Changing the flash output

You won't always need to use your camera's built in flash but there are times when a bit of extra light can be just enough to tease a picture to life. However, using too much light can saturate the picture, so how do you reduce the intensity when you want to use a bit of flash? 

Most modern DSLR cameras have a menu option which enables you to set flash controls. You will need to be in one of the programmable camera settings in order to access this menu, so shutter priority (TV or S) or aperture priority (AV), for example, as opposed to the fully automatic mode. 

Go through the menu tabs until you see a flash control option in the sub-headings list. 

Select flash control and within this section you will see an option to change the built-in flash function setting. Select this option.

Now select the exposure compensation option, as highlighted below.

Finally, set your flash intensity to more or less light (the default setting if you are going to use the flash is the zero, in the middle of the scale).

To compare the extremes of the settings available, the following four images range from flash plus 3 on the exposure compensation, flash at the 0 midpoint, flash at minus 3 exposure compensation, and no flash. No other settings were changed for the shots. 

+3                                                                                  0

-3                                                                        No flash

The difference between the extremes of +3 and no flash is very apparent. To expose a bit of detail without saturating the image I would suggest a setting between 0 and -3 for this particular photograph. 

(Note that all images on this post are my own. They are not marked up as such to avoid detracting from the detail of the pictures).