Find the right lighting

There are times when you should forget about using your automatic flash and instead use available or “natural” light, even in low-light situations. This is especially true when it comes to portrait photography: A flash can give faces a harsh, unnatural, “deer-caught-in-the-headlights” effect.

Natural sideways lighting—light coming from above and beside the camera—is your best bet. Have your subject sit sideways next to a window or door reflecting the bright midday sun. The indirect light will highlight your subject’s features. It also makes one side of your subject’s face light and the other shadowed, which creates strong emotion and mood.

So grab your camera and experiment: Leave one side of your subject’s face in the shadows. Change the angle of the lighting. Shoot during different times of the day. You just may snap your best portrait yet!

It’s easy to turn off auto flash. Check your user’s manual for instructions.