Indoor Lighting

[ems3369]

I have a newb question. I take mostly outdoor photos due to the lack of indoor equipment. I have a Nikon D50 with built in flash, no external flash and can't seem to get the lighting correct for indoor. I have tried using both the built in flash and just exsisting light but my photos are either overexposed with the flash or way underexposed and orange with just the exsisting light. Can someone point me in the direction of getting some desent photos with the combo of built in flash and exsisting lighting, until I can get a good directional speedlight to do some bounce lighting. Also I shoot mostly manual, tried the apature priority setting and that is when I really don't like what the camera is deciding to set things for. That is when I get the over-under expo's. Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

You can control the exposure of the flash by adjusting the FEC...but it's likely not the overexposure that you don't like (they may not really be overexposed anyway). What you probably don't like is the flat light that you get with a built-in flash...and the way that it tends to leave the background darker than the subject.

Flash has a certain color temperature...and most other lights have a different color temp....so when you mix them, there isn't a single correct WB setting for the camera...so you can get weird colors. You can 'gel' your flash to match the exisiting light...but it's probably better if you try to avoid mixing them.

Having a flash that allows you to bounce, will greatly improve your indoor flash photography...but really, the best tool is a good knowledge of exposure and how flash works. Then you will understand why your photos don't turn out and how you can fix them.

To help you along the way...post some of your shots along with the shooting info. There are plenty of people here who can spot the problems and give some good suggestions.