Help with indoor Presentation Evening settings

Birty

Birty

Messages
350
Name
James
Edit My Images
Yes
Due to the guy who usually takes the photos for my sons Ice Hockey team dropping out as he has dropped his camera :thumbsdown: I have just been asked to take pictures at my sons Presentation Evening at King Georges Hall in Blackburn, trouble is I haven't taken any indoor event type photos and not sure what settings to use ?? :thinking:

I have a Canon 30D and will just be using the standard flash as I dont have a better one...

Any help on the right settings would be greatly appreciated.....
 
Can you get to the venue a few days before the event and have a practice? Take your son and use him as your dummy, whoops, model.

Hope this has helped you

Ian
 
Absolutely agree with Kemble3, I had a similar situation at an indoor skate park..I went down the previous day and tried a few settings, I found that I was constantly changing ISO, Aperture etc, depending on how far away the subjects were to the camera. Depending on the amount of ambient light that is available you may not need to use your flash and use a higher ISO.

Just be prepared and get down early! :0)
 
If they are to be critical photos - and you are unsure as to what you're doing - tell them so - and suggest it better to hire a 'pro' for the night.

If they don't mind you having a go :) and getting (hopefully) some reasonable results then give it your best shot - assuming that they don't mind if they're not perfect..

Keep your aperture fairly wide, your ISO as high as your camera will let you use realistically..

Will you be fairly close to the action? If so can you bounce the flash off somewhere? Is it a reasonably low ceiling? (Or did you mean the built in flash - in which case you won't easily bounce it off anywhere)..

If they want pro-results - tell them to hire a pro.. If they want your best shots (which may or may not be perfect) then give it your best shot :) And good luck.
 
A pro would be ideal but it's not something the club could afford I'm afraid so they are stuck with me.

I have taken photos of most of the games this season which has gone ok but that's been in the arenas where the light is usually not great but obviously not used flash and shot in Manual.

I am going to be either on stage taking photos as the kids are getting their trophies or just at the front of it and won't be able to bounce a flash, it's just my camera flash that I'll be using, so do I go manual or another setting ??

Apologies for for basic questions :)
 
Not a thing I say very often but... auto

*goes for lie down in dark room*

Seriously, in these circs. you may find auto - P, as Gary suggests, or even - gulp- the Green Square works better than guessing. If you are at a more-or-less constant distance, and no other conditions are likely to change, this is one area that auto can give decent results.

By `standard flash` do you mean the pop-up? If so, bear in mind that this has an effective range of around 12 feet. If you are using a wide angle, make sure that the hood, if you are using a hood, is not causing a shadow - it may block the bottom part of the flash.

And try to get the subjects to smile and look at you when you shoot. Ask whoever is doing the comparing to announce that `photos will be taken`. Vital that you get the first one - the rest will see this happening and expect it.

Have, ummm, fun!
 
Last edited:
Hmmm the word Auto has even made me shudder, but hey-ho if it works best I'll give it a go :thumbs: Thanks again and wish me luck !!!
 
Birty said:
Hmmm the word Auto has even made me shudder, but hey-ho if it works best I'll give it a go :thumbs: Thanks again and wish me luck !!!
Click to expand...

If using pop up flash wrap a piece of toilet paper round the flash and hold it in place with a small elastic band to act as a diffuser. :thumbs:

P gives consistently better results than Auto
 
James,
You can still get there early and have a practice with the actual light levels. Even mark out your distances from the subject and adjust flash levels either way. You will be in charge of the shoot so set it up so all you have to do is get the lads in the right place and shoot.
 
OK Time for a quick check...

1 - Get there early & practise
2 - Stick it in P and get an elastic band and the toilet paper handy (might be dual purpose ;) )
3 - Try & stay at a constant distance (circa <12ft)

Just managed to get my boss to let me go home early so the early dart is good to go !!

Thanks again for all the invaluable advice and if I manage to get 1 decent shot I might post it up here (if I am brave enough) for you to maybe point me in the direction of some further improvements :thumbs:

James
 
Taking these kind of shots as it happens is always messy - no-one looking at the camera - messy background etc - just let it all happen and set up the shots afterwards - where everything is under your control.
 
Why not lend the guy who has dropped his camera yours and let him take the stress - if he's using a Canon then he'll have all the other kit needed
 
I don't think my OCD would allow that !!! Especially if he is clumsy enough to drop his own camera, I'm not risking him dropping mine :/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top