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You’ve all seen photos taken by a point and shoot camera. When that flash fires, the snapshots come out looking like, well, snapshots. Many budding photographers fall into the trap of thinking, “Well, that’s easy to fix, I’ll just buy one of those fancy cameras” and run out and buy the latest digital SLR. They take their first pictures and see…more snapshots.

You see, the problem isn’t necessarily the camera, it’s the flash. Don’t get me wrong, having a SLR means you have the creative tools to take your photography to the next level, and if you’re serious about taking pictures, get one. But even SLR cameras have the built in flash right there an inch or so from the lens. This is the most unflattering of all lighting on a person’s face and body. To get pleasing light, the light must come from another angle to create shadows and dimension on a person’s face. This is known as modeling.

Take this picture for example. This was taken when we were hiking one day and we left our PC cords and Pocket Wizards at home to fire the flash off the camera. I had no choice but to use the flash on the camera to counteract the nice rim lighting from the sun. I used my Canon 430EX SpeedLite mounted right on the hot shoe.

The straight on lighting isn’t the most appealing. It doesn’t create any modeling and could be a lot better. Had the flash come from the left side the photo would have been a lot better. Plus, when the flash is on the camera, you can’t diffuse it much, because it would block the lens. You end up with hard light and sharp shadows.

Now take a look at this next photo. This was taken with the flash placed camera right about five feet from my wife and son. The flash was mounted on a light stand and diffused using a 42 inch umbrella. I used a PC cord to connect the flash to the camera (here’s how).

You can see in this photo that the light is soft and supple, and since the light is coming from a 45 degree angle to their faces, nice shadow and modeling is created. I also underexposed the background by about one stop to make them pop out a little better. Flash was absolutely necessary here as we were in the shade and the pictures just would not have worked well without it.

So, if you don’t have an external flash for your camera yet, I highly recommend getting one. Here’s a great quick read on flashes and what you need to get started. You don’t need to unload your wallet for those dedicated Canon or Nikon flashes (you can if you want to). You can get a simple flash for about $75. Then get yourself a PC cord for a few more bucks and you’re off to the races. I promise you your photographs will never be the same again.