- Messages
- 1
- Name
- Tom
- Edit My Images
- Yes
I
have recently found myself shooting more live music events, specifically very dark warehouse parties, and could use some tips how to improve the results.
At my first shoot I used my Canon EOS 550D with 50mm f1.4 USM - I left everything on auto and used no flash as I only had the camera's in-built flash at that point. The ambient lighting was just enough, and the promoter specifically wanted 'gritty' monochrome images, so the cranked-up ISO wasn't a deal-breaker and when I tweaked the luma curve in Lightroom to stretch out the contrast I had some very pleasing shots.
By my second party, at the same venue, I had bought a 430EX-II flash and a radio remote and wanted to get more ambitious and make more creative use of the manual settings on my 550D. For much of the evening I used f1.4 to f2.8 at 1/100, and ISO100/200/400. My flash was often set to 1/32 or 1/16 power. This worked great in the DJ booth, as I just sat it next to the decks aimed up towards the DJ's face with a diffuser and half-CTO. After a few test shots this setup got plenty of good images, see the selection below to get an idea of the situation I was in -
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Derelicht-D03-Music-Event-Promotion/10722453
Now the problem area - drunk people stumbling over to me wanting shots with their friends. It's too loud to explain that I'm there to do more editorial stuff and stage promotional shots, as I have got earplugs in it's down to hand gestures! I'm working in near complete darkness except for strobes, roboscans etc. I have a wide-open 50mm lens so I have to weave backward through the crowd to get 3-4 metres away from the subjects. For a few shots I used an ETTL cord, but this wouldn't fire whilst the auto-focus was shuffling around trying to focus in the dark so I had to go manual, in low-light, then pull the flash from under my arm and hope for the best. The results were mixed and without an assistant the cord was a hassle so for the rest of the night I left the radio trigger attached and just held the flash aloft. Sometimes the subjects were underlit, other times they looked like they were illuminated by an atomic bomb.
I arrived home with over 1,000 images, immediately tossing 700 of them. The DJ shots are fantastic, the staged flash shots are great, but the improvised clubber shots aren't so good - the 50mm at f1.4 is so focus-critical that many of the faces are just a little soft. Processed in high-contrast monochrome with a little sharpening they're more than up to the job but I'd really like to nail this as it's a situation likely to crop up again, so -
Has anyone got any tips for getting bang-on focus when working in near darkness, and get the flash to the correct power too - and all within a few seconds?
N.B. I've got the cheap 18-55 EFM that came with the camera, but the aperture was just too slow for the situation and I really don't rate the quality of it versus my 50mm USM prime.
All input very welcome indeed, thanks!
Tom
Code:
At my first shoot I used my Canon EOS 550D with 50mm f1.4 USM - I left everything on auto and used no flash as I only had the camera's in-built flash at that point. The ambient lighting was just enough, and the promoter specifically wanted 'gritty' monochrome images, so the cranked-up ISO wasn't a deal-breaker and when I tweaked the luma curve in Lightroom to stretch out the contrast I had some very pleasing shots.
By my second party, at the same venue, I had bought a 430EX-II flash and a radio remote and wanted to get more ambitious and make more creative use of the manual settings on my 550D. For much of the evening I used f1.4 to f2.8 at 1/100, and ISO100/200/400. My flash was often set to 1/32 or 1/16 power. This worked great in the DJ booth, as I just sat it next to the decks aimed up towards the DJ's face with a diffuser and half-CTO. After a few test shots this setup got plenty of good images, see the selection below to get an idea of the situation I was in -
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Derelicht-D03-Music-Event-Promotion/10722453
Now the problem area - drunk people stumbling over to me wanting shots with their friends. It's too loud to explain that I'm there to do more editorial stuff and stage promotional shots, as I have got earplugs in it's down to hand gestures! I'm working in near complete darkness except for strobes, roboscans etc. I have a wide-open 50mm lens so I have to weave backward through the crowd to get 3-4 metres away from the subjects. For a few shots I used an ETTL cord, but this wouldn't fire whilst the auto-focus was shuffling around trying to focus in the dark so I had to go manual, in low-light, then pull the flash from under my arm and hope for the best. The results were mixed and without an assistant the cord was a hassle so for the rest of the night I left the radio trigger attached and just held the flash aloft. Sometimes the subjects were underlit, other times they looked like they were illuminated by an atomic bomb.
I arrived home with over 1,000 images, immediately tossing 700 of them. The DJ shots are fantastic, the staged flash shots are great, but the improvised clubber shots aren't so good - the 50mm at f1.4 is so focus-critical that many of the faces are just a little soft. Processed in high-contrast monochrome with a little sharpening they're more than up to the job but I'd really like to nail this as it's a situation likely to crop up again, so -
Has anyone got any tips for getting bang-on focus when working in near darkness, and get the flash to the correct power too - and all within a few seconds?
N.B. I've got the cheap 18-55 EFM that came with the camera, but the aperture was just too slow for the situation and I really don't rate the quality of it versus my 50mm USM prime.
All input very welcome indeed, thanks!
Tom
