How to make on-board flash fill-in instead of overexposing pictures on Canon 450D?

[QuestionMaster]

i have a Canon 450D, i normally use it for Night shooting for parties and bars, so i been happy with the Speed Lite i carry around.

On day i was out in the Sun and decided to take pictures of objects, to try a different style. Now it was bright sunny day, so didn't need a flash, BUT there was a shadow, which took away detail.

In this case i needed the flash to fill in, but every picture i took over exposed. There was no warning just white pictures.

Can anyone tell me how to make the on-board (or Speed Lite) flash fill in, so not get get over exposed pictures ?

I should have had a reflector, but didn't carry this on holiday with me

 

[LEM]

Onboard flash is powerless against direct sunlight, so it wasn't the flash that's responsible for overexposure, it's the sun and incorrect exposure. What mode was the camera in? Keep in mind, that if you use a flash, your camera can not increase shutter speed beyond the max sync. speed, which is normally around 1/200. If you were in aperture priority wide open, the lightning conditions may have required a shutter speed of 1/600, 1/1000 or more. Since the flash was up, camera cut it down to 1/200, hence overexposing everything.

Next time, try program mode, or shutter priority at max sync speed to keep aperture as wide as practical (if that's your intent). The onboard flash may be able to somewhat fill the shadows of something right in front of camera, but don't count on it saving the day. Direct sunlight is one of the toughest conditions for photography. If you want slightly better result, have an assistant with a reflector standing on the opposite from sun side and shining reflected light on the subject for better fill. Hint - get one of those cheap shiny silver car windshield sun screens. It works very well as a reflector at a fraction of a cost of a real one.

LEM.

P.S. Speedlites arre more powerful, so you may be able to get a better fill from it, but onboard flash will probably not get you good results unless you're sticking the camera right into your subject.