and no, I tried using flash but the evening light just caused a draining effect on the background.
were you shooting in some sort of automatic mode? If so, that's why. When you add the flash, your camera then exposes for the subject + flash so the background gets even darker.
Next time, try this:
- Put your camera and flash into manual mode.
- Start with f/5.6 and 1/250 shutter speed, whatever ISO you're comfortable with to get clean images.
- Adjust your aperture and flash power and review your shots until the model is exposed how you want.
- THEN, adjust your shutter speed to bring in the ambient (constant) light to your liking.
ProTip: When using a flash w/ your camera in manual mode, changing your shutter speed will only affect how much ambient (constant) light gets into the shot. To change how much of the flash the camera picks up, adjust your aperture instead. But just remember that will affect the overall exposure too. :thumbup:
So, for example, if you review the shot and see that your background is too dark, but the model is properly exposed with the flash, try slowing your shutter speed a bit and re-evaluate