Flash Photography tips, and a strange issue

Hi Dear D5100 Users,

I have had my camera for 1 month, and last night I took it to a party to use it for flash/party photography for the first time, using the built in flash.

First of all, I ran into a strange issue. Basically whenever I took pictures, the flash didn't fire and I got a long exposure time instead, and when my friends who are used to point and shoot cameras took pictures, the flash fired most of the time!! I suddenly discovered the reason was that I was looking through the viewfinder, and my friends were not! So I was blocking the light though view finder and when the friends took pictures, they were letting in light, and that caused the metering system to fire the flash!! Btw we didn't take any pictures using live view, even when my friends didn't look though view finder (they were probably guessing for right frame!)

Has any one faced this issue? what is the solution then? I used Aperture priority, night portrait, and Party/Indoor modes to force the flash to fire, and help with right White balance, but I felt like I don't have control over forcing the flash to fire. I really would appreciate your tips on night/flash photography with D5100. With my canon powershot Sx20IS I never had this problem, and in night portrait mode, it also kept the shutter open a bit longer to take the background light as well.

My last question is that, virtually all the shots where the flash fired were taken with ISO 3200, 1/60s shutter time; so the camera automatically increased the ISO. Is there a way to use lower ISO's for better image quality?

many thanks
Simon

For this kind of situation, what I find is that I really like the "Auto" setting. This usually forces and controls the built in flash to produce good shots. Also, I turned off the auto iso setting.

Marcel is right on. Your flash was not going off because your ISO was at 3200. Your camera thought you had enough light at 3200 so it did not use the flash. Read your manual and set or force your ISO to a range between 200 #and 400 and shoot in auto or P mode. I bet once you do that your flash will fire

Thank you both of you for your tips and answers.
I turned off auto iso control and it works fine in A mode. However when I turn to auto mode the ISO settings and auto iso control options are both disabled and camera chooses Iso automatically. I took a test shot in auto mode, flash fired and iso was at 1100. Am I doing something wrong here?

The D3100 and D5100 are programmed to select a high ISO first. This will always happen in auto mode. As stated, you need to disable auto ISO and set it to say 400. I usually shoot indoor shots in program mode presetting the ISO to 400, this allows the camera to then vary the aperature to adapt to different conditions.

You need to understand your camera better. If you want the flash to fire all the time in A, S, P, modes you open the flash by pressing the flash button on the left side of the body, which opens the flash so it then fires. In Auto the flash will fire if the camera tells it to IE low light etc. If you turn the top dial one spot round from Auto the flash will not fire at all, no matter what. Its all in the big book!!!!!

There is a book called from snap shots to great shots D5100, it has allot of quick interesting tips in it that will help you get to know your D5100 fairly quick. it has fun little assignments at the back of each chapter to help you understand better by playing. there is also a flicker group on this book. it is for sure worth the read and the price. I enjoy my D5100 much better now that i know what I can turn off as far as auto presets. It not as much work now and it so much more fun.
Amazon.com: Nikon D5100: From Snapshots to Great Shots (9780321793843): Rob Sylvan: Books

Agree with above post.
Great Book to get to know your D5100.
I own one..

Wow, first time i ever heard of this issue. Usually it is the other way around. Yes, PLEEEEEEEEEEEASSEEEEEEEEEE read the manual if you have not done so already. In A, P, M, and S modes, you can turn the flash on or off. If you want it to pop up and you have turned the flash off, PhilNZ has a good tip for that. Get yourself in a dimly lighted room and experiment. I would go into A mode so you can play around with the aperture. Set your ISO at 400 - not auto. Leave WB on Auto. turn flash on. Blast away and see what settings work for you.

Thank you for all your great comments and tips!

I'm gonna take a look at the book in amazon, seems interesting. Now I'm getting to know my great D5100 better. Regarding the flash issue, the strangest thing was that I suspected that by not looking at the viewfinder, and thus letting light in through it, my friends somehow helped the metering system force fire the flash. But I guess there's gotta be a more proper explanation that I have missed by not knowing the camera quite well. It's been almost a months now that I've had it

Rather than begin a new thread, I'll ask my question here. I feel kinda dumb, but I can't seem to find an answer in my books.

How do I turn off the flash within my D5100 when I'm shooting in A, S or P Modes? I know how to turn it off in Auto Mode, but not in the other modes. I was trying a shot the other evening and wanted ambient soft light with a narrow depth of field, so chose Aperture Priority and couldn't figure out how to defeat the confounded flash.

Thank you!

Sandpatch said:

How do I turn off the flash within my D5100 when I'm shooting in A, S or P Modes? I know how to turn it off in Auto Mode, but not in the other modes.

Click to expand...

The internal flash should not pop up automatically if in modes A, S, P, or M. It only pops up automatically in the Auto mode, or some of the Scene modes. If you want to use it in A,S,P, or M, then you open the door yourself when you want it, and shut it when you don't (which is more control for you). So, just shut the flash door, and it should stay shut (in A,S,P or M modes). The "No flash" position on the rotary dial is only for the Auto modes.