What can I do if the flash on my digital camera isn't bright enough?

What can I do if the flash on my digital camera isn't bright enough?

Mark Comon (Vice President, Paul's Photo, Torrance, CA) gives expert video advice on: How do I prevent getting the "red-eye" effect?; How can I take red-eye out of my photos?; How do I capture fireworks with my digital camera? and more...

With your digital camera if you're taking flash pictures and they're still too dark, generally it means you're too far away. The flash in your compact digital or on your SLR that's built in is good to eight or ten feet - no farther. In the instruction book it may tell you 12, 15, 18 feet, but it's never going to happen. Eight to ten feet. So the basic rule is: get closer or add an extra flash to the top of your camera, and then you can shoot farther than the eight or 1 feet. The hard part is your kids are in a play or a pageant or something where you have to be 15, 20, 30 feet away. The only way to get good flash pictures: add a flash to the top of the camera.