newb w/ a d40 and have a question about using the flash

[ram360]

Is there a way to get the flash to fire when I want it to? I was trying to take a pic of my car and there were some shadows that I figured the flash would soften. It was sunny out but there were shadows cast from a nearby tree. Tried everything I could think of and no dice.

 

[KmH]

Page 34 of your user manual.

 

[Moe]

Is your camera on auto? If so, this may be the reason. Try manual. If you're not ready to do that, just look at the readings (aperture and shutter speed; be sure your ISO is 200) that the auto mode gives you and use those settings in manual and hit the button with a lightning mark on it to the left of the flash. This will cause the flash to pop up and fire when you take a picture. The only problem might be that the flash cannot fire at shutter speeds faster than 1/500 (this is called max sync speed). You may need to use a pretty small aperture in the middle of a sunny day to get the shutter speed slower than 1/500. Let me know if this helps, and enjoy the D40!