Light objects in foreground washed out!

I am new with digital photography, just got a Kodak C530 5mp digital
camera. I am just shooting in auto mode. Took portraits ouside on a
sunny day in the shade. When I took full body shots, the exposures
were fine. When I got up close--- just chest-level and above, the
faces were totally washed out/white. My son was also wearing a very
light blue shirt, and it was also totally washed out/white. the
washed-out effect also loses all detail and looks blurry. Grossly
overexposed...but areas behind, like the garden behind are normal and
clear. This would not happen with my old 35 mm Minolta! Why isn't
the auto exposure function able to meter the subjects and stop the
camera down? because its a cheap camera?

 

It may be that the flash control is not very good, and the flash is
lighting near objects too well. Try the same picture with the flash
forced off, and see if it isn't better. Some cameras offer a "slow
sync" flash mode which can be a nice compromise.

 

No, that WAS with the flash off. Regards, geronimo