#12 - Turn off your flash.

Boo (flash)                                             Yay (natural light)

Dear flash on the front of my point-and-shoot camera.

I hate you.

You rarely work the way I expect. You fire when there’s already enough light. You create evil looking red eyes in my subjects.

Things rarely look right when you're in the picture.

And so, I’m breaking up with you. I’d like to play the field a little more. I’d like to see more natural light. Try out a tripod. Maybe go on a date or two with a nice, big, external flash. I (and the people who read this blog) am turning you off for most situations. I’m opening my camera manual, figuring out how to toggle you on off (and importantly, back on). I’m making the leap.

When this idea won’t work.

Oh sure, we can still be friends. I know you’re a great pal whenever it’s dark in the room or outdoors at night. You can light up quick snapshots like nobody’s business. We can totally hang out then.

But if I’ve got a nice big window in a room, I’m going to open the blinds and let it flood the space. If I’m outside, I’m turning you off.

When this idea could work – if you want to try something cool.

I’m even going to try out no-flash photos in lower light situations just to see what happens. I know that some shots might be blurry when subjects move, so I’ll try to make that look nifty. I’m going to use my camera bag to hold my point-and-shoot steady when I take pictures of stars.

I’m ready to move on. Thanks for the memories.