Need techniques on shooting indoor

[hatateru]

Hey all, I would like to get some tips/techniques on indoor shooting. Because I am going to help out a friend of mine to do some photo shooting of an event that he organizes this week. The equipment that I current have is the 20D, 24-105mm F4.0L and 580EX.

When shooting indoor, which mode I should stick to? Some ppl suggest to use P mode all the way, and it is the safest way; but the quality may not come out good. If I attach the flash on, do you all use bounce flash technique? I know that if the ceiling is way too high, there is no point to bounce the flash off the ceiling. But I am afraid that if I leave it as default angle, the object will be overexpose and background will be underexpose. What should I do in this case? Also, a friend of mine suggest me to DIY a retangle shape white cardboard attach on top of the flash as a catchlight, which can make the flash softer. So that means i don't need to tilt the flash head and i can just do a direct flash right on the object?

That's all I can think of right now. If you all have any other tips that you can share, please don't hestiate to post it. I am willing to learn more. Thank you!!

[bruce20D]

buy a 50mm f1.8

[pault107]

buy a 50mm f1.8

Or a 1.4 if you've got the cash. I bought one recently and I'm lovin' it.

[Jon]

OK - a faster lens will make the job easier, but it isn't essential. If the ceiling's high, bouncing the flash won't do much at all. For direct flash, depending on the light level, you could set Tv for a moderately-slow shutter speed (no slower than 1/30 sec.), use a high ISO, and set Flash Exposure Compensation to give the background some life. Your 20D has very usable high-ISO capabilities.

For the "white card trick" you'd fasten the card to the flash and point the flash up at an angle. The light reflected off the card will provide a direct light while the main light will give a more "bounce" effect.

[MagentaJoe]

The 580ex has a catchlight relfector built in. Just pull out the diffuser and then push it back in leaving the reflector out. But I think if the ceilings are too high you need a softbox to tone down the hardhness of the flash.

[Darvon]

I agree with Jon that the 20D has great ISO settings and has pretty good noise reduction in camera. The flash is good up to about 10-12 feet and both your camera or flash have variable outputs if they are a little harsh. You could also buy a commercial difuser or if you can't get one in time, tape a single layer of toilet paper over the flash as a "home-made" difuser. Don't forget to use a manual setting for your white balance or even better use the custom setting with a white card. Most importantly get there a little early and take some test shots to see how you like different settings.

[hatateru]

Or a 1.4 if you've got the cash. I bought one recently and I'm lovin' it.

I heard lots of good feedback on this lens. Do you mind to post a pic and see how's the quality? ;)

[hatateru]

OK - a faster lens will make the job easier, but it isn't essential. If the ceiling's high, bouncing the flash won't do much at all. For direct flash, depending on the light level, you could set Tv for a moderately-slow shutter speed (no slower than 1/30 sec.), use a high ISO, and set Flash Exposure Compensation to give the background some life. Your 20D has very usable high-ISO capabilities.

For the "white card trick" you'd fasten the card to the flash and point the flash up at an angle. The light reflected off the card will provide a direct light while the main light will give a more "bounce" effect.

Jon, thanks for the advices! I am going to get there earlier and try all different settings. I never thought of use TV mode when shooting indoor. Interesting!

[Exit]

What kind of event is this going to be? What are you shooting and how much ambient light is there to work with?

[hatateru]

It's a ceremony of customer service excellence. It will held in a ballroom i guess should have decent ambient light. I will mostly shoot the people on the stage.

[pault107]

I heard lots of good feedback on this lens. Do you mind to post a pic and see how's the quality? ;)

I'm at work at the moment, but I'll post a photo later today when i get home.

[pault107]

Here you go:

(hand held, 580ex fired, f4, 1/100, iso 400, 350D)

http://home.planet.nl/~bezui022/20060121_009-01-small.jpg

at 100%...

http://home.planet.nl/~bezui022/20060121_009-01-100.jpg

[hatateru]

That's vert sharp!! Nice!!

[Sean-Mcr]

It all depends on the light you have. I don't like flash, so i have fast lenses and often take shots in pretty tough light at times. I shot the below shot wide open at F/1.4 and iso 1600. Flash would have spoilt the lighting (there was no natural light) and might have disturbed the people in the candid.
http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/55179855.20D202.jpg


The light was much better in this shot so i could stop down to F/2.8 and iso 200
http://i.pbase.com/o4/87/571287/1/52655765.20D246.jpg

You have to work with the light you have, and i'm just not in to flash.

[superdiver]

Is there a huge difference between 1.4 and 1.8?

[dmp-potn]

Is there a huge difference between 1.4 and 1.8?
Yes.

That said, I've been able to get good results shooting indoors (low ambient light) in manual mode at f/5.6, 1/125s, ISO 100-200 with a Sto-fen Omni-bounce (for close shots), or direct flash for wider shots using an EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens. For example (hoping to illustrate lighting and exposure rather than an an interesting composition):

http://gallery.ws-e.com/albums/Rui_Baby_Shower/img_8454.sized.jpg

I recommend manual mode because it's usually better to give the camera fewer variables to deal with. Select a reasonable shutter speed, stop your lens down a bit from wide-open, and let the camera adjust the flash output to get the right exposure. If your flash recycle time is too long, try raising ISO a bit or use a more open aperature.

I typically set flash exposure compensation to +2/3rds (+1/3rd on my 1D) and make use of flash exposure lock (FEL) anytime I think there's something in the frame that might trick the camera (subject with a white shirt, etc.).

Hope this helps.

[superdiver]

WOW, great info...

So much to learn...just trying to soak in the basics...I cant imagine trying to figure all this stuff out without the help of people like you on this forum!