Help with a situation....

[Milner]

Please help with a situation out side my normal comfort zone of shooting.
I generally shoot action sports and live bands, but I have been asked to shoot a social/charity black tie type event. there will be some setup shots, but mostly candids. It has been years since I shot weddings or anything similar....never with my curent gear. (20d and 580ex) I have the 580 for fill when i need to bump the shutter seed, but I have never really used it for head shots/people in this type of situation (dimmly lit dinner theater)

I am worried about redeyes! I am shooting this as an "in kind" donation and don't want to spend a ton of time in PP. Should I use a bracket for the flash with a hotshoe cord? What is a good bracket that will let me switch quickly from vert to horz? Will ettl and the potrait setting for the 20d be a safe way to shoot? I ussually shoot manual, but in completely different situations. I have a hard time trusting the "modes" but, it sure would be nice for this. I fear the cieling will be to high to bounce. Is the slide out difuser on the 580 ok? Would something else be better?

Any suggestions and help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks
Marc

[Curtis N]

Stroboframe Cameraflip bracket
Canon Off Camera Shoe Cord 2.
Maybe a Lumiquest Pocketbouncer or Lumiquest Softbox on the flash to soften the edges a bit.
Manual mode, ISO 400, aperture of your choice, shutter speed anywhere up to 1/250, depending on if you want some background ambient exposure.
E-TTL flash, Average flash metering (custom function 14-1), start with +2/3 FEC, watch your histogram and adjust FEC as needed. White tablecloths and black tuxes can both throw it off in different directions.
Use one-shot AF mode (not AI Servo) so the AF assist light will work.

[Milner]

Sweeeeeet!
THANKS!!!! That is exactly the kind of info/help I was looking for!!!!

[Curtis N]

Upon further thought, I should include the caveat that the above recommendations, particularly the camera settings, are intended for using the flash as the predominant light source in a relatively dark room with high ceilings.

Mixing ambient and flash may or may not be an option, depending on the conditions. But it creates color issues and requires a very different approach.

[poloman]

Curtis N
You sure are an asset to all of us...
Thanks