Capturing the Christmas spirit
It’s Christmas, you’re indoors at a party or a family gathering, and you want to take a photograph to capture the occasion. Time to use the flashgun built into your camera, right? Well, not necessarily. Although flash can help to capture pictures when the light is low, it can also dampen the atmosphere of a scene.
Imagine it’s Christmas morning and your children are opening their presents in front of the Christmas tree. The lights on the tree are twinkling and reflecting on the shiny baubles. A log fire burns in the background. It all looks warm and cosy and creates a lovely image you’ll want to capture.
Photograph this scene with flash and the results might not be what you expect. The camera may expose for the subject nearest to it, meaning that harsh shadows could occur. A relatively fast shutter speed will have been set for the flash exposure, so the atmospheric light from the tree illuminations will be almost lost. The flames of the fire may be visible, but will be surrounded by darkness.
So how do you bring back the feeling of Christmas?