Strategically placed ball

[jmlizard]

My wife took this today (her first time shooting with our new H2), and while I think it's a little underexposed, it came out pretty good for us both being beginners. She was shooting in a shaded carport, with the cam as I'd set it up this morning with a speedy kid and a dim house in mind (flash on, shutter speed 1/500, F/2.8, ISO80, WB Flash, and auto metering). No PP except a little crop to eliminate some clutter at the top of the frame.

So, how might I have set the camera up better, and what could I have hypothetically done at the time of shooting (had I been shooting) to make this a better picture?

Thanks all,
Jared

[Tiberius]

The splash really captures the movement, although pressing the shutter release a split second earlier might have been good.

if you increased the ISO, you would have been able to get a better exposure without requiring the flash, giving more realistic lighting.

Lucky about the ball!

[jmlizard]

yeah, It would have been a much better shot if it had been taken 1/2 a second earlier. As for the ISO, it was set so low since our house is so dim during the day with all the shades drawn that I had to use the flash, and I saw little reason to boost the ISO when the flash would be absolutely necessary. Is that correct thinking?.

I think the carport has enough light that the next time I shoot out there, I'll set the ISO to 200 or 400, lower the shutter speed to 1/200 or so (at what point would I still have froze the splash like that?), kick the EV up a little, and then try things without the flash. Sound like a decent plan?

[Tiberius]

Keeping the ISO low if you are using flash is one option, yes, but it means that you are relying more heavily on the flash to light the scene. My advice is to not use flash alone to light the photo if you can possibly avoid it. next time, try turning on your lights, or opening the blinds. You may have to increase the ISO to 100 or so, but if it means you don't need your flash, the picture will be much better for it.

The reason that flash isn't a good way to light your pictures is because it's so close to the lens. it's like if you were going around with a miner's lamp on your forehead and no other light - it's not the way we're used to seeing things lit, so it will always look unnatural. if you can, bounce your flash off a nearby wall. if you have an SLR camera or a smaller camera with a hotshoe, you can mount an external flash with a tiltable head which will do the job nicely. If you only have the built in flash, try getting a small mirror and using that to bounce the flash.

But the short story is that using direct flash alone to light your pictures will never give you a natural look.

Taking the pictures in the carport is good, and increasing the ISO to get a faster shutter speed is also good. try using the flash as well. I knw this sounds odd considering what i said just earlier in the post, but as long as the natural light is the dominant light you shouldn't have any problems. Also, the flash will help to define the splash a little more as well, helping to get the frozen moment look.

[Digidave]

It's situations like this where the Burst mode on a camera really comes in handy. You can capture 3 shots in a row by holding down on the shutter release & usually 1 of the shots will be good. The only problem with that is your flash doesn't have a chance to regenerate. So, not having to use the flash is the best situation.