Newbie needs advice

[Chiller]

Hello everyone. Please forgive me if this topic has been mentioned before, but I need some advice on using or defusing flash.
We are having one of many Christmas dinners this weekend and I will be taking a ton of pics. My problem is I only have a built in flash(Rebel G camera), and last year, most of the kids came out with red eye, and 2 of the adults wear glasses, which made a kind of cool effect on the glasses if I were shooting for Halloween.
I have heard that you can place a paper towel of sheet of paper over the flash to eliminate some of the light. Is this a good idea? Right now $$$$ is the main factor in purchasing another flash before Christmas.
Also any suggestions on shooting a person who wears glasses would also be greatly appreciated.
Thank you to all in advance who respond, and have a great day!!!

Carl

 

[voodoocat]

You can use tissue paper or whatever to diffuse the flash.

The reason you get red eye is due to the pop up flash being so close to the lens. You would need an off camera flash to eliminate red eye.

 

[Thorniest Whisper]

This may sound rather odd, however, in the women's intimate apparel section of most stores you can by really cheap white nylon knee high stockings in little containers like you get in bubble gum machines etc.. they are great for diffusing a flash because they are elastic and hang on to your flash pretty good.


I couldn't tell you if this discovery will help your red-eye. It's lens/flash proximity, which has already been said.

 

[ksmattfish]

The advice I've always heard is that the flash needs to be at least 6 inches from the lens axis to avoid redeye in adults. This is one of the main advantages of a flash bracket. Children may require even more distance as their pupils are larger. Most flashes that fit in the hot shoe will be 6" away.

The pop up flashes on modern AF 35mm SLRs are no substitute for a regular flash. They are handy for fill flash, and when you forget your real flash. Some dedicated flash units can be used off camera and work in sync with the pop up flash (pop up flash as the fill).

 

[tr0gd0o0r]

Tip on photographing glasses: If its a posed picture and you have a little time to set up, get whoever is wearing the glasses to tilt them down just a little bit. This causes the light to reflect down and not back into the lens. I've never actually tried this, but i've heard it from someone before and it sounds like it would work to me

 

[Synergy]

The advice I've always heard is that the flash needs to be at least 6 inches from the lens axis to avoid redeye in adults

wow! you learn a new thing everyday. i allways thought red eye was a generic problem with all flashes regardless of type or position of the flash