Originally posted by megp Hi everyone. I am new here. I just got my k-r in the mail yesterday. In attempting to take pictures of my kids their eyes are closed every single time. I am using the auto flash and just using auto or portrait mode. Is there a setting I need to change? I never had issues with them blinking with point and shoot cameras.
Poor kid.
The reason why living creatures blink hard, or close their eyes, in reaction to the savagery of such super bright instant light (which every camera flash is), is because they are only trying to protect their precious eyes from obvious serious health damage.
It's a natural reaction, and the delicate eye/cornea/pupil/etc. sensitivity of all people is different, as is their reflexes speed to protect the eye lenses. As well as the probability of damage, however partial or temporary, to a given person's sight. People aren't allowed to beat kids by law these days, or expose them to passive smoke, etc., so why... ?
Camera makers serve up Red-Eye as a built-in option, which is about the same as putting a band-aid on skin cancer. Red-eye is only a pre-flash only tries to force the victim to dilate their pupils, before hitting them with the full blast! and pretending that's somehow better. Sure, a dilated pupil doen't give such red-eyed reflection effect showing in the photo. And that's the important bit, huh! who cares about the person?
Grrr...
The important thing to ascertain from that is; medically and optically, a dilated pupil is still a [just as] vulnerable pupil, even though that vulnerability is 'covered up', because... Hey, no red-eye showing in MY pics is there, so obviously no problem. Yeah riiight!
OK, you can believe if you want that the problem didn't exist with your P&S cameras, but the more scientific (and therefore honest) answer is that it was only lessened. What could be deduced there is that the poor kid didn't even get time to react and close their eyes for protection, so copped the full brunt of the light. Think about it.
To you, the pics looked good, so you were happy. No harm done. Or was there?
Sure stupid people will say that turning on Red-eye or using less powered flash is OK, but really... that's sick! How are
they qualified to judge the sensitivity and damage potential levels of
your child's eyes? Grrrr... again.
So the only real question is: Is your kid (and other people too) worth caring about?
Sorry, I make no apologies for believing [knowing] that eyes are worth looking after. And that even micro-short exposures to sudden brightness intensities can be serious harmful.
However, don't believe what I say (and I know you won't!). You could continue to inflict this sadism,
or, read up and learn about it, ie. of the medical~biological esp long term consequences. Camera makers and their users
definitely don't qualify as experts there.
Hint: you'll probably find good info on this scarce to find, unfortunately the world is still at the "Marlboro Man is socially accepted hero" stage on many matters like this, awakenings will come though and camera flashes won't be sacred cows like cigarettes aren't anymore. We only need to reinvent the tools and ways we do it to accommodate safety as a higher priority. And attitudes too of course. No rocket science required.
And then, you will want to seek out a better more safer and considerate way: Yes, the great thing is that options are available; such as from simple inexpensive softener diffusers to put over flashes, to better on or off camera flashes that can direct the light AWAY from the victim eyes and bounce it off ceilings and walls. Like a Light flood.
Another big side benefit is that these alternate methods also will give much better images, with far far less risk of harm.
Enuff sed. There are many experienced flash users here (and elsewhere on the 'net) who will be able to provide a variety of affordable, easy to adapt and use suggestions,
please consider them for that little one's sake.
"Be nice to your children - they get to choose your nursing home..." -- Anon
Remember, if the sudden light was not a problem or danger to our visual input receptors (eyes) then we wouldn't blink to try and avoid it! It is that simple.
(No prizes for guessing that I never use direct flash at living animal creatures. And they usually care about me too in return so it all works out good.)
HTH.
.R. -- Torture is only ever inflicted over a short period too, while the perpetrator is "learning".