Function Jitters

[lindagorin]

I have been asked to do a function but I would like to get a bit of advice first. I have done one or two but they were straight foreward - no tricks with lighting etc. Now I have to do one in a function room at night of all the guests eating, dancing, speeches etc. Obviously I will be walking around with my flash but will be challenged by lighting and movement etc. I have a canon 5d and a 24-105 and a 70-300 lens. Should I put my camera setting on Flash or on AWB. Does it make a big difference. WOuld it be safe to keep the camera on a setting of 5.6 and an appropriate handheld speed. Should it be on al focus or al servo. I have messed around with these settings and the photos dont really look different. THanks.......

[stathunter]

Lighting in my opinion always changes. You always have to be on your game. I always shoot in RAW and tend to set it AWB and play with it in pp. I have been taking a grey card to my shoots and can do white balance adjustments quickly.
Not quite sure what you mean by 5.6 but if you are talking about fstop--- you had better have at least a lens with a 2.8 or your photos will be dark or blurry.
Dont be afraid to use high ISO with the 5D --- even if you use 1600 you should not notice any noise with the 5D--- I do it without problems.

[Philco]

I think you'll be in really good shape by sticking with the 24-105 @f4 for the night. My second shooter uses this combo succesfully in ballrooms all the time and his stuff is sharp @ f4. Assuming you're using a 580 EX, I would encourage you to shoot in Manual, probably 1/60th @ f4 at ISO 800 to start with and just see how it looks. As long as your ambient reading is close to two stops underexposed, your flash will take care of the rest. You can bump up your ISO to pull in more ambient if you're really getting dark backgrounds - just keep an eye on your meter to make sure it's at least one stop or more underexposed for the ambient, otherwise you can get an unflattering mix of color temps. As long as you're using ETTL, you should be in good shape.

[lindagorin]

HOw do you take an ambient light reading without a light meter?

[SkipD]

HOw do you take an ambient light reading without a light meter?You have a light meter that reads ambient light. It's built into your camera. It just cannot read light levels from a flash source.

[PhotosGuy]

Good post by Philco. You have a light meter that reads ambient light. It's built into your camera. Don't just point it at anything: How the subject affects the exposure & why manual keeps me worry free: Post #47 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5191658&postcount=47)

First set the f-stop & ISO you need for the flash at a given distance, like 8'. Then set the shutter speed you need for the ambient light using this. Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123)

Now you can stay at that pre-tested distance & use the zoom to frame your shots & your exposure should be very close. If you have to shoot at a greater distance, there's only one stop difference in light output at 11', & one stop more difference in light output at 16'.
Why?

Probably more than you want to know, but take a look at this: Fill light at sunset. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66353)

And, re: my comment... & use the zoom to frame your shots
Some flashes allow for you to set the angle of coverage. You should test your flash to see how much of the frame it covers on wide angle at whatever distance you chose to standardize at. Just stand that distance from a white wall & shoot a frame. See if the light across the wall is even. If not, then zoom in a bit & try again.


More: Tips for Xmas Ball Please (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=419399&highlight=tips)

flash photography techniques (http://planetneil.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/) - planet neil

Bonus link, as the question will come up: How to Shoot Flash Into a Sunset (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/06/free-custom-backdrops-delivered-daily.html) - Strobist