Flash photography with ISO 100 film One of the main problems affecting both beginners and amateurs when it comes to using flash indoors with ISO 100 speed films is the "tendency" to underexpose, whether the cameras are of the compact Point-and-Shoot (P&S) or 35mm SLR type. The first thing that comes to mind will be the particular camera used is not good, hence the poor results. Few ever blame themselves for not knowing the right technique in flash photography. The so-called underexposure fault is due to two factors when an ISO 100 film is being used: First, if the camera or the user has selected a small aperture for that indoor flash shot, the background will always be darker than the main subject, especially in Full Auto mode. Second, exposing the film with the camera's X-sync. speed is not a good idea indoors, especially if the selected aperture is already small to begin with. What is the alternative to these problems? Switch to slow-sync flash shooting. It can also be accomplished on most of Canon P&S models. Don't believe it? See the two photos below, which were shot with the Canon Prima Super 120 compact camera. Flash unit set to Full Auto position Flash unit set to slow-sync mode     TTL fill-in flash in Tv mode TTL fill-in flash in Tv mode The fashion show photos above were shot with a 540EZ Speedlite and the camera set in its Shutter-priority AE (Tv) mode. When in this mode, the TTL flash operates in fill-in flash mode regardless of whether the scenes to be photographed are outdoors or indoors. The brightness level available can also affect the ambient lighting in the background. If it is very dark to begin with, no amount of fill-in flash or using higher speed films will be able to solve the problem. If you want to avoid harsh shadows on and behind your subject's face, bouncing the flash off a neutral-colored ceiling or wall will help avoid that. With a variable aperture zoom lens, even Type A EOS cameras will have a minor limitation when using E-TTL fill-in flash using an EX-series Speedlite. Bounced flash via TTL Flash Program E-TTL with EOS 300     E-TTL Flash in Tv mode (EOS 300) E-TTL Flash in Tv mode (EOS-1v) The first photo of the IXUS girl was shot with the EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens on Program E-TTL. The shadows are a bit harsh. Look at the next photo of her, shot with the same lens but with the camera set to its Tv mode instead. The result is a better fill-in flash (and a warmer) rendition. The pro EOS-1v uses a new algorithm for its Program E-TTL mode and it can retain the overall ambient lighting level to be as good as those in the Tv/Av mode of other Type A EOS cameras. In its own E-TTL Tv/Av mode, the warmer cast has also been reduced to a more natural level. << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 .