I Need Help Taking Pics Of My !*NEON*! Raver Boy???

It depends on your camera.

If your camera has flash exposure compensation, dial it down to -2 or so. If that is not possible, try to do the same for regular exposure compensation (though it may not work either).

After that, your options are to adjust the flash physically. Put a tissue or white sheet of paper in front of the flash to partially block it and diffuse the light. Alternatively, you could try using a mirror to bounce it to the ceiling.

EDIT: Oh yes, another alternative is to use a tripod or solid surface and not use flash at all.

 

I'd definitely not use flash at all ^^ if you're having trouble with camera shake then a tripod helps enormously, or even just resing it steadily on a solid, level surface like Gaiaswill said. Also natural light is better for taking photos than artificial light, it helps to experiment at different times of the day too 'cause sometimes I find photos without flash end up like this or even worse when the sun is too bright. Early morning or afternoon seem to be the best time for me ^^

 

Taking photos without flash will help immensely! Try taking a photo in RAW settings, and then play with the levels. (You don't need a fancy program to do that in!) I find taking photos in the morning is much easier than any other time of the day.

 

Take pictures with a tripod. Don't use fash. Put him in front of a window but with a cushion or something behind him.

 

I think it might also depend on the camera you're using and how close you are--after cropping, my pictures of him came out like this:


Sacramento BJD Meet 15Feb2013 by shujinkakusama, on Flickr

And that was with flash, but in good lighting. Unfortunately, he's so pale, no wonder he whites out easily. :< (Also omg hi. I can't believe I met you and didn't realize it, lmao. Small world!) I hope one of the other suggestions helps you! (I'm going to try those, myself, for my lighter girls...)

 

You're totally welcome to use it! And I don't blame you for not realizing it. Graveyard shifts are awful. I hope I can catch you at the next one, but awake this time~ 8D Your boy's totally gorgeous. Ahh. I hope you can get better pictures of him, too!

 

No flash, get a tripod, and if you can't take daylight shots cause of your work schedule, get some cheap desklamps and daylight spectrum CFL bulbs, then put a white sheet of paper or a cloth over the lamps to diffuse the light so it's not so harsh. It's amazing what you can do with a couple $10 desklamps.

 

I agree with the above poster. All of my non-sunlight pictures are taken with illumination from only a couple of desk lamps. Also be sure to use manual settings if your camera has them. Adjust the shutter speed so it's fast enough to compensate for camera shake, then widen the aperture (lower the number) until the exposure is good. If you need to/can, you can also adjust the ISO. Bigger numbers in the ISO will allow you to shoot in lower light, but there will be more noise. It's all about balance.