Good pictures taken with flash?

Ive got lots of tips- though im not sure how much it will help, i have a digital SLR and a SB600 flash, the flash is movable so i can bouce the flash and get a more natural light. Or I use Gary Fong's Light Sphere too.

you can also try taping some paper over the flash to soften it. this are your best to choice if you dont have removable flash.

 

Whenever I use flash, I put it on the lowest setting possible. On the lowest setting it looks fine and is great for when you want to take a picture but there's not enough light-- the reason why I don't like to use it (and flash in general) is because it darkens the background and makes things look like night, depending on where I am. But yeah, check out your camera to see if you can adjust the power of it. Here's an example of a picture I took with my flash on one of the lower settings (not exactly the lowest, since the area was pretty dim already).

​

 

take pix with flash but making sure light is still somewhat shining on what ur trying to take flash with

but flash = ultimate evil most of the time :< ew

 

Flash need not be so evil. Diffuse it by taping a little peice of white tissue paper over your flash.

 

If you're stuck with the camera's built-in flash, then the previous posts are pretty much your only options.

Otherwise, for an external unit mounted on the top or side of the camera, tilt the head up so the ceiling acts as a bounce/diffuser (some flashes also come with a front-facing fill-in flash, which you can use or not depending on preference). This will give soft shadows underneath your subjects, and which isn't too bad.

I've found that putting the camera on manual (smallest aperture to get maximum depth of field combined with slowest speed for non-blurred image), and letting the flash use its own sensor, gives the most consistent results, but as many others have pointed out in other threads, taking photos of our dolls is learning everything anew. Any blue bias from the flash can easily be corrected in PS or PSP etc.

Another idea for lighting is to get one of the 500W portable halogen units (usually used for external security lighting) and bounce that off the ceiling, but they cast a very yellow light and get extremely hot.

 

I tend to put my finger over half the fixed flash aperture. Or a piece of masking tape.

 

I've actually grown more fond of my flash over the past year. I don't think there's much to help you with that flash problem if you have a built in, and have absolutely no control over the manual functions of your camera. But if you do, what I like to do is put my flash at it's lowest setting, and move it to where i want. and then adjust aperature (to adjust flash range and DOF) and shutter (normally 100) and modify the light if necessary (diffuse, gel, reflect etc)

as for getting that "night time" feel because everything behind your subject goes black... try using the night portrait mode on your camera for that. (the little guy with a star or moon behind him) that should help.

 

I, too, tape a couple layers of white tissue paper over my flash. Conversely, I only use the flash if I absolutely have to. The white tissue diffuses it enough that its at least acceptable.

 

Wow, that's a really good idea. I'm going to have to try that.

 

I use a Canon G5.

It has a pretty good auto mode and does good macro too, but there is a problem with the flash (in some angles, there is a darker hand right corner - very annoying! )

There are also manual modes where you can adjust the whites (so the colors aren't so yellow under tungstein light) and to adjust the focus to a certain spot in the picture (not necesserily the center), but I am so busy with studying (I'm going to be a pharmacist soon!) that I never get the time to read how to use the camera properly.

The auto mode makes the best pictures with natural light (that's why the pictures I post here are usually taken outside) and the worst... with flash!

I was wondering how often people here use flashes for their pictures?

 

I generally only ever use an option flash. Straight on board flash just never seems to work.

To get good picture using flash you need to bounce the light of the ceiling or wall. So for indoor pictures someone suggested two lamps on eoither side with out a shade and a spot light on the doll

All the picture I took at Dolpa had flash
http://public.fotki.com/aree/aree_stuff/dolpa-ny2/

 

I'm very oppose to flash. It can wash out the doll and leave them stark and looking startled. Also, it could over saturate an object and make everything else dim and dull. If natural light is not available try pulling over some lamps or getting clamp lights. Even a change in light bulbs could make a difference.

Flash may work for some people, but it doesn't really work for me. And there's my input on that~

 

I never ever ever use flash. It makes my pictures look absolutely terrible. If an area is too dark for me to take pictures, I'll either try and gets some lamps to brighten it up, or mess with the exposure setting on my camera. If thats not enough, I lighten and correct color in Photoshop.

Your camera should have the white balance settings in the menu, though I'm not sure exactly where as I don't have that camera.

 

There is white balance, BUT you have to you the manual mode (not point and shoot) in order to use it. Otherwise, the camera does everything for you ... well except take the picture!

