keep flash enabled on all shots - nikon d60

bruzer · Oct 26, 2013

I'm taking photos of clothing (with a Nikon D60) and the shots turn out much better when the flash is on. The problem is flash only came on a few times during my shoot. How do I enable flash for all my shots?

I'm a beginner and I'm using auto mode, but I'm comfortable trying other settings if they're relatively easy and produce equally good shots as auto mode.

Braineack · Oct 26, 2013

if you pop it up, it should fire.

bruzer · Oct 26, 2013

Its popped out, but it doesn't fire all the time. Is there a way to manually fire off flash?

Coasty · Oct 26, 2013

How fast are you shooting? Your flash may need time to recycle/recharge.

bruzer · Oct 26, 2013

Hmmm... a little fast, maybe 1 and 3 seconds

Coasty · Oct 26, 2013

That sounds like your problem.

KmH · Oct 26, 2013

Yep, flashes made at full flash unit power make the re-cycle time as long as it can be, assuming the camera battery is not near needing a recharge.

If you manually set the power level lower, and compensate by changing the exposure setting values, the flash unit can recycle faster.

The 1/2 power setting is 1 stop less flash than the full power setting is, so the exposure would need to be increased 1 stop.
1/4 power is 2 stops less flash than full power and the exposure would need to be increased 2 stops.

bruzer · Oct 26, 2013

No, recycle/recharge is not the problem. I pointed the camera at a really dark place and flash fired off every single time without a hitch. I put the camera in M, A, S and P mode, was then able to manually set flash to on and it fired every single time. I know, by design I should be using M, A, S or P, mode but the shots are extremely white washed and I don't have the know-how to correct it. Plus I'm hoping to finish this shoot sooner than later.

Any other ideas? I essentially want the quality that AUTO mode produces, but have flash fire off on every shot.

bruzer · Oct 26, 2013

It sounds like AUTO mode by design won't give you much control (like flash firing off manually). Maybe its best to change my environment instead? Maybe darken the room so flash fires off in AUTO mode more often?

Attached is a photo of my make shift studio (don't laugh, i'm a beginner) and sample shots of the different modes (manual mode with flash, AUTO mode without flash and AUTO mode with flash, respectively).