Shooting a baby shower help !

davidfitness83 · 14th of January 2012 (Sat)

Just helping out a friend and i will taking photos of the event. I am not getting paid or anything but what would you suggest for the lighting and lenses. I have the kit lens, nifty
50 and a 430 ex speed light. Should I work bouncing the light aboard the ceiling or should I use the diffuser. I also have a mini softbox, no off camera flashes yet but I'm hoping to take some good shots. I am little worried about the light.

Justaddwata · 15th of January 2012 (Sun)

Going to depend a lot on the location, available light, etc. I would take it all and make a determination as to what is working as you go.

SuzyView · 15th of January 2012 (Sun)

I moved this to TALK as you don't have an image to SHARE yet.

I think the 430 should be fine. Diffusers are okay, but off the ceiling is better. And if the room is lit well, no flash is necessary at all. The 50 should work fine. Best advice I ever got was to practice first in the room you are shooting in at the same time of day as the event. Then you don't have to guess when it happens.

Christopher Steven b · 15th of January 2012 (Sun)

What is the venue ? a home, a restaurant, a hall ?

The baby showers I have shot were in a hall, and I basically bounced off the ceiling all night and then when we did the group shots I brought out an umbrella on a stand with a 430ex, which definitely has sufficient power for this kind of job.

Something to watch out for: if the ceilings are higher than a couple of meters, still bounce up but throw a little light forward with a bounce card extending maybe an 1.5" or more up from the flash. You'll know bouncing straight up with no card isn't working when you notice raccoon-ing (harsh shadows) of the eyes.

Even while bouncing your flash I would plan on shooting the majority of the evening at ISO800 and somewhere between f/2.5-f/4. Drop the shutterspeed if you want to drag some ambient and create a sense of movement (especially during dancing sequence. Take a test shot, if there isn't an overwhelming amount of ambient in the image, open up a little more = longer shutterspeed).

Another tip: get in early if you can and photograph the details; it will be near to impossible to do so once the action starts.

good luck !

scorpio_e · 16th of January 2012 (Mon)

You got some great advice already. Bring extra batteries and CF cards.

14th of January 2012 (Sat)	#1
davidfitness83 Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 77 IMAGE EDITING OK	Shooting a baby shower help ! Just helping out a friend and i will taking photos of the event. I am not getting paid or anything but what would you suggest for the lighting and lenses. I have the kit lens, nifty 50 and a 430 ex speed light. Should I work bouncing the light aboard the ceiling or should I use the diffuser. I also have a mini softbox, no off camera flashes yet but I'm hoping to take some good shots. I am little worried about the light.

15th of January 2012 (Sun)	#2
Justaddwata Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Stralian - but I get around! Posts: 1,225 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Shooting a baby shower help ! Going to depend a lot on the location, available light, etc. I would take it all and make a determination as to what is working as you go. __________________ Proudly Australian Made!! 1D MKIII, 5D MkIII gripped, 7D gripped, 40D gripped, Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 28mm f1.8, Sigma 50mm f1.4, Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 OS, "Sigmonster" 300-800mm, Canon 70-200mm Mk II IS L, Canon 24-105mm L, Canon 17-40mm L, Canon 35-350mm L, 580 EXII, 430EX, Canon 2X Extender MkII

15th of January 2012 (Sun)	#3
SuzyView Ms Moderator and Grandma Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Northern VA Posts: 31,485 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Shooting a baby shower help ! I moved this to TALK as you don't have an image to SHARE yet. I think the 430 should be fine. Diffusers are okay, but off the ceiling is better. And if the room is lit well, no flash is necessary at all. The 50 should work fine. Best advice I ever got was to practice first in the room you are shooting in at the same time of day as the event. Then you don't have to guess when it happens. __________________ Suzie - Still Speaking Canonese! *5D2* *7D & G12, the new iPad, iPhone 5 , 5 L's & 2 Primes* 23 bags - 4 Domke, 3 Lowepro, 1 Crumpler, 2 Tamrac, 5 Kata, 3 Thinktanks, 1 Pelican, 1 Tenba bag, 1 Epiphanie Paris & 2 Coach Handbag! And no excuses. My children are the reason, but it's the passion that drives me to get the perfect image of everything. My Gear and Wishes

15th of January 2012 (Sun)	#4
Christopher Steven b Goldmember Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 2,194 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Shooting a baby shower help ! What is the venue ? a home, a restaurant, a hall ? The baby showers I have shot were in a hall, and I basically bounced off the ceiling all night and then when we did the group shots I brought out an umbrella on a stand with a 430ex, which definitely has sufficient power for this kind of job. Something to watch out for: if the ceilings are higher than a couple of meters, still bounce up but throw a little light forward with a bounce card extending maybe an 1.5" or more up from the flash. You'll know bouncing straight up with no card isn't working when you notice raccoon-ing (harsh shadows) of the eyes. Even while bouncing your flash I would plan on shooting the majority of the evening at ISO800 and somewhere between f/2.5-f/4. Drop the shutterspeed if you want to drag some ambient and create a sense of movement (especially during dancing sequence. Take a test shot, if there isn't an overwhelming amount of ambient in the image, open up a little more = longer shutterspeed). Another tip: get in early if you can and photograph the details; it will be near to impossible to do so once the action starts. good luck ! __________________ christopher steven b. - Ottawa Wedding Photographer Ottawa Wedding Photography Site \| Ottawa Wedding Photographer Blog

16th of January 2012 (Mon)	#5
scorpio_e Cream of the Crop Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Pa Posts: 5,418 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Shooting a baby shower help ! You got some great advice already. Bring extra batteries and CF cards. __________________ www.steelcityphotography.com

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