Indoor pictures - flash or no flash?

fazworld

I just got my 60D, which is an upgrade from my T1i. My wife and I were debating the best way to take indoor pictures, she likes using the flash, I do not. When I don't use the flash, the colors are soft and seemingly saturated, as opposed to the harsher pictures when using a flash.

What is the best way to take these pictures? It seems the 60D, with my Tamron 28-75mm lens, is way better than the T1i in these low light settings. When I take the pictures, often I use Av mode with a low aperture (2.8) and the camera adjusts the ISO so that camera shake is sometimes not an issue. What is the professional opinion on taking these kinds of pictures?

Moose

@fazworld - I would say you're both right. :) Here's why... When shooting indoors, image sensors need light and lots of it in order to get an accurate exposure. Throw in a moving subject and now your image sensor needs even more light to get a fast enough shutter speed to "freeze" subject movement.

I wholeheartedly agree that the built-in flash stinks when used indoors or in low-light. It produces uneven skin tones and harsh shadows, giving your people shots an unnatural look.

Non-flash shots indoors (low-light) are great for subjects (food, cityscapes, etc...) that don't move. However, in order to capture moving subjects the image sensor needs increased sensitivity (higher ISO's) in order to obtain a fast enough shutter speed to freeze subject movement. Higher ISO's introduce heavy amounts of image grain and also sap the color, sharpness and life from your photos.

The best solution is to use an external speedlite like the Canon 320EX (see here) and bounce the light off a ceiling, rather than directly at your subject. By bouncing the light, you're spreading the flash evenly throughout the room, giving you much more natural looking shots indoors. In addition to that, a speedlite will freeze subject movement and also lower the ISO at the same time, which means sharp subjects with low amounts of image noise.

I hope that all makes sense. Happy shooting! :)

Auston

@fazworld - This is just a quick fix that I tried back when I was using my old Canon ELAN II E (35mm film). I didn't have an external flash and the built-in flash was too harsh. I took a 5x7 index card and taped it in front of the pop-up flash and angled up to the ceiling. As you can guess, this acted as a bounce in a way. It worked, until I saved up and bought a flash unit. I admit that it isn't pretty, but it can get you out of a pinch. Just a thought. - Auston

Vinylspider

A white polystyrene cup taped over the flash as a defuser is a pretty common solution. Or you can get creative with a DIY ringflash like this:
http://www.petapixel.com/2010/11/29/how-to-make-a-diy-pizza-box-ring-flash/