can anyone give me some tips?

[wrecker1971]

hi all i have just got back into photography and have only got a sony a200 dslr with a built in flash and a tripod. i have been asked to do a family portrait(5 adults and 12 kids!!!!!!!) the pic will be taken in my living room with indoor lighting and the built in flash. it will be taken against a blue sofe with a cream background. can anyone give me any tips to make this work? i have taken a few indoor shots but the colour does not seem to be quite right. any hints or tips welcome
thanks
paul

 

[who?]

You need to get the right white balance. You can tweak this in pp or use the camera to set a custom WB or select the predefined one nearest to your actual lighting. Sorry I know nothing about Sony set up.

I would say do some reading in the lighting forum and consider spending a few ££ on lighting, even if you just try bouncing cheap worklights off the walls or ceiling. You can play around before everyone gets there and see how you get on.

 

[wrecker1971]

thanks for advice. will give that a try. have done some test shots but the colour is all wrong.
cheers
paul

 

[Kev M]

The problem is your indoor lighting and your flash have different colour temperatures so your wight balance will never be right unless you colour correct one of them with gels to match the other.

If you need to shoot such a big group with that gear I would suggest going outside and hope it's a reasonable day. Even if it's overcast you will probably still have more light than if you were to shoot indoors with a light bulb.

 

[Chappers]

As Kev has said try not to mix your lighting. I would also suggest you don't use automatic white balance but opt for one of the fixed light source options such a flash, daylight or even overcast. Try each in turn and see what proves the best option. If you opt for the work lights option, then set the camera to tungsten