Field In-Focus Background f22 f16 f11 f8 f5.6 f4 f2.8 Small Depth of Field Out-of-Focus Background Shutter Priority Frozen Motion 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30 1/15 1/8 Streaking Motion 4. LOCK THE METER ON 18% GREY (STAY AWAY FROM SHADOWS) Ensure Correct Brightness (no hit/miss pictures) Press the AE-Lock button while pointing the Spot Meter at something 18% grey. DO NOT meter on shadowy portions of that 18% grey object. Redo the metering if the lighting changes. Standard 18% Grey Objects Healthy Green Grass Clear Blue Skies Palm of the Hand Mid-Range Colors 5. CHECK F WARNING SIGNALS Aperture Priority - Warning Signal #1 Shutter Speed blinks in the viewfinder or HI WHAT TO DO Take a test shot to see what s wrong TOO BRIGHT= Lower the ISO Aperture Priority - Warning Signal #2 Shutter Speed is slower than 1/60 WHAT TO DO Slow Shutter means everything is too Dark TOO DARK = Raise ISO or use a Flash Shutter Priority - Warning Signal #1 Aperture blinks in the viewfinder or HI WHAT TO DO Take a test shot to see what s wrong TOO BRIGHT= Lower the ISO Shutter Priority - Warning Signal #2 Aperture blinks in the viewfinder or LO WHAT TO DO Take a test shot to see what s wrong TOO DARK= Raise the ISO or use a Flash Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these notes and exercises may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
6. KEEP IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND (for Aperture Priority) -For a Small Depth of field (Out of Focus Background) = Make sure you zoom to 50mm or above -If you zoom below 50mm, which is the wide-angle range, it will counteract the Small Depth of Field 1. TWEAK YOUR CAMERA S PERFMANCE TO YOUR LIKING SPTS/ACTION Auto Focus Points Allow to the camera to pin point the location of the subject for you (Used most of the time) AF-C/AI Servo Continuous focusing for continually moving subjects Continuous Drive Burst mode or rapid fire for action photos Focus Points/Focus Area Focus Drive/Focus Mode Shutter Drive/Drive Mode NON-SPTS/ACTION Center Focus Point Pin point the location of the subject in the center of the frame AF-S/Oneshot Focus lock for non-moving subjects and creative focusing (rule of thirds) Single Drive Take pictures one at a time for nonaction photo Auto White Balance Typically most accurate picture colors 95% of the time EV Compensation (Optional) Change the brightness of pictures one shot at a time. White Balance EV Compensation or Bracketing Presets If Auto white balance produce good picture color, choose the option that matches the type of lighting you are taking pictures in Bracketing (Optional) Automate EV Compensation to take 3 picture with different amounts of brightness/darkness Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these notes and exercises may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
FLASH F DARK/INDO LIGHTING 1. START WITH ISO 400 FLASH F THE DAYTIME (FILL FLASH) 1. START WITH ISO 400 2. ALWAYS USE APERTURE PRIITY 2. ALWAYS USE APERTURE PRIITY 3. CHOOSE THE APERTURE SETTING YOU WANT TO USE F THE DEPTH OF FIELD Large Depth of Field In-Focus Background f22 f16 f11 f8 f5.6 f4 f2.8 Small Depth of Field Out-of-Focus Background 3. CHOOSE THE APERTURE SETTING YOU WANT TO USE F THE DEPTH OF FIELD Large Depth of Field In-Focus Background f22 f16 f11 f8 f5.6 f4 f2.8 Small Depth of Field Out-of-Focus Background 4. READJUST SETTINGS TO HELP THE FLASH TRAVEL FARTHER Bring the Aperture in the direction of f2.8 If that s not enough Raise the ISO in the direction of 6400 5. IGNE METERING COMPLETELY 6. IGNE WARNING SIGNALS COMPLETELY 7. NOVELTY/OPTIONAL FLASH SETTINGS Slow Sync/1 ST Curtain (For better nighttime backgrounds) Rear Sync/2 ND Curtain (For Frozen+Streaking Motion) Flash Compensation (+/-) (To change the brightness of the flash) 4. LOCK THE METER ON 18% GREY (STAY AWAY FROM SHADOWS) Ensure Correct Brightness (no hit/miss pictures) Press the AE-Lock button while pointing the Spot Meter at something 18% grey. DO NOT meter on shadowy portions of that 18% grey object. Redo the metering if the lighting changes. Standard 18% Grey Objects Healthy Green Grass Clear Blue Skies Palm of the Hand Mid-Range Colors 5. CHECK F WARNING SIGNALS Warning Signal = TOO BRIGHT WHAT TO DO TOO BRIGHT= Lower the ISO (If that isn t enough to fix the warning) Close the Aperture= In the direction of f22 Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these notes and exercises may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.