 

the only time I use flash is when I'm playing about with lighting and exposure in general and even then it's on - 1 or 2 exp

Plain ol' flash is harsh and generally unflattering, you can add a defuser to soften it though (a piece of tissue paper held/taped over the flash works in a similar away) or simply boosting what light you have try a reflector or two, bits of card wrapped in tinfoil are a nice cheap and easy way to make your own.
Generally a reflector will help even when you have lots of natural light if you put it on the side that's in shadow since it'll eliminate any nasty, harsh shadows.

OR if your camera has the option you can turn the ISO up. The higher the ISO the more light that the camera allows in so the lower your exposure times so in theory you could max out the ISO so you wouldn't need the flash.
BUT and this is a big but, the higher the ISO the more noise you'll get in a shot. Typically you want the ISO set as low as possible to avoid the noise but some times you need to compromise ^^;

 

Personally, I never use flash myself. I'd rather fuss with fill lights and natural lighting, diffusion and such forth then fuss with the distances required to make flash a useful tool. I really only ever used it in photography class when we were doing portraiture, and even then I'd have rather not. >_>

 

On-camera flash doesn't "have" to be evil. It can be diffused and dslr owners can invest in accessory flashes which when bounced and diffused offer perfect "fill" which will put catchlights in the eyes and soften harsher edged shadows.

With a point and shoot you can try using a piece of light weight fabric - along the line's of a men's handkerchief - over the flash after you've locked your focus and such and see what sorts of results you get!

 

If I use my camera I do everything possible to avoid using flash (curse you kodak), but if I get to borrow the BF's cybershot then flash is my friend

Your camera sounds on the nicer side, you should slowly try to learn to use it whenever you get spare time.

 

Flash for me is evil. It make my normal skin Juri look like a radioactive albino dear in a semitruck's headlights.

 

Yeah, I used to "have" to use flash, and there are ways to use it without getting freaky results (ick, especially if it catches the face from below). I started messing around with sticking paper and the like on front of the flash.

Then, of course, I figured that I just needed to install brighter, less yellow lights and keep the camera really, really still (my camera is horrible with anything moving).

Unless you have special flashes and you know how to use them, it's best to not use them. It gives a much more natural feel to a subject that can get a little creepy.

Besides, if you have a very special doll, it lets you see everything that's so special ^_~

 

Hum... maybe I'll try that! Thanks!

 

I've invested in an energy saver daylight bulb to avoid using my camera's flash because the light flattens out my Lahoo's face until it's a bone-white blur with no nose. It doesn't do the same to our Delf, but I couldn't tell you why. I think it's just one of those things you need to experiment with before you hit a light level you like on your dolls.

 

I think good cam's should come without a flash option ~_~
No flash at all,
or a flash with a flash filter on it.

I only used flash for a druggy,part,emo scene shoot and i used about 10 kg's of foam to reflect the flash the right way... o_o"
like that you can create a scarry shadowy/dark background.

 

They do. Most if not all DSLR's allow you to control wether or not you want to use the built in flash, only when you're on full auto will the camera ever force you to use it. You can even have auto without flash if you want. You can also control just how early or late the flash fires on mine (and i assume with most others).

Flash isn't all bad, if used right it can be quite usefull.

 

try and play about with your camera's settings, I was messing about with my other half's cannon s70.. the difference between auto and "p" settings where basically you can set everything was amazing, I was able to reduce the flash right down and they went from being "whiteout" to slightly blue and spooky

 

Yes i know,
but i meant inbuilt flash lamps and things.
~lol, flashes are just a big nono unless you have a whole set of things around you to make sure the flash will be all around the room or filtered to a dimmer light..
-i myself have a special flash lamp set that reacts on my cam..complicated stuff. But i only use it for Human photography ^_^"
with dolls it's a lot of reflecting things :B

 

Why don't you use a tripod set your camera to AV mode and make the aperture (f/?.?) f/2.8. Then the camera will set the shutter speed for you it will be open for quite a long time but it will take a nice image that way you can control your WB and not have to fiddle around with shutter speeds.

However with your camera you can also set the flash exposure so that you don't wash the doll out. I think that is in your menu or function menu.

 

Manually setting the camera IS a great idea! But don't forget that even with settings dialed in the flash will most probably still need to be diffused! So - the trick is to experiment! Try different diffusing types of materials. This is the place I buy all my diffusers from -

http://www.lumiquest.com/softscreen.htm

And I know this following link is non-pc but this thing works - we tried it at Dollectable!

http://www.instructables.com/id/EFWF47HEFPEV2Z6BX8/

Get creative! but diffuse your on-camera flash and rid it of its evil nature!!!

 

Flashes can be very tricky. i suppose that using one all depends on what you want your picture to look like. here are just a few things to remember:

1- flashes created alot of direct lighting....so more glare and more "burn spots" (spots that are alot brighter han they should be....not necessarily a bad thing). the closer you are to your subject the more apparent it will be.

