Tips / Flash /

Better Pop-up Flash

The pop-up flash on your camera is convenient.

But—the light it produces is ugly.

Pop-up flashes produce:

1) Dark shadows with distinct edges.

2) Small, overexposed highlights, on faces and objects.

These areas of glare are called hot spots.

Pop-up flash light is appropriate only for Weegee-style photography, not for people and still lifes.

Pop-up flashes produce dark shadows and hot spots because the light source is small.

The solution is to make the light source larger.

LumiQuest, and other manufacturers, make devices to enlarge the pop-up flash.

Larger light sources, compared to smaller ones, produce:

1) Brighter shadows with soft edges.

2) More diffuse highlights.