EverydayPhotoClass PHOTO3 Perfection Notes Each assignment is meant to give you an illustration of some of the things we cover in class. It is recommended that you look back at your notes to help you understand what you are doing and why. Each assignment tells you which point it is illustrating so that you can easily find that section of your notes. Once you have completed the assignment you should take time to shoot pictures in the real world using these techniques. This will really help you to solidify what you have learned. Use the Studio 807 Student Feedback for any questions about your assignments! 1. INTRODUCTION When taking pictures in dark/indoor lighting using a flash will give you extra light to work with. When using a flash for dark/indoor lighting you may ignore metering and warning signals. When taking pictures with a flash you should always use the Aperture Priority Mode. The pop-up flash is usually only effective for up to 20 feet worth of distance. TTL Flash Mode The TTL flash mode is the flash mode you should be using. The TTL mode allows the camera and flash to work together in a very educated manner. Therefore the flash tends to be accurate in emitting the right amount of light. By default your popup flash is in TTL mode. If you own an external flash unit you should choose the TTL mode. Flash, Shutter Speed and Sync Speed Flash sync speed: The fastest shutter speed you are able to use when the flash is engaged. Typically the sync speed is 1/200 or 1/250. Keep in Mind, Even though your camera is unable to use faster shutter speed with a flash, The use of a flash will always freeze any action/movement in your pictures. Canon Cameras If you have a Canon Camera you need to configure your flash settings to work properly. Older Canon Cameras: Navigate to the Custom Function Menu >Shutter Speed in Av Mode> Fixed. Newer Canon cameras: Navigate to the Flash Control Settings (Red Tab)
2. FLASH & APERTURE MAKE THE FLASH TRAVEL FARTHER When using a flash the Aperture will allow you to affect how far the flash is able to travel **Visual Effect: Large Depth of Field or In-Focus Background Does NOT allow flash to travel far f16 f11 f8 f5.6 f4 f2.8 Allows flash to travel farther **Visual Effect: Small Depth of Field or Blurry Background Flash & Aperture Food for Thought You can use a combination of the Aperture and ISO to help the flash travel farther 3. FLASH & ISO MAKE THE FLASH TRAVEL FARTHER When using a flash you should think of the ISO in terms of how far the flash can travel to reach your subject. Keep in mind, the ISO will still affect grain/digital noise in the picture. Flash does NOT travel far (Less Grain/Digital Noise) 100 200 400 800 1600 3200 Flash travels farther (More Grain/Digital Noise) Flash Distance Food for Thought ISO 400 is a great starting point when using a flash for dark/indoor lighting. To help your flash be more effective at greater distances you should do the following: 1. Open the Aperture (i.e. f2.8) 2. If the flash is still not traveling far enough 3. Raise the ISO (i.e.6400) If you do not help your flash to travel farther distances you will notice that the flash will try its hardest by using more power to send out a brighter burst of light. This makes the flash work too hard which can shorten the life of the flash and create longer cycle times between each flash shot you take.
