Digital Flash Photography
Great picture taking often requires for perfect light and often the quality of available light isn't always ideal. In areas like portrait taking we can easily use flash to overcome any light inadequacies landscape with photography the challenge is slightly different.
Light is probably the most important factor in digital photography and using flash can make all the difference in getting the light correct. Most cameras have some sort of built-in flash and without it we wouldn't be able to take some great photographs. There are a variety of popular types of flash and flash modes on digital cameras. I have listed these below along with the situations you would use them for digital flash photography.
Automatic flash
This is the most common type of flash used in digital flash photography. With automatic flash the camera detects low light levels and forces the flash to fire.
Flash on
This is usually an option on all digital cameras and it forces the flash on regardless of the available light. It is great for outdoor shots, often referred to as fill-in flash, it is used when the subject is darker for example you might be taking a portrait shot looking into the sun or in shadowed area.
Flash off
This is usually an option on all digital cameras and it forces the flash off completely - Use this to take long exposure shots at night or where flash photography is not permitted, such as in museums etc.
Slow-sync flash
This is the real gem of digital flash photography. It is usually an option on digital cameras and it forces the flash on. Slow-sync mode activates the flash when using slow shutter speeds and is useful for balancing the light between background and subject, and is great for night time portraits.
Digital Flash photography with red-eye reduction
This is usually an option on all digital cameras. Red-eye can be a problem in portraits taken with flash lighting up the blood vessels in the eye causing them to appear red on the picture. It is most common when subjects are close to the lens. To prevent red eye digital cameras have a red eye setting which causes a single flash shot or a sequence of flashes, or a more prolonged and less distracting light before the main flash is fired. This causes the size of the pupil to shrink prior to the picture being taken.
Freezing Action with flash
The speed of a flash or the duration of a flash is in thousandths of a second and it can be used to freeze the action of a moving object.