Taking Pictures with Flash Photography is a very easy thing to do but to master it as a technique is an entirely different matter. Comparing to an automatic flash, to get a natural looking picture with electronic flash will require a skill which needs to be mastered. The reason is because our eyes cannot discern the effects of the flash as the burst time of the flash is too short for us to process. In addition, we can't even view the flash as we look through the viewfinder of the camera. In this guide, we will give you 5 tips to help you achieve better looking pictures using the right type of techniques.

External Flash versus the Canon Internal Flash unit.

Depending on your requirements, taking simple snapshots with the Canon camera internal flash is usually more than adequate if the subject matter is not far away like in a party situation. The internal flash is not very powerful ands the light produced by the flash is very harsh. However, in most cases people do not mind as the conveniences of the internal flash override the requirement of the need for an external flash. However for a more professional setting, you will need external flash as the light from an internal flash is very harsh. External flash allows you to bounce off light off the wall thus softening it.

Using an Old Flash with the New Canon EOS Digital camera.

To see if you old flash unit can work with the Canon new EOS digital camera, you will need to check if the Speedlite flash units ends with the letters "EX" behind its model designation. Only this model will be able to work with the new EOS digital camera. Those models with "E" or "EZ" model designations at the end will not be compatible with the new EOS digital cameras. Flash units from third party will need to support E-TTL flash metering system in order for it to work with Canon digital cameras.

Why internal flash produces lower quality photographs.

Natural looking soft light comes from a large area. As such an internal flash unit cannot replicate soft light as in the real world. This is because the flash unit is located near the lens of the camera and only illuminates a small area. To get around this problem, what you can do is to bounce light off the wall onto the subject in order to soften the light. This way you can get a more natural looking picture when you illuminate it with soft light. On the other hand, you can also use a diffuser to diffuse the light so that you also achieve the same result.

Overcoming Red Eye effect while using flash light.

This is a very common problem with pictures taken with a camera internal flash. The cause of this is due to the fact that the blood vessels in our eyes reflect the flash light back into camera producing the "red eye" effect. The related "green eye" effect is produced in animals. The best to avoid this is to use an external flash.

Optimal photos taking in Rapid succession.

After a flash unit has fire off its light, it will require some time to charge up. Therefore if you keep taking pictures is rapid succession you have to make sure that the flash unit is the "Rapid Fire" type. This just means that the flash will work even though it has not reach it full charge. Don't forget also that the batteries play a part in the ability of the flash unit to charge quickly too.