20 d indoor flash question

[jmphotos96LZ]

Hello i am new to this forum. I have a new 20d and a 550 ex flash. I am going to a easyrider motorcycle show in pomona Ca. The show is indoors . What camera mode and flash setting will work best for this indoor shooting ?

[dhbailey]

Only you will know, once you get there. A lot will depend on the ambient lighting -- many of such shows have very bright lights on the bikes, so you may not need to use flash at all, other than as a fill-flash. But remember that with all that shiny metal, your flash will stick out in the pictures as bright reflections. Perhaps using a diffuser will help alleviate that effect, but it won't eliminate it entirely.

If there is a low ceiling you could try using it as a bounce flash to help avoid those bright spots, but if it's a high ceiling venue that won't help at all.

The great thing about digital cameras is that you can take lots of pictures using lots of different settings and angles and discard all that you don't like without wasting any money developping the pictures.

Good luck, and remember -- experiment, experiment, experiment!

One other thing -- be sure to experiment with the WB settings, quite possibly bringing a white sheet of paper or a 20% gray card so you can set the WB manually to get the best pictures.

[scottbergerphoto]

There is alot of information in the EOS Flash Sticky.
Scott