It may just be that the flash is not poweful enough for that distance of a shot. Indoor flash pictures have alot of bounce off walls and ceilings to reflect light onto the subject which you don't have in the outdoors. If possible try moving your feeder closer to your camera and see if it helps. Also if there is mist in the air the flash will bouce off that instead of making it completely to your subject ( which in this case happens to be 5 freekin deer, where do you live man?). Just my theories here, but I play around a bit with photography and the kind of power needed from a flash for outdoor photography usually starts at $250.00 for the unit.