Link for Flash for Dummy?

Robin Usagani

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Hey, I just bought a 550EX of craigslist. I have read the manual and still have no luck. Can anyone suggest a place to learn flash photography with canon? I tried shooting with AV and the flast on TTL and for some reason the camera sets the shutter speed to 1+ second (due to lack of light). I dont get it.
 
Lots of good information here:
Strobist

Try this too:
Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras - Part I.

That last one is kinda lengthy, but it will tell you how to do pretty much anything.

A quote from the second link ^^^ that addresses your immediate question:
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]7) I tried to take a flash photo and the camera wanted a really slow shutter speed. Why? [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] This occurred because you are trying to take a flash photo in low-light conditions and the camera is in Av (aperture priority) mode or the night PIC (icon) mode if your camera has it.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]In Av, night and Tv (shutter speed priority) modes the camera meters for ambient (existing) light and fills in the foreground subject using the flash. It does not assume that the primary light source is the flash, and therefore the shutter speed it sets is the same as it would set if you weren’t using flash at all. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] In low light this results in slow shutter photography. If the shutter speed is very long you will, therefore, need a tripod to avoid motion blur during the exposure. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1] Alternatively you can switch to full auto (green rectangle) or Program (P) mode, which automatically expose for the flash-illuminated subject and not the background. These modes try to ensure that the shutter speed is high enough to let you handhold the camera without a tripod. The drawback of P and basic modes is that photos taken in dimly lit areas usually end up with black or poorly lit backgrounds.[/SIZE][/FONT]​
You could also go to manual mode and set the shutter speed to the max sync speed (or anything else).
 
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Try cleaning the contacts, when the flash is ready to fire you should at least get 1/60sec ss, I am nikon though so maybe your missing something a canon follower could point out. H

SCRATCH THAT, oh well looks like program or manual mode, think I'd prefer the latter to blackout backdrops.
 
Edit: I really should *fully* read other peoples replies before posting <sigh>

Check the manual ;) In my manual this info is under the "built-in flash" section, and the behaviour is called "auto slow speed sync".

You will also want to read about maximum sync speeds, FEC, high speed sync, and first and second curtain sync.
 

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