# Phil Flash



## julie32 (Jul 15, 2007)

I know it's Fill, I was just wanted to make the subject more interesting. Anyway, is there a certain "setting" that is considered fill flash or is it just using your flash in bright sunlight to help reduce shadows? I have a Canon 20D.

Thank you!
Julie


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## panocho (Jul 15, 2007)

Not sure I get your question, but fill flash is basically what you mention, i.e. using flash light to lighten darker areas of the image when shooting with natural light


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## DeepSpring (Jul 15, 2007)

You would want to turn down the fec. You don't want to light the subject with the flash, just give them a little boost.


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## julie32 (Jul 15, 2007)

thanks for the responses. Someone said to me, "turn on your fill flash etc" so I thought maybe it was a special setting in the camera or something you could turn the dial to. I guess they could have said "just use your flash" right?


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## panocho (Jul 15, 2007)

julie32 said:


> thanks for the responses. Someone said to me, "turn on your fill flash etc" so I thought maybe it was a special setting in the camera or something you could turn the dial to. I guess they could have said "just use your flash" right?



right.

another thing, though, is that modern cameras will somehow detect that the flash is being used with available daylight, so as a filling in extra light, and they "know" how to adapt for the job. But that's just part of the automatism modern cameras have, the same they'll use when flash being the only light source. So "turn on your fill flash" is nothing more than "turn on your flash" -to fill shadows, etc.


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## ksmattfish (Jul 15, 2007)

The primary light source is called the main or key light.  A secondary light source used to brighten up shadows is fill.


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## Garbz (Jul 15, 2007)

Most modern cameras will realise the scene is already pretty bright from their exposures and calculate a fill flash accordingly.


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