My "two stops" technique

Here’s a quick start tip for using flash indoors.

First, set your camera to:

  • Manual mode
  • f/4
  • 1/60th second
  • 400 ISO

Now check the light meter in your viewfinder. You want it to read about minus two if you point at a representative part of the room.If it reads higher or lower, adjust aperture and shutter speed until it reads -2. If possible, try to keep the shutter between 1/30th and 1/200th second.

By using this method, your ambient lights shows (avoiding black backgrounds), and it becomes your “fill light”, two stops below the key light. And of course while your ambient is set manually, the flash is still automatic.

And finally: bounce that flash off a wall or ceiling behind you!

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