2- flashes duplicate sunlight, so unless you have film made for indoor photography (or a setting on your digital camera for indoor photogarphy) your pics will turn out yellow without a flash

3- you can create interesting moods with flashes by covering them with tranparent colored materials (such as colored celophane paper etc) just remember that doign this will reduce the light your flash emits so you might have to compensate

4- like it was mentionned before, reflectors can come in very handy...and can be very cheap (i often use a big white cardboard)

5- just try different things...even if you think it may not work, try it out anyway....alot of times the most interesting things come from mistakes and testing

ps. i have a bachelor in photography so if anyone has any questions you can pm me and i'll answer as best i can (although i'm not going to pretend i know wverything about photography ).

 

I usually don't use the flash - mostly because I choose to take my photos places where there's natural sunlight - It doesn't look extreme, it's (ofcourse) natural, and it won't "blur"out some of the details.

Though I've used flash SOMETIMES to creat some moods and stuff - For example I wanted a close-up to look sharp and edgy and the colouring I'd choosen for allowed it and it look really awsome, can't post it now though, because I ain't at home

 

Kristyn ~ That is a gorgeous example of diffusing a flash!!! Can you give us more details and tips about your actual technique? Well done!

 

Ahh thanks Well..I have just been super frustrated with my camera..cause I dont get alot of natural light in my home. And I dont always want to take my dollys outside. So I was sitting in my room last night. No lights on. Those pics were taken in complete darkness. So I just taped a white piece of material over the flash. Made a HUGE difference. I tried a black piece of material..But it took out all the flash. Couldnt see my doll lol. But I am sure you could do some really cool things with different sheer materials. Like using colors. ! Just wanted to show people that flash is not a bad thing

 

I use a Olympus Stylus 710 to take all my photos of my dolls. Although it is a digital camera, it takes amazing pictures. It has a bunch of SCN features, my favorite....Auction. It takes 3 pictures sequentially at different exposures in the appropriate size for e-auction. I don't do much selling on ebay, but it is the best feature that I've found that can take very detailed pictures of small objects, like my dolls. This setting doesn't use flash, but takes great pictures even if you're practically in the dark. I used to use the regular portrait feature with flash, but all my dolls have light skin tones and get whited out if flash is on.

 

For a diffuser that is a little less controversial than the cigarette box, you could use a white film container (you know the round ones that 35mm come in?) and put that over your flash in the same way that the cigarette box works. It works great, and then you don't have to have a big box of marlboro on your camera!

 

I've used the packaging off of silica beads for a diffuser on my hand-held, and that works great. I've also used a bit of a coffee filter taped over the flash, and that works pretty well too

 

I usually don't use flash, it makes my boy's features look weird with strange shapes. Rather than flash, I use a bright lamp that I especially bought for photo shoots. It works nicely.

 

I don't use flash for my dolls.The photo that take with flash is bad...I like natural light more than to flash.
I usually take photos in daytime. And use spot light to support when it is night.

 

I never use a flash either, I use a daylight lamp that I use for sewing. Lynda

 

I hate flash and think they mess up the pictures!

 

I'm a huge digital photography buff (and, ironically, it was taking shots of my sister's dolls that got me into this), so I hope you don't mind if I throw in my two cents.

I don't like using flash. I hate the washed-out look of it. Yes, sometimes you get a happy accident, but most of the time, I'm groaning when I load my pictures into the computer for editing before a mad, in upwards of two hours cussing rampage.

However, there's a trick to it. If you can find a way to bounce the light off of something else, the flash looks more natural. I own a digital SLR camera, and I'm currently salavating over a speedlight system in order to have a flash that I can point towards a wall or something to reflect the light.

 

The only time I'll ever use flash for any picture I take is a black and white. Colors get washed out with flash and make everything look much more dank and lifeless than it may be. And for BJD shots, you want alive.
As for black and whites, the flash is best used from above the object, or the first thing in the flash range turns white leaving you with a dark, horribly blury middle- and back- grounds.
I haven't experimented with flash and the Sepia setting yet, but I wouldn't recommend even trying, sepia puts a brown, old looking filter wash over a photo; with BJDs it'll turn their skin yellow.

Try more lighting on the sides of the subject if you're using flash + color mode. Then try taking pictures from a little above the subject. It may turn out that the interesting angle gives you a good flash distribution.

Good luck!

 

I never use flashes or any type of artificial lighting. I really on the sun to give natural shadow and softness. I find that artificial light makes lines to hard and they don't blend smoothly form the lightest light to the darkest dark.

