New Flash Help!

[melissa_w.___arizona_calif]

I have just bought a Sunpak 383 flash and quickfilp stroboframe bracket to use with my

Canon 300D. I have been fiddling with it and haven't really been able to get the hang of it.

This is the first time I have used a flash. I am looking to use it for outdoor fill flash as well

as indoor with low lighting. I think I am getting the hang of the outdoor fill, but using it

indoors with low lighting is just kicking my @ss! I want as natural a look as possible, but

only seem to get the deer in the headlight look. I tried using it last night with no success

and came home very frustrated. If you have any tips, tricks or rules of thumb you would

like to share they would be most appreciated! Thanks for any comments.

[aardvarko]

Don't point it at your subject!

[picturesque]

Be sure you are using the camera in manual mode, so you can control and the shutter speed. You can't use it in P unless you can match up the f-stop to the 383. If you use it in AV, the camera will automatically set the shutter speed to 1/125 or 1/60th, which will give you the "deer" look indoors. Manual mode with slower shutter speeds will give you more background detail (its called "dragging the shutter"--do a search). Or, bounce the flash.

[gregory_roush]

The whole key is to properly expose for the background ambient light. In manual mode, set the largest aperture your flash allows for your film speed, f/4 for example. Adjust the shutter speed until the meter is neutral to -0.5 for the entire scene. This may take you into very slow shutter speeds depending on the room. This way the flash illumination closely matches the room illumination. Remember, aperture for flash exposure and shutter speed for ambient light exposure. To reduce flash exposure, stop down. But then reduce the shutter speed to compensate. There is no substitute for practice and experimentation here, so shoot a lot of test shots in different places and keep notes. The biggest headache is subject motion and camera shake at the slow shutter speeds involved. You'll be down around 1/30 to 1/8 sec. But this too can be used creatively. Make it a goal to master this technique and you'll get much more confident.