Whats the best setting...

[NikkiLS]

to take photos of birds and people in front of christmas tree and still get that warm glowing look that you normally see...when my flash goes off it kind of ruins the shot.

 

[JLcribber]

Unless you have a high end off the camera flash, all those little on camera flashes tend to wash out the pictures.

Your better off not using the flash and getting more/better light in the whole room. Lighting is everything.

Something that also helps make your pictures pop is to use a shallow depth of field so your subjects are nice and clear in the fore ground and the background is soft and slightly out of focus.

 

[NikkiLS]

Well I have the SX 20 IS...not sure if that makes a difference. I really need to take a photography course and get a handle on terms. So all and all you are saying to turn the flash off light the room and try to get it to just focus on the subject.

 

[Renae]

Is that a Canon or Nikon?

I have a [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Nikon Speedlight SB-600 External Flash ([/FONT]http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod1852.htm) for my Nikon DSLR camera and it works perfect no matter how bad the lighting is and it out-beats the flash on my camera.

Here are a few links that are worth reading through:

Tips for Taking Photos of Christmas Tree Ornaments and the Tree with White Balance! | Me Ra Koh Photography Blog

Taking Photos of a Christmas Tree/Lights - PentaxForums.com

Strobist: How to Photograph Christmas Lights

 

[NikkiLS]

It is a cannon, it takes a clear photo but when it flashes the warm glow of the lights on the tree gets washed out.