Fill-flash at the zoo

We took the kids to the zoo on saturday and lasted all of about 30 minutes before it started pouring down rain. About the only thing we got to do was feed the birds in the aviary. I wanted to post this picture because it is a wonderful example of using flash outdoors. If you have a camera that allows you to adjust the flash output you almost always want to dial it down a notch or two when shooting outdoors. A lot of camera's have a "fill-flash" mode but even that is usually too much. Remember, the trick is to have just enough flash to lift the shadows but not so much that the subject becomes washed in artificial light. I think this picture is just about perfect.

Booray Perry is a photographer in Tampa