Wow, a whole new respect for you wedding photogs

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

12/03/2006 07:59:53 PM · #1

I tell you what, I thought that with my SB-600, Gary Fong Lightsphere, and my 50mm f/1.8 I would have no problem shooting inside a relatively dark room for an event I shot last night. That was pure hell.

Things I was having problems with....

1. Autofocus in a dark room sucks...
2. You miss the "moment" because autofocus is busy doing who knows what...
3. The ceiling was dark, so the bounce approach with the lightsphere didn't work out so hot...
4. Getting the white balance right was really a challenge too.

The only thing that saved my bacon was I shot in RAW, so I there is some "forgiveness factor".

Here is my question...

How do you pros do such a great job in a dim room with dark walls, dark ceiling, dark clothing on guests, etc?

As the title says, I have a whole new respect for your skills. Any tid bits of advice you might be willing to share would be very much appreciated.

-Jeremy

JRalston

Canon EOS-20D

12/03/2006 08:07:03 PM · #2

I am not a pro.....but I feel for ya. Is shot a wedding under the same conditions. Throw in some DJ disco ball lights and you made for some great pictures, Ugghhhh

wavelength

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

12/03/2006 08:16:55 PM · #3

You do the best you can with the indoor shots, and hope they give you time for some decent bridal party stuff in better lighting mostly.

The reception was better for me on the one I did, nice white cieling about 12' high, perfect for direct bounce and no LS2, (+1 EV on flash) Ate the hell out of the batteries though.

ISO 800 and Neat Image/Noise ninja. Monpod, do what you have to.

Were you doing a wedding?

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/03/2006 08:19:50 PM · #4

If the 50 1.8 on the Nikon is anything like the 50 1.8 on the Canon ... the focus mechanism is relatively slow. I can't speak for Nikon. But the Canon is a nice lens and all, but I wouldn't use it for a demanding situation where timing is critical. The Canon line of lenses has what is called USM which is a fast focusing mechanism. Those are the only ones I'll shoot a wedding with. For slower "candid shots" and such, I'll venture into other lenses for creativity.

12/03/2006 08:21:10 PM · #5

Originally posted by wavelength:

Were you doing a wedding?

No, I was shooting a Christmas party for a company. I white ceiling would have been nice. The other problem I encountered was the lights were dimmed way down thus making the light very very warm, so it was hard to get the white balance right.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

12/03/2006 08:23:39 PM · #6

Originally posted by JRalston:

I am not a pro.....but I feel for ya. Is shot a wedding under the same conditions. Throw in some DJ disco ball lights and you made for some great pictures, Ugghhhh

Ugghhhh is right. The DJ lighting was giving me all sorts of grief too. Thanks for sharing in my pain. ;)

wavelength

Nikon D300

12/03/2006 08:26:21 PM · #7

Originally posted by jahoward:

Originally posted by wavelength:
Were you doing a wedding?

No, I was shooting a Christmas party for a company. I white ceiling would have been nice. The other problem I encountered was the lights were dimmed way down thus making the light very very warm, so it was hard to get the white balance right.

I that case I would have left the flash on for most of the time, and just left the thing on auto WB and P mode. Call me crazy.

Without the flash, the only thing you need to know is if the lights are incandescent or florescent. :/

Raw helps, yes.

Message edited by author 2006-12-03 20:26:28.

12/03/2006 10:55:25 PM · #8

Originally posted by wavelength:

I that case I would have left the flash on for most of the time, and just left the thing on auto WB and P mode. Call me crazy.

Yah, I should learn to trust my camera with Auto WB and P mode. I usually shoot in manual or aperature priority. I think I was trying to do too much with the flash. I should have just gone with the direct flash and the lightsphere and that would have been better than bouncing it off a dark 15 foot ceiling. Most of my images came out under exposed. I just hate having the flash aimed directly at the subject, but I suppose it's better than being underexposed.