ACCESSORY FLASH The modern flash is nearly universal because it is both highly miniaturized and “intelligent.

”
Units may be small enough to fit in a camera phone, for example, yet deliver extremely accurate
computercontrolled doses of light that balance the ambient light in the scene. Thanks to this versatility, flash
units are found on virtually all camera phones, compact cameras, and many SLR and mirrorless cameras.
Making flash work for you Whatever you might gain in terms of convenience by having a ready source of extra
light built into the camera, you lose in terms of lighting subtlety. To make the best use of flash, you need to
exploit the control facilities on your camera. First, use the “slow-sync” or “synchro-sun” mode if your camera
is equipped with it. In low-light conditions, this allows the ambient exposure to be relatively long, so that areas
that are beyond the range of the flash can be recorded as well as possible, while the flash illuminates the
foreground (see below). This not only softens the effect of the flash, but it can also mix white balance—the
cool tint of the flash and the warmer color of the ambient light—which can be eye-catching. Second, try using
a reflector on the shadow side of the subject. If angled correctly, it will pick up some light from the flash and
bounce it into the shadows. Any light-colored material can be used as a reflector—a piece of white paper or
card or a white wall, for example. Flexible reflectors that are lightweight and opened out for use but can be
collapsed to compact size are inexpensive and very effective. Some models offer two different surfaces—a
gold side for warm-colored light and a matte or silvery white side for harder light. Third, an advanced option is
to use slave flash. These are separate flash units equipped with sensors that trigger the flash when the master
flash (built into or cabled directly to the camera) is fired. If you have a flash unit, it is not expensive to add a
slave unit. However, you will need to experiment with your camera to check if the synchronization of the
multiple flash units is correct.