It's raining today like mad, and I just can't get motivated to leave the house. We all know those days. And truth be told, we have no valid reason for leaving. No one is feeling cabin fevered. No one needs anything from Target.
Make things darker ... with light!
It sounds contradictory, but using a flash can actually help you darken parts of your photo.
After all, photography is just light. So when you have lights that are brighter than other ones, your camera is going to show you the difference (even if your eyes don't).
It takes some practice and a fair amount of camera knowledge, but after mastering shutter speeds and F-stops, you can add a flash and see what happens. Here's the method in a nutshell: -Set your camera settings to expose the ambient light to your liking (for example, under-expose it). -Then set your flash to the proper brightness to expose your subject the way you like.
Of course, it's a little more complicated than that, but photography is all about trying new things, making mistakes, and learning as you go.
Happy shooting.