Flash & Aperture ASSIGNMENT In a low lit situation have your subject stand at least 25 feet away if you are using a pop-up flash or 40 feet if you are using an external flash. Choose an ISO of 400 Turn your flash on and set your Aperture to f3.5 or if you have the ability you should choose f2.8. Take a picture. Now change your Aperture to f22 and take another picture. Notice how your flash was better able to illuminate your subject when you chose aperture f3.5. This is because a larger aperture such as f3.5 allows your camera to see more of the light emitted by the flash. This makes it easier for your flash to reach your subject at greater distances and it keeps the flash from working too hard which allows the flash to recycle quicker. Flash & ISO ASSIGNMENT In a low lit situation have your subject stand at least 25 feet away if you are using a pop-up flash or 40 feet if you are using an external flash. Turn your flash on and set your ISO to 100. Take a picture. Now change your ISO to 1600 and take another picture. Notice how your flash was better able to illuminate your subject when you chose ISO 1600. This is because a high ISO such as 1600 allows your camera to see more of the light emitted by the flash. This makes it easier for your flash to reach your subject at greater distances and it keeps the flash from working too hard which allows the flash to recycle quicker.
4. FLASH COMPENSATION What is Flash Compensation? Flash compensation works on the same plus or minus scale used for EV Compensation and Bracketing When you use Flash Compensation it changes the brightness of the flash. Why Use Flash Compensation? If you think your flash is too bright or too dark you can use the flash compensation to force the flash to give you extra light or less light. Make sure to turn the Flash Compensation off when you are done using it. To turn the Flash Compensation off simply bring it back to the zero position. -2-1 0 +1 +2 Less Powerful Flash More Powerful Flash Default Flash Compensation ASSIGNMENT Turn your flash on and find a subject to take pictures of indoors. Go ahead and take a picture. Now take a second picture with the flash compensation set to +1, followed by a third shot with the Flash compensation set to -1. Notice that the light emitted from the flash becomes brighter when you move the flash compensation to +1. By doing this you are telling the flash to send out a brighter burst of light to make the picture brighter by +1. When you move the flash compensation to -1 the light from the flash became darker by -1.
5. SLOW SYNC (First Curtain) FLASH Why use Slow Sync Flash? Whenever you use a flash to take pictures at nighttime typically your subject in the foreground becomes well lit while the background turns completely black. If you wish to see more details in the background of your nighttime picture you should use the Slow Sync Flash option. Scenarios where Slow Sync Flash is useful Taking a picture of a person with a nighttime cityscape in the background Taking pictures of your family standing in front of your house with Christmas lights on it Slow Sync Food for Thought Using Slow Sync allows your camera to use a slow shutter speed in combination with the flash. When you take the shot the flash will fire first and then the camera will continue to take the picture with a slow shutter speed. You should use Aperture Priority, do not use Shutter Priority. You must have your camera attached to a tripod. You must ask your subject to stand completely still. ** If your camera does not give you a Slow Sync option you can use the Rear Sync option to create the same effect ** On Canon Cameras you can choose between first and second curtain under your flash options in the first red tab menu. In order to activate the Slow/Rear sync you must navigate to the Custom Function Menu>Exposure Options>Shutter Speed in Av Mode> Auto. When you are done you should return this setting to the Fixed option. **Some Nikon cameras do not give you a Slow Sync option. In order to create the Slow Sync effect you can use Rear Sync. The only difference is that you will ask you subject to stand completely still. Slow Sync Flash ASSIGNMENT Set the flash option on your camera to regular flash and set your camera on a tripod. In an outdoor low light setting have your subject stand in a spot where their background seems interesting to you. Make sure your subject is not standing up against a wall as the background. Pop up your built-in flash or turn your external flash on. Take a picture. Now set the flash option on your camera to Slow Sync Flash, ask your subject to stand completely still and take the same shot. Notice how the first shot taken on regular flash produced a dark background. When you took the same shot using slow sync flash the background in the picture was much more visible in the picture. Slow sync combines a slow shutter speed to allow the background to burn through on to the picture with a flash to light the subject in the foreground. Make sure the camera is on a tripod and that your subjects stand completely still when using slow sync flash.
