Choir Conductor in Rehearsal

[Murphy66]

Very tough lighting, no flash allowed. C&C welcome.

[johnstoy]

Interesting...
I guess you're priming up for the big choir event...
Obviously, credit is due to the Choir conductor...
Will you post the choir here soon?

[alan_potter]

Nice pictures - obviously very wide aperture given the way the face is in sharp focus but the arms are blurred in #2. But no EXIF information - what setup were you using?

Would I be correct in assuming there were a lot of "non-keepers" from this session?

regards,
/alan

[René Damkot]

I'd crop off the second arm in #2 completely, and maybe lighten up the face a bit.then it's nice.
#1 is nice. On your next shoot watch out for those overhead lights growing cables out of someones head!
What settings?
Oh, and a personal thing: I don't like the different aspect ratios... Even if you don't use 2:3, at least be consistent.

[Murphy66]

The gear was my 5D with a 70-200 2.8 with a 1.4 externder shooting at 3200. I also pulled out my 24-70 for the tall shot. I was also using a monopod. I had to use a custom WB because the skin tones were coming out like I was shooting aliens.

I set the camera to shutter priority at 1/60 to avoid as much blur as possible. I am very glad I had IS otherwise I'm not sure how few I would have been left with.

The light was ridiculous since you would go from a hot spot to almost completely dark in a matter of steps. And that's on the altar! The lighting they installed there is not strong enough for the space. One of the tricks I used was to wait for a singer to look up (it rarely happened, they were all buried in their music) and I would get some reflected light on their face from the music in their book.

I shot these last night, got home and played with a couple before posting and going to bed. I do have many more that I consider 'keepers' but I really didn't sit down to make any of these a 'finished' product. I won't do that until after I shoot the concert on Sunday. The challenge on Sunday is not being able to get as close to the singers so light will be even more difficult.

[alan_potter]

I really should leave this forum before I give in and buy a 70-200mm L...

regards,
/alan

[Murphy66]

The 70-200 is remarkable. It takes shots that you couldn't otherwise take in so many situations.

[jevidon]

i don't know if you really needed the 1.4x extender for the #2 shot. If it was a rehearsal I would have imagined you could get in closer to fill the frame and get an extra f-stop to get a better exposure.