Adrian writes,

I notice a lot of professionals always use their flash no matter the conditions.
I’ve tried this but sadly poor results. Why do they do it and why do most of my flash photos suck!?

Photographers often use their flash for “fill”, especially when photographing people. Rather than blinding them with the sun and getting a photo of a squinting subject, it is often more effective to put them in the shade or even with their back to the sun and then use a reasonably powerful flash to light the subject. It’s just another technique to control the light falling on your subject.

As to why you’re unhappy with your flash photos, there could be a number of problems. The most common occur with point and shoot cameras. They often have low power flash units making them ineffective outdoors. If you can be more specific or email me a sample, I’d be happy to have a look and see what advice I can offer!