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I'm going to be honest here, I use to HATE using my cameras flash. I never had the dollars to buy an professional flash. My cameras stock flash washed images out, turned them blue and looked horrible. Let's not even go into the red-eye. It wasn't worth it, especially when trying to take quality images and unless you are going to go out and purchase a really high-end flash for your camera your going to be out of luck.

That is until of course, you learn this trick. When I came across this trick - my flash life was saved. I still try to avoid using the flash when possible, but when I do, I always use this trick.

The Paper Trick:

When you take a picture with flash you are throwing a hard light directly onto your subject. It washes it out and creates a hard shadow behind the subject - it's not very appealing.

The idea behind the paper trick is to spread the light reducing the harsh light and sharp shadow. This is done by taking a sheet of white paper; just grab some from your printer or whenever you have spare paper. Hold it up to your flash and arc it away from the flash. Now, point and shoot. I highly recommend using plane white paper. Color will fill your image with whatever color the paper is.

The light redirects creating a balanced, softer fill-light. The flash wont be as bright but should properly expose your photo.

The Mirror Trick:

Exactly like the paper trick, you want to take a small mirror and place it in front of your flash (reflective surface pointing in towards the flash). Angle it at 45 degrees pointing towards the ceiling. This will once again spread out the light and create a much nicer fill-light.

The average consensus is that the mirror will produce a nicer final result than the white paper. It just happens the paper is more convenient.

Using your Hand:

Also, cupping your hand in front of the flash also helps defuse the flash. If you hold your hand too close to the flash, or cover the flash too much, your picture will have a red glow to it (from your skin).

Tip #1: I recommend closing your eyes just before you take the picture. The flash will spring back in your direction so your eyes will get a blast of light unless they are closed.

Tip #2:-This is an ineffective tool when trying to expose a subject far away. The spread flash wont reach far away objects. Make sure the subject is at 10ft. or closer.