Indoor candid's without a flash on a 350D..

Whats' the best starting point to take available light candids without the flash on my new Rebel? The XT takes great pictures, and I'm really happy with it, but I'd love to learn how to really use it, and not just use the green P&S mode....I hate the flashed look...

If someone could suggest what mode and settings to start with, I'd greatly appreciate it. Btw, I only have the 18-55 kit lens..

The kit lens is not the best lens for available light shots. you want a fast zoom or a prime lens for such shots. Until you obtain one of those, you're going to need to use a high iso 800-1600 and leave the aperture wide open F3.5. I always shoot manual but if you don't feel at ease with that then use the aperture priority mode


For such shots, I suggest you get yourself the 50 F1.8 but better still would be the 50 1.4

I wonder if you could use some tinfoil & bounce the flash off the ceiling?

You may also want to get a tripod. If you open you're aperature wide (low numbers) in Av mode and crank up the ISO to 1600 you may or may not get a fast enough shutter speed to handhold (for me it would be about 1/60 sec with this lens). If the shutter speed is slower, put it on a tripod to avoid blurring due to camera shake.

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I've bid on a 50mm 1.4 on ebay..Gt my fingers crossed!

Indoor with no flash is always a challenge. This shot is taken with a 350D and a Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm, ISO-1600, F/4, 1/40 handheld. The room had 5 incandescents in the center and three halogens along the back wall, pretty standard stuff in most homes. I had to tweak A LOT in Photoshop to get rid of (or to at least reduce) the noisy shadows but I think overall the shot is fairly clean and sharp and very candid.

You'd have an easier time with noise and reduced motion blur with a faster lens though I like the 10mm to really get a feel for what is going on in the scene.

That photo from Joe also shows why it's best not to use wide angle lenses to take photos of people, unless you're happy with distortion or using it in an artistic way.

You options for low light photography are:
- wide apertures
- high ISOs
- long shutter speeds
- add light

A combination of those four things will get you towards your goal.

Distortion is the best! Seriously I thought about using PS to reduce the distortion before I posted the pic but really it was meant to make the point that indoor shots without flash are not impossible, whatever the angle of view, and even without a 1.4 or 1.8 lens.

I use the 10-20 a lot in these situations because there is just no other way to get an entire scene in view with such a small room. The distortion is obviously a problem, especially when the worst part is right in the middle of someones head. Unless you think that particular person is a fat-head anyway.

I 100% agree with Tim, there's not many occasions when a super wide should be used for people. I don't believe the above to one of them

If you’re going to use a super wide for people, you can’t be as close as you were in that shot. The distortion is way too much

When I first saw Joe's picture, I thought 'that's a unique and interesting shot (of family and/or friends); I like it'.

I'd suggest that it'd be good to get into the habit of using a tripod as much as possible especially in low light conditions.

Now this of course may not be gospel to everyone: every photographer (who makes a living from photography; one in particular who has been widely published in magazines doesn't consider himself a 'professional photographer') I've heard speak at photography shows, among other things, suggest the practical necessity of tripod use or some comparable form of stable support.

I've found that for people shots in low light getting them to sit still-and more so if it's for candids is no small task. So often slow shutter speeds are not going to cut it, so a tripod want be a great deal of help, if it's low light candids you want at any rate.

I use the 50mm 1.8 quite regularly for indoor low light conditions. First, I should have bought the 1.4. Rented it once and the pictures are better. I don't mind noise in the photos. If the photo is well exposed and well composed, a high ISO can be fine.

But I am also challenged with the 50mm--I just don't have enough space. I need to move out too much to get a good composition and my indoor space is too tight, so I will be picking up the Sigma 30mm 1.4 and selling off my 50mm.

I'd not be too quick to sell the 50 mm unless it's to upgrade to the 1.4 version. It will team up great with the sigma

I have the 50mm 1.4 and 35 1.4 and that make a great team

i have both the kit lens and the 50mm 1.8 and yes, the 50mm gives you great results indoors. the problem i always face with that lens is distance. because of the 1.6x crop factor, you need a lot of space. i've found that the kit lens picture quality isn't that bad, though i only get about 2 good pics out of every 10 shots. well, at least it's not a waste of film...