July 21st 2021
We know that you guys love taking photos at the range of your rifles. If you are selling a rifle or scope, front rest, rear bag, or scope, you will need photos to post in our Forum Classifieds. Here’s a simple tip to help you take better photos. You can use your camera’s ability “fill flash” to create brighter photos even in daylight.
A bright day will have plenty of light. However, bright light can also create strong shadows. Shadows can make your subject appear as if they are in the dark. Daylight flash can fill in the dark spots. Flash can also be used if you are in a covered area and want to include the range of the shot. This will ensure that the foreground subject is not too dark and the background downrange is not too bright.
Photo without Flash
The above photo was taken without flash. As you can see, details are lost because the rifle is too dark. The background (downrange), is also over-exposed and washed. The second photo is taken with a daylight flash. The difference is striking. The background is now visible and you can see the details of the rifle. It is much easier to see the targets downrange as well as the colors on the front rest. NOTE: These two photos were taken simultaneously — only seconds apart.
Photo with Daylight “Fill Flash”
Make sure you click on the larger versions for each photo.
How to activate Daylight Flash
Many digital cameras can flash daylight. Some cameras have an additional setting for “autofill flash”. Other cameras will require you to set the camera to aperture priority, and then stop the aperture to cause the flash to fire. Check the manual of your camera. Many Canons have a menu that allows you to set the flash output. We like to set the flash output at between 30% and 50% for fill flash. This fills in shadows without “killing contrast” and creating too much reflection on shiny metallic. Below is a photo with 30% flash output. You can see the rich colors and the balanced exposure between the background and foreground. Without flash, the sky and target area would look “washed out”.
Another tip for Canon owners: Use the “Vivid”, an effects menu setting, if you prefer deep, rich colors. This increases saturation and contrast.
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Tags: Cameras, Canon, Daylight Flash and Fill Flash, Flash Photo and Photography, Smart Phone
