If you have pictures where the foreground is too dark while the background seems to be correctly exposed, then using fill-in flash may be a technique worth learning about. Using fill-in flash, as the name implies, is to use flash to fill-in light where it is deficient. This is usually the situation when you are in the shadows and shooting through objects in the foreground that are acting as a frame.

A most pleasant effect can sometimes be achieved by photographing a person against the sun (or another strong light source). The light behind his or her head creates a halo around the edge of the hair. The face would be quite underexposed but for fill-in flash. Shooting against the sun also avoids your subject squinting in the sun.

To use fill-in flash, set your digital camera so that it is forced to fire the flash. Do not confuse with Night Shot scene mode which is similar but generally used at nigh time for night portraits. In this case the flash fires to illuminate the foreground, while the shutter remains open a while longer to expose the background. You need to keep the camera steady until after the flash has fired and the shutter has closed.

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