Tips on shooting indoors at night

[amikhchi]

A friend of mine is having a *Roaring 20s* themed party and i offered to take pictures becuase i never really have anything other than landscapes/insects/animals to take pictures of, and i need the practice. I wanted to see offhand if anyone has any tips for an amateur?

have a rebel xs, most likely i'll be using the kit lens (i believe it's 18-55IS) and maybe the nifty 50, i have a 580ex2 flash, and i have a solid tripod (forgot the model)... it's not really a big deal for the pictures to come out perfect because i'm doing it for fun/free, but i'd still like to be able to take good pictures... should i be aiming for low iso/f-stop or anything in particular like that?

bounce the flash off the ceiling or aim straight forward? I tried reading my flash manual when i first got it, but i have forgotten since then, i'd assume to leave the flash in ETTL mode and let the camera decide on the power etc.

thanks

[tgamron]

Bounce is better when using the flash.

[amikhchi]

Okay, I thought so too, what about if i'm outside, i guess my only option is direct right? is there any way to take a picture outside but not get that super white washed out look (without having any extra equipment lol)

[tgamron]

You can always make a bounce card. I have used a white envelope, and rubber band in the past.

or something like this:

http://www.themoment2cherish.com/DIY-Bounce-Card/

[stagi]

Bounce it off the ceiling or off the side walls to get a directional light. Always depends on specifics of the room but bouncing it off something will be better than straight on

[amikhchi]

So if it's outdoors and at night, my best (only) bet is to make some sort of contraption such as the one suggested above?

[amikhchi]

So after taking the shots and looking them over i don't think i did that bad of a job, i mean it's not great, but considering it was my first time doing any sort of *photo-shoot* so-to-speak...

I kept the flash on ETTL mode the entire time, and it seemed like some of the pictures when i was firing the flash directly (without the bounce card thing) were really bright for some reason, can anyone give me an insight as to why that occured? i kept the iso at 400 and shutter speed at 1/90th, and f/5.6, again i was using the Rebel XS with the 18-55IS kit lens

i'll try and find to comparable pictures that show the difference in brightness of flash that i was referring to... thanks for the advice

[akipics]

bounce all the way, and your photo will be better already.
580ex2 can also help you focus in the room.

[pcj]

.........
I kept the flash on ETTL mode the entire time, and it seemed like some of the pictures when i was firing the flash directly (without the bounce card thing) were really bright for some reason, can anyone give me an insight as to why that occured?.....


ETTL isn't magic - when you point a really small light source (the bare flash), directly in someones face from not too far away, it's going to be really bright and harsh :)

I use ETTL all the time - if I'm shooting an event, I'll bounce off a ceiling/wall/door/column/card/person/cake/somethingorother, and get good results. If I'm outdoors, bounce card all the way.

Thats not even getting into off camera flash, which is a much better option than leaving it in your hot shoe, and a whole new kettle of kippers.

[miguel granville]

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=10578243#post10578243