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jeniveeev

jeniveeev

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hi - hope a few of you can help. i have my daughters nativity play in a kirk, its held in the evening and im not sure what the lighting will be like. Im looking forward to getting some good images and definitely dont want to come home with dark/black shots! can anyone suggest what settings i should start with? im thinking manual, high ISO, fairly fast shutter speed as the fairys will be moving (5 yr olds, so im thinking fast!!) and the f nr lower than higher? or should i play it safe and do automatic (this option i would rather not). i will off course do a few test shots when i arrive but would like to be prepared as its going to be busy! if are any other tips for this type of location im all ears. thanks in advance. J
Nikon D70
 
Difficult to say without seeing the lighting at the venue. Assuming flash is going to be a no-no as unless you are v.close to the action the on camera flash will be of little use.

If you want to go manual I would set your ISO as high as your D70 will allow without the images getting horribly grainy (might need to experiment indoors at night with this before you go) set you aperture wide open (lowest f number it will go to) then experiment with changing the shutter speed until you are happy with the results. If you aren't using flash then people won't get annoyed with you taking hundreds of shots so experiment with changing your settings while you are there. Remember to zoom into your image review to make sure what you are getting is sharp.

Alternatively the P (I think) setting on the D70 should do a decent enough job of automatically choosing the exposure settings without firing the flash. Or try using the A aperture priority mode if you don't fancy playing with shutter speed.
 
im expecting the kirk to be dim in the audience and the stage lit but not brightly. hoping for a good seat and i also have an ok zoom to attach. i also have an sb600 speedlight - should i use this? i hope not to upset too many others around me but i suspect there will be a bit of photography. will the image review show the grain enough for me to see it? thanks again BD for your advice - il practice in the house beforehand.
 
I'm afraid only you can decide whether you will be able to use the flash and probably only when you get there and see where you are sat. Too far away and even the off camera flash won't give you great results. Have a look at some stage/gig photography and you'll see it is mostly done using available light.

I think a bit of experimentation before you go and while you are there will give you better results than going with a set idea of how your camera should be set-up.

Don't rely on image review for noise. try taking some dimly lit shots with different ISO's before you go and have a look at them on screen. Bare in mind that even this won't give you an exact idea of what will happen on the night as the lighting will be different but will give you some guidelines to work with.
 
Wide aperture, high ISO (but no higher than you need for a quick shutter speed.)
In an artificially lit church with a telephoto lens I'd imagine you'll struggle to get the shutter speed as quick as you need and camera shake could be a problem. Take a tripod if you're able, or see if you can find something to rest your camera on.
 
its unlikely i would be able to use a tripod as we will be ushered to seats. when you say wide aperture can you be more specific? do you mean the lowest f nr as BD suggested?
 
yes thats right the lowest number, you could use a monopod though?
 
Wide open means the lowest f number.
So if the lowest number is f4, then then that would be it, or f3.5.
I suppose it also depends on how far away you are sat from the action.
If you shoot with a higher ISO, and have the camera set to TTL, then the higher ISO will also make the flash "travel" a bit further...

What lens will you be using?! :)
 
Well with the 70-300 at the longest end you would need to shoot it with shutter speeds no less than 1/300 wide open....because anything less than that - even with flash, you will still notice camera shake from yourself - and again at the 70mm end, I would use 1/80. The ISO you need, will depend on how dark it is - so fire off some test shots. I use the 18-70, and again that would depend on the shutter speeds at what length you were using it. Does that make any sense? :thinking:
If you shoot on ISO 100 with flash, most of the background will be black. To up the ISO then to about 400 or even 800 [even higher if it will handle it] then the flash will also travel "further" so you will get some more of the "background" etc in the picture.

HTH
 
i think ive got what i need at the moment but il definitely be in touch if i need anything else answered. this forum is great, ive learned a lot in the short time ive been registered and im a more confident posting.
cheers again.
 
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