David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

The Indoor-Flash Portrait

OK, and what if there is no northern-exposure window casting gorgeous, even light over your patiently posed subject? What if it's, you know, nighttime?

Well, then you'll have to use the flash.

Unfortunately, you know perfectly well what's wrong with that. You've probably seen plenty of indoor flash pictures where there's a pitch-black background and overexposed subjects that look like they're witnessing a nuclear blast.

If you must use the flash, you can make certain adjustments to preserve the ambiance of the room.

If your camera lets you adjust the aperture (f-stop) and shutter speed (Use Stabilization), you can easily overcome these problems. Once in manual mode, try this combination as a starting point for flash photography indoors:

• Set your ISO (light sensitivity) speed to 100 (Goose the ISO).

• Set the aperture (f-stop) to f5.6.

• Set the shutter speed to 1/15th of a second.

• Stand back 5 to 7 feet for best flash range.

• Use the forced-flash mode. (Don't use the redeye reduction feature.)

At these slow shutter speeds, your shots are more vulnerable to camera shake, and therefore to blurriness. The flash will freeze the subject, so he'll be sharp (and following the flash, he'll be so dark he won't even register). But the lights of the background, not illuminated by the flash, may blur if the camera isn't steady.

If your camera doesn't have a manual mode, all is not lost. Almost every pocket cam offers a flash setting called Night Portrait or Slow Synchro mode, often ...