 

It's so weird... Since I started this thread, I bought a new camera (I changed my old Canon G5 for a Nikon D80 SLR, pretty big upgrade) and use flash A LOT when taking pictures of dolls inside the house. The pictures very good now! I guess the quality of the flash makes a lot of difference. The new camera's flash is very strong, and makes the dolls look like they are in daylight (well... almost). I makes the eye colors pop beautifully and the wig fibers shine. For example, see this thread where all the pictures were taken with flash: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184286.

 

I never use the on-camera flash. I use natural light whenever I can, and if I can't keep the camera still enough to do that, I use a tripod

I have an optional flash for my camera, though... which I really need to break out and use...

 

I have the same camera! Or maybe a very similar one, I do have that SCN option and I've never used it. I should try it out! My favorite SCN setting for dolls with that camera is the available light one (I think that's what it's called, the picture is of a sleeping girl) with the closeup set to super macro mode (the one that doesn't let you zoom in or out, you have to move the camera closer or further), if you are in good lighting it takes AMAZING photos!

For taking pictures of dolls I rarely use flash. I'm not anti-flash since I've gotten good pictures using a flash and sometimes it's just convenient. But also I get a whole lot of bad ones. I like either real sunlight, or this sunlight lamp that I picked up at the craft store. But I recently got an Iplehouse boy and found it is IMPOSSIBLE to take a picture of him in natural light! Or sunlight lamp light even. He's NS but it makes him look bone white, I have no clue why! But for some reason if I use a flash on him, the pictures come out true to life colored and perfect.

 

personally i've heard that, just like why some art museums don't let people use flash, that flash effects some pigments and will speed up the yellowing process.

 

flames2007: A flash fires for a fraction of a second, to achieve the same exposure a painting would get from its usual exposure to museum lighting you'd need around one hundred thousand flashes a day. I really don't think you have to worry about it with dolls.



http://www.iconoduel.org/archives/2...s_and_artifact_preservation_myth_debunked.php

 

I like flash in some cases, personally. It can really bring out the colors, and make them pop. Also, when the back-drop is incredibly dark, I've gotten some incredibly interesting effects that I've really liked, such as high contrast. I think it really depends on your surrounding lighting as well.

 

Flash is just horrible for my boys, seeming as they all have really pale skin.. They just turn white! If the photo isn't taken directly at their face then it could work out but I like to use lights to get a better effect..

 

Hmm, I'll have to try the paper over the flash. I've tried taking many pictures with the flash of my girl since I'm waiting till my campus turns green to take outside pictures and it always washes her out.

I have a Fuji and I the camera, I'm just having trouble taking indoor pictures with flash.

 

Just a general suggestion...
In the area where I come from, no one would ever fire flash on our BJD's.
Not only because it's hard to control and gives a weird look,
also because it can ruin the faceup and after sometime it can harm the resin.

I don't know if there's any scientific evidence of this,
but you can never be too careful right?
Just think of why don't they let people fire flash on Mona Lisa in the Louvre.

 

Hello kagura ~ If you read through this thread you will see that this concern has already been addressed and dismissed.

Flash is NOT an evil thing if done correctly - properly diffusing a flash is going to help create sharper, better lit photos in many cases where natural light or ambient room light is just not enough.

 

ohh..!! I'm sorry I must have missed it... Orz|||
sorry to bring up old things... orz.

I'm still finding out how to diffuse flashes to give the best image
never tried it on my doll though... I'm probably gonna start trying XD

 

So what would you suggest for difusing the flash? What will work better: a piece of fabric or a thicker piece of paper?

 

I agree with Quilibet. I like using the flash sometimes because it can really bring out the colours so long as it's used correctly. :3

WrathChu, I've never used a piece of fabric, but I know that paper works quite well.

 

experiment ^^ One may work better than the other with your own flash so just give it a go with both and see which you prefer

 

I agree with diffusing flash, you can get lovely effects that way! This whole shoot was done using flash diffused with a coffee filter (And then later edited a bit in photoshop)​

 

I actually love using flash but in an "artistic" way.
Like this (non-edited picture).

Also normally I don't mind using flash.
I have created my own way of using the flash and it works pretty well for me.
I agree that "just flash" isn't very convenient and makes pictures look often not pretty, but that doesn't mean that flash is stupid.
So I also disagree with that flash shouldn't be standard on a camera.

Like, I used also flash in this picture, but "on my own way".

I don't use filters by the way I simply don't have any filters, neither was this picture photoshopped.

This pictures is also used with flash, which is very noticeable, but I don't think it's a minus to the picture itself. (Picture isn't edited either).


And yea, this whole shoot is done with flash. Only the last picture is edited in photoshopped though (brightness and frame).

My two pence. =P