Photobooth is one of the new “fun” apps that was added to OS X last year. What you may have found though is that there are times when you don’t want the screen to flash when taking a shot. This is especially true on the new 24in iMacs whose big bright screen produces a flash so bright that it often results in photos that are almost completely washed out.

There is however a way to take a picture with Photobooth without the flash firing. All you need to do is hold the Shift key down while you take the shot. Better still if you don’t want to wait for the 3 second timer before the shot is taken hold the Alt key down as well, the picture will take instantly.