6. REAR SYNC (Second Curtain) FLASH Why use Rear Sync Flash? Rear Sync is used to give you a frozen plus streaking motion effect. This is a novelty effect that can be useful for sports. Slow Sync Food for Thought Using Rear Sync allows your camera to use a slow shutter speed in combination with the flash. When you take the shot the camera will begin to take the picture with a slow shutter speed and then the flash will fire just before the camera closes the shutter to finish the picture. You should use Aperture Priority, do not use Shutter Priority. You must have your camera attached to a tripod Your subject can be in motion ** On Canon Cameras you can choose between first and second curtain under your flash options in the second red tab menu. In order to activate the Slow/Rear sync you must navigate to the Custom Function Menu>Exposure Options>Shutter Speed in Av Mode> Auto. When you are done you should return this setting to the Fixed option. ** For Nikon Cameras, to turn off the Rear Sync or Slow Sync flash option simply choose the regular zig-zag arrow which is the regular flash mode. **Some Nikon cameras do not give you a Slow Sync option. In order to create the Slow Sync effect you can use Rear Sync. The only difference is that you will ask you subject to stand completely still. Rear Sync Flash ASSIGNMENT Set the flash option on your camera to Rear Sync Flash and set your camera on a tripod. In an outdoor low light setting have your subject walk or run past you. As your subject moves follow or track them with the camera. (You can use continuous focusing drive to continually keep them in focus as they move) Pop up your built-in flash or turn your external flash unit on and set it to TTL. Take a picture. Notice how the subject seems to streak through the photograph and also seems to be frozen at the end of the motion. Rear sync uses a slow shutter speed that allows the subject s motion to streak through the picture combined with a flash to freeze the subject at the end of the motion. Make sure the camera is on a tripod when using rear sync flash.
7. FILL FLASH TECHNIQUE OUTDOS What is Fill Flash used for? Typically when taking pictures in dark or nighttime lighting you use a flash to give you extra light to work with. The Fill Flash technique is used for daytime or well-lit situations to get rid of shadows. Metering and Fill Flash Technique When using the Fill Flash technique you need to use Metering and the Regular Flash option (Not Slow or Rear Sync). You should continue to meter on objects that seem to be 18% grey (such as green grass, mid-range skin tones, crisp blue skies). For fill flash you will ALWAYS meter on the bright side of the 18% grey object, not the shadowy side. Once you have locked your metering you can take your picture with the flash engaged. Once you have turned on your flash for Fill Flash you should double check for warning signals. If you see a warning signal this is telling you that the picture is too bright. Therefore, you should choose a lower ISO and/or use a Neutral Density filter to block out more light. Scenarios where Fill Flash is useful Taking pictures on a sunny day of a person sitting in the shadow of a tree or umbrella Taking pictures on a sunny day of a person wearing a hat which creates a shadow on the face To get rid of any sort of unflattering shadows created by the sun or any light source Taking pictures of a person who has their back to the sun Fill Flash Outdoors ASSIGNMENT On a sunny day have your subject stand in the shade of a tree where the background is bright or not in a shadow. Meter off of something that is 18% grey in the bright background (ex: healthy green grass). Take a picture. Now, pop up your built-in flash or turn your external flash on. Double check for warning signals. If you see warning signals it is telling you that it is way too bright. To solve this warning you should either lower the ISO (i.e. ISO 100) or use a Neutral Density Filter (like sunglasses on your lens) to block out more light. Once the warning signals have disappeared you can take the picture. Notice that the first picture taken without the flash produced a picture where the background looks correct while your subject was much darker. However, in the second picture both the subject and the background are properly exposed. That is because the fill flash technique allows you to meter off of a bright background while the flash fills the shadows with light. When using the Fill Flash technique you should always double check whether your camera is giving you a warning signal Fill Flash Outdoors ASSIGNMENT On a bright sunny day have your subject stand in the sun where the sun at a side angle to the subject. Meter off of something that is 18% grey that is not covered by shadow (i.e. bright side of the face). Take a picture. Now, set your camera to regular flash