Lighting?

[SpectroPhoenix]

Hello, I'm definitely a noob when it comes to taking pictures, I love taking them, but I'm a noob. I have a Kodak C340 and it takes great pictures, there're just a few problems thouhg. Whenever I take pictures, they either seem too bright or too dark. The night mode works well, but of course I need to prop it up onto something before taking the picture. But my problem is when taking pictures on the auto mode. The flash usually makes my pictures too bright, creating a glare at times. How can I configure my camer to take pictures with a more reasonable flash, sort of how disposable camera's flash.
Thanks for anything anybody has to offer!

 

[KeithVH]

OK. I'm guessing the flash overexposure is on the closer subjects, right? Two choices. I see that the 340 has a FillFlash mode. Have you tried that? You could also use it on full power and hold a kleenex over the flash to diffuse it for subjects close up. Is it happening at night? If it's too dark, the meter might be fooled into providing too much power to the flash to evenly light a given scene (think light behavior under the inverse suare law, falls off realy fast over distance). I don't see wether the 340 has flash compensation (where you can reduce the power output). You should check the manual on that.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hell, i still use a light meter with a flash....