Maybe Flash Isn’t So Bad After All

For my birthday present (I turned the big 3-Oh a while ago), my husband said I could choose something fun for my photography hobby. So we went to our favorite trusted photography shop to take a look. I had a backpack in mind, or some sort of bag that would be better than the glorified lunch box-looking thing I’ve been carrying. While I’d love to get one of those camera bags that looks like a purse, I needed something more practical. Those purses aren’t exactly convenient for hiking. So I was perusing the backpacks.

While I looked, the shop owner, Mike, talked with us about my photography and what I should buy next. The idea of purchasing a flash was brought up a few times by my husband and by Mike. I finally told Mike that I had to be honest, I didn’t see the value in buying a flash since I avoid using flash if at all possible. So he began to explain to me the difference between the flash built into my camera and one I would purchase to connect to it. I was bending a little, but I still wasn’t convinced. When I brought out my camera to see how it fit in the backpack I had my eye on, Mike let me attach the flash and try a few shots. First, I took a few on auto white balance without flash. These are straight out of camera, no editing:

Then I tried a few with the flash pointed up at the ceiling (again, no editing):Wow! What a difference! Now, I could have stood there and adjusted my white balance on my camera until I found a better setting for the lighting situation and gotten close to that result and fixed the rest with post-processing, but the fact that I didn’t have to do that with flash was not lost on me. And my little tootsie wasn’t washed out with a black background (the way she would be if I had used my camera flash)! How exciting! Visions of indoor pictures without having to beg the kids to hold still for my slow shutter speed spun through my head. No more telling my in-laws I can’t take a family picture in their living room because I didn’t bring my tripod!

In short, I was sold. And since my hubby’s so sweet, he decided I deserved both the backpack and the flash. Besides, the flash wouldn’t have fit in my old bag, so it almost made the backpack necessary.

I’m so excited about my new flash. I’m sure there will be some learning curve to it, and I’ll still go without it when I have beautiful outdoor light. But I’m sure we’ll have plenty of fun together. Here’s another example of the difference. My mother came to our house for a movie night with the girls and me. Without flash:

With flash:Isn’t my mother adorable? I love her guts!