and pop up your built-in flash or turn your external flash on. Double check for warning signals. If you see warning signals it is telling you that it is way too bright. To solve this warning you should either lower the ISO (i.e. ISO 100) or use a Neutral Density Filter (like sunglasses on your lens) to block out more light. Once the warning signals have disappeared you can take the picture. Notice that the first picture taken without the flash produced a correct looking picture but with shadows falling on some areas of your subject s face. In the second picture the shadows are brighter and seem to match the bright side of the face. That is because the fill flash technique allows you to fill shadows with light from the flash so the subject will be more evenly lit. You can also use this technique when the sun is directly behind your subject casting a full shadow on their face. When using the Fill Flash technique you should always double check whether your camera is giving you a warning signal.
8. FILL FLASH TECHNIQUE INDOS What is Indoor Fill Flash used for? When you are taking pictures indoors but your subject is standing near a window, the window is typically much brighter than your subject standing in the darker interior lighting. You can use the fill flash technique to even out the lighting between the window and the darker indoor lighting. Metering and Indoor Fill Flash Technique For indoor fill flash always meter on the bright window Turn on the flash to brighten the darker indoor lighting. Make sure to double check for warning signals Fill Flash Indoors ASSIGNMENT In an indoor setting have your subject stand next to a window. Make sure to frame the picture so that both the subject and window are in the picture. Keep the flash turned OFF, meter on the bright window and take the first picture. Next, with the flash still turned OFF, meter on your subject s face and take a picture. Finally, turn on your flash, meter on of the window, and take the picture. You may need to double check for warning signals. Notice that when you used the fill flash technique for the last picture, the bright window and the subject standing indoors became evenly lit. Metering on the window tells the camera to make a the window look correct, while the flash fires a bright enough burst of light so the subject in the darker room matches the brightness of the window. When using the Fill Flash technique you should always double check whether your camera is giving you a warning signal.
9. BOUNCING FLASH The pros of bouncing the flash Get rid of red-eye, reflections in glasses, shadows behind the subject. Creates a much more diffused, 3 dimensional and soft lighting effect. Prevents harsh reflections on the face. Creates images that do NOT look as though a flash were used. Ways to bounce a flash Bounce on a wall Bounce on the Ceiling (use the built-in bounce card to help minimize shadows) Bounce behind you Use a Bounce Flash Diffuser for outdoors (make a homemade one with paper and a rubber band) Bouncing the flash food for thought When bouncing a flash you must make sure you are not bouncing off of colorful walls. You may need to consider helping the flash travel farther since bouncing the flash means the flash must travel greater distances. When standing farther away from your subject, you must bounce the flash at an angle so the light will actually reach your subject. First, determine the mid-way point between you and your subject. Next, find that mid-way point on the surface you wish to bounce the flash off of. This is where you should point your flash (see image below). Wall Subject Camera w/ Flash Bouncing Flash ASSIGNMENT In an indoor setting have your subject stand at a personable distance from you. Turn your flash on and take a picture with your flash pointing directly toward your subject. Now, take a shot with your flash point directly toward the ceiling above you. Next take a shot by pointing the flash toward a neutral colored wall next to your subject. Last take a shot pointing the flash directly behind you. (Make sure your head or hair does not get in the way of the flash) Notice the first shot taken with the flash point directly toward the subject produces flat and harsh lighting that is not all that appealing. However when you bounce your flash off of the ceiling, side wall and the wall behind you it produces much softer and appealing lighting, each with slightly different effects. Keep in mind that most of the time it may be easiest to bounce your flash off of the ceiling since the ceiling is usually painted white whereas walls are not always white. Bouncing the flash off of colored walls will tend to give off a colored hue in your photographs. Also keep in mind that whenever you use a flash for dark indoor or nighttime lighting it is not necessary to be concerned with metering or warning signals.
