On board flash

[Derosa]

As I am learning and shooting, I have been trying to avoid using the on board flash of the t2i, mainly by shooting in Av mode. When I have used it, the lighting appears too harsh. Clearly, from what I've gathered, the best lighting comes with more flexible lighting set-ups. I was wondering, though, if there are situations where you have found the on board flash to be helpful...or even the best tool for the job.

 

[Stradawhovious]

Go into the bathroom, grab a kleenex, wrap it around the flash, and hold it in place with a hair tie. This will really improve the pictures you get with the onboard flash, by diffusing the light.

Make sure of two things....... make sure there is some space between the flash and the tissue, and make sure the hair tie isn't too tight. Failure to do either of these could damage the flash.

 

[Big Mike]

The 'harshness', is a result of the flash being a small light source (hard light) and of it being too close to the lens (flat light).

That's why using an accessory flash, and being able to bounce it off of a wall or ceiling, is such a big improvement. It allows you to enlarge the light source (relative to the subject) and it allows you to change the direction that the light hits the subject.

There are times when using the on-board flash isn't so bad.
For example, when it's quite dark, you may have no other option...so it's either use the flash or get no photo at all.
Another time would be when your main source of light is something else, and you can use your flash as fill. For example, if you are outdoors and the sun is overhead, the flash could help to eliminate the shadows in the eyes. Although, you may have to be fairly close to your subject because the on-board flash isn't all that powerful. Also, it can add a direct reflection in a person's eyes, called a catchlight.

Even in situations where there isn't a whole lot of light, you can probably still get your flash photos to look better. They key is to balance the ambient exposure with the flash exposure. You are already on the right track for that, by using Av rather than P or full auto. The trick is that your shutter speed affects only the ambient exposure, so a longer shutter speed will give you more ambient, without giving you more flash.
You can also adjust the flash exposure with FEC (flash exposure compensation).

 

[Big Mike]

Go into the bathroom, grab a kleenex, wrap it around the flash, and hold it in place with a hair tie. This will really improve the pictures you get with the onboard flash, by diffusing the light.

Make sure of two things....... make sure there is some space between the flash and the tissue, and make sure the hair tie isn't too tight. Failure to do either of these could damage the flash.

That probably won't help too much. Simply putting something right in front of the flash, won't make the light any softer. To make light softer, you have to increase the size of the source (relative to the subject, so you could also move it closer). Just putting tissue right in front, won't really increase the size very much.
If anything, it may spread the light around a bit more, allowing the light to bounce around and maybe come back, but that's iffy at best.

If you hold the tissue (or something similar) farther away from the flash, it starts to act like a softbox, but it starts to be impractical as well.

 

[Stradawhovious]

That probably won't help too much. Simply putting something right in front of the flash, won't make the light any softer. To make light softer, you have to increase the size of the source (relative to the subject, so you could also move it closer). Just putting tissue right in front, won't really increase the size very much.
If anything, it may spread the light around a bit more, allowing the light to bounce around and maybe come back, but that's iffy at best.

If you hold the tissue (or something similar) farther away from the flash, it starts to act like a softbox, but it starts to be impractical as well.

It's certainly not perfect, but for me it made a noticeable difference. You are correct that its impractical, and the only real solution for me was a "proper" flash but in lieu of that the kleenex was better than nothing.

 

[Light Artisan]

Gary Fong Puffer.

Go ahead and laugh... it's OK.

But honestly, in a pinch I haven't found anything that works as good as this does and it's a quick and easy, non-cheesy looking way to enhance the pop-up flash.

Now find one online, grit your teeth, cringe and pay the $15-$20 and forget about it... you'll be rewarded with nice diffused pop up flash for years to come.

 

[KmH]

It's certainly not perfect, but for me it made a noticeable difference. You are correct that its impractical, and the only real solution for me was a "proper" flash but in lieu of that the kleenex was better than nothing.

What it did is it effectively reduced the power output of the flash, and changed it's color someewhat. It didn't do any appreciable diffusion.