Digital Cameras for Teachers
Taking Photos - Light Requirements
Light RequirementsDigital cameras are extremely demanding when it comes to light. A typical digital camera has a light sensitivity equivalent to that of ISO 100 film, usually used in outdoor, daytime shooting. As a result, image detail tends to get lost when objects are in the shadows. Too much light can also create problems. A ray of sunshine bouncing off a highly reflective surface can cause brown highlights — areas where all image detail is lost, resulting in large overexposed blotches.
When it comes to using your digital camera's flash, you can ask yourself these questions:
Being acquainted with "scene" modes in digital cameras--such as "Sunset Scene Mode" or "Beach Mode" can help the camera make the adjustments needed to adjust to light conditions. You can always correct minor lighting and exposure problems in the image-editing stage. Usually, a too-dark image is easier to correct in image-editing software such as Adobe Photoshop Elements than in an overexposed (too bright) image. So if you can't get the exposure just right, a slightly underexposed image is preferable to an overexposed one.1. Are the conditions right to use flash?Bright light causes dark shadows. Although it may seem strange to use a flash in bright sunlight, you can use your flash to provide "fill light" which will lighten up the shadows. Your camera may come equipped with a separate fill light flash which is softer than the usual flash. Be aware of reflective surfaces such as water or snow that may already be providing fill lighting. Fill light can also help when the light is fading, as it does at sunset.
2. When should I use the red eye reduction setting?
Red eye comes from the flash reflecting off of a person's retina because of dilated eyes in dark surroundings. Red eye settings work by having a light flash several times in order to make a person's pupils narrow. If the surroundings are bright, there will be no need for red eye reduction. Many photo editing programs also help you remove red eye.Remember that the farther the light is from the lens, the less possibility of red eye, so an external light source is helpful.
3. What range does my flash have? A built in flash is usually helpful from between five feet to seven yards away. Closer than five feet, your subject may be overexposed. Farther than seven feet away, the flash will be useless.If your camera has a "hot shoe," you may be able to use an external flash. If possible, use reflective surfaces to help provide more light.
4. What about white balance settings? Our eyes naturally adapt to sunlight, fluorescent and incandescent light, but the sensors on a camera do not, unless we tell them to. The camera sees these lights as white, yellow, and green. White balance settings are the way you tell your camera to compensate for these different colors of light. For interior pictures in well-lit rooms with little natural light, you may want to use your flash as an alternative to using white balance settings, since it serves as a "white light" source.
Digital Cameras for Teachers
EOU Malheur County Center (541) 889-7468 or (541) 889-6222