10. GET YOUR GAME PLAN TOGETHER Your basic approach to using EVERYTHING YOU HAVE LEARNED: 1. Look at the light to determine how bright or dark you think the lighting is and make an educated guess on the ISO you think works best for that lighting. You can start with ISO 400. 2. Decide whether you would like to use The Aperture Priority Mode (controls depth of field) or the Shutter Priority Mode (controls motion). 3. Choose the Aperture or Shutter Speed that will give you the visual effect you want. 4. Use the AE-Lock button to lock the spot meter on items that seem to be 18% grey. Make sure you lock the meter on the more brightly lit portion of the 18% grey object, not the shadowy portion. This step ensures that your pictures are never hit or miss in terms of brightness and darkness. 5. Check for warning signals and make adjustments especially using the ISO to make the warning signals go away. If you are using Aperture Priority, in dark lighting, without a flash you need to keep an eye on how slow the shutter speed is and then make your adjustments especially using the ISO to force the camera to speed up. 6. You can also affect your depth of field by using Focal Length. For a blurry background, remember to zoom to 50mm or above. 7. Tweak your camera s performance to your liking: Auto Focus Drive Allow to the camera to pin point the location of the subject for you (Used most of the time) AF-C/AI Servo Continuous focusing for continually moving subjects Continuous Drive Burst mode or rapid fire for action photos Auto White Balance Typically most accurate picture colors 95% of the time EV Compensation (Optional) Change the brightness of pictures one shot at a time. Focus Points/Focus Area Focus Drive/Focus Mode Shutter Drive/Drive Mode White Balance EV Compensation or Bracketing Center Focus Point Pin point the location of the subject in the center of the frame AF-S/Oneshot Focus lock for non-moving subjects and creative focusing (rule of thirds) Single Drive Take pictures one at a time for nonaction photo Presets If Auto white balance produce good picture color, choose the option that matches the type of lighting you are taking pictures in Bracketing (Optional) Automate EV Compensation to take 3 picture with different amounts of brightness/darkness
11 Using a Flash in Photography ISO 400 is still a good starting point Always shoot on Aperture Priority (Keep in mind, the flash will always freeze your subject) Choose the Aperture you would like to use for depth-of-field/blurry background effect. Flash for Dark/Indoor Lighting Ignore all metering & warning signals. Take a test shot. If the Flash isn t nearly bright enough, it means the flash was unable to travel far enough: o Open the Aperture (i.e.f2.8) o Raise the ISO (i.e. 6400) You may use Slow Sync/1 st curtain (for nighttime backgrounds) or Rear Sync/2 nd curtain (For frozen + streaking motion). You may use Flash Compensation to slightly adjust the brightness of the flash. If you have an external flash, you should always bounce the flash for better quality lighting. Fill Flash to eliminate shadows in daytime Turn on the Flash Use the AE-Lock button to lock the spot meter on items that seem to be 18% grey. Make sure you lock the meter on the more brightly lit portion of the 18% grey object, not the shadowy portion. Check for warning signals. If you see a warning, o Lower the ISO (i.e. 100). o Close the Aperture (i.e.f22). You may use a bounce diffuser on your flash for better quality lighting. Keep in mind the Fill flash technique only works for personable distances. PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! Take it slow practicing these seven steps listed above. The most challenging part of photography is making these decisions quickly. If you take your time and make meaningful choices as you go through each step, this will eventually become second-hand nature to you. The slower you take it to begin with the quicker you will pick it up.