Canon Rebel T7-Portrait Mode With Monolight

by bernie
(dallas)

I wanted to shoot in Portrait Mode with a video Monolight and Umbrella instead of a Flash to get diffused light. Although there was plenty of light on the subjects the flash popped up.
I tried to disable the flash via the "Menu" but could not find a way to do so.
Why did the flash pop up and why could I not disable it?

Hi Bernie from Dallas.

Thanks for your question about using PORTRAIT MODE with your Canon T7 camera. I'm not a big fan of using portrait mode and, in fact, I never use it, but I think my answer will help you. See my post on understanding Camera Settings for Canon cameras.

Whithout knowing the specific lighting conditions (the brightness of the reflected light hitting your subject and the existing ambient light in your scene)

PORTRAIT MODE ON REBEL T7

When you set the mode dial to Portrait, you're giving up control to your camera for a few specific things. That's not always a bad thing, but sometimes you may want more control.

First, in portrait mode the t7 will attempt to use larger apertures to facilitate a blurry background. That's usually a good thing, particularly when photographing an individual portrait. With group portraits you may need to use a smaller aperture to insure everyone in the photo is within the range of sharp focus called Depth of Field. In portrait mode you don't get to set the specific aperture to control the amount of depth of field you need.

Portrait mode on your T7 also makes skin tones and hair look softer. That's usually a good thing, but you can also adjust this in your Picture Style setting to any specific look you want.

Portrait mode is also likely determining that you should use the built-in flash on your Rebel t7 and that happens automatically at certain light levels.

HOW TO DISABLE YOUR T7 POP-UP FLASH

There are a few things you can try to prevent your pop-up flash from appearing and firing when shooting portraits with your Canon Rebel t7.

1. Use aperture priority mode instead of portrait mode. This will definitely cancel the automatic pop-up flash from popping up.
2. Raise the ISO. This will lessen the amount of light you need for your T7 to give you a properly exposed photo and less need for a flash.
3. Use a brighter light source or move your existing monolight closer to your subject.
4. Tape the pop-up flash down. I have no idea if this will work, but it's worth a try. It may prevent your T7 from taking a picture all together.

Bernie, play around with some of these suggestions for shooting portraits and please let me and other readers learn from your experience.

Thanks so much,
Bruce


You'll get a better understanding of camera settings on Canon DSLRs in this Article.

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