Photography Tip - Turn Off Your Flash

I've been teaching a few photography classes as part of my day job, and I thought I'd share some tips on my blog - everyone wants to know how to take better photos, no matter what camera they have, or what they like taking pictures of. About 99.9% of the photos I take are of people, so that's what I'm talking about when I say:

Turn off your flash.


There are times when it's so dark that you have to use flash, or you need to fill in some shadows, etc., but photos look better when they are taken without the built-in flash. Here's an example I showed my classes:

The first image is taken with a flash - you can see bright shiny spots where the light reflected off the leaves, and it left dark shadows on the wall. The second image was taken without flash, at the same time of day in exactly the same spot. You can see more depth to the leaves, and more detail, without shiny spots, and you don't have those harsh shadows on the wall.

Disclaimer: The photos you are about to see are candids, have not been retouched, and are not amazing portraits! :)

This is a photo I just snapped of my nephew with my point-and-shoot on Auto (yes I chopped off his foot - he was walking and I didn't move fast enough). Photos like this are why I turn my flash off. I wouldn't ever throw this away, because it's my adorable nephew trying on my shoes, but I wouldn't consider it a good photo, photographically speaking. Especially since I cut off my shoes. But mainly because of the flash. The background is dark and he looks flat - all of the light from the flash fills in the shadows and you lose depth.

This next photo was taken in the same house, in similar or darker lighting conditions, but without flash. This one was also taken with a different camera, but the principle is still the same.

 There's a big difference in flash vs. no flash. Again, there are times when flash is useful, or necessary, but try turning your flash off inside your house and then take a look at your photos and see what you think!