Taking photos at a family party today... need a little guidance

Hey Guys -

So I'm going to be taking photos of my Grandmother's birthday today. 99.99% of my photography I do is either "oh that looks nice" or "I want to take a picture of that"... I really have no experience in picking out candid shots or even determining which lens to use for the majority of them. And of course I'm going to be tasked with pulling together a group photograph in the end (20+ people).

Could someone hold my hand and tell me I'm not going to ruin family memories?

Setup:

Canon 100D (SL1)
-Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Kit Lens
-Canon EF 40mm f/2.8
-Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
-Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Zoom
-Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5

My general rule is that if I want candid shots then I don't want the subject to respond to me as the photographer. That means a telephoto lens. It gets complicated however if you need a flash. Your 75-300 is a little bit of overkill and it's slow. The 18-55 would get me in too close. The primes would involve more moving around for framing. The 10-22 would distort faces. I'd probably scope out the setting and pick either the 75-300 or 18-55. I'd use the 18-55 for blowing out the candles. Too much of a risk of people getting in the way with the long lens.

One other thing: if there are kids there, get down to their level. Avoid look-down shots.

joedlh wrote in post #18062014
One other thing: if there are kids there, get down to their level. Avoid look-down shots.

This is my most important rule for photographing children.

I'd use only the 18-55mm for the event.

Is this event indoors or outdoors?

frugivore wrote in post #18062054
Is this event indoors or outdoors?

yup, important information here.

do you have a flash other than what is on the camera?

Attach that 50mm to the camera and have fun.

I'd do it different. What about hiring a 70-200 and standing well back? Much better iq than the 300.Taken with 55-200.

I don't take fully candid photos, because I don't like them. In that photo Colin took no-one really looks good to me, though they look happy. I would wait for a lull in conversation then ask them all to smile for the camera.

Note: I'm not saying I'm right, it's a style / opinion thing. Some people may love the photo Colin took.

Tim,IMHO a lot of people think posed smiles look fake.I think they can look natural, but the surprised element is better.

Colin Glover wrote in post #18066673
Tim,IMHO a lot of people think posed smiles look fake.I think they can look natural, but the surprised element is better.

The trick is to be quick about it, so you're getting natural smiles from the conversation and from being around friends and family. But as I said it's personal taste, and people who don't like my style and way I do things don't tend to hire me

tim wrote in post #18066874
The trick is to be quick about it, so you're getting natural smiles from the conversation and from being around friends and family. But as I said it's personal taste, and people who don't like my style and way I do things don't tend to hire me

I understand what you're saying. You don't want to interrupt the flow of the conversation. And you still get the subject connection because they look into the lens.

But what's not to like about capturing a true interaction between people completely candidly? Lately I've been sneaking up to people during cocktail hour with my 24mm prime and getting some great expressions. Not something I can really do with the 24-70mm though. That usually smashes against things when I move around.

frugivore wrote in post #18066934
I understand what you're saying. You don't want to interrupt the flow of the conversation. And you still get the subject connection because they look into the lens.

But what's not to like about capturing a true interaction between people completely candidly? Lately I've been sneaking up to people during cocktail hour with my 24mm prime and getting some great expressions. Not something I can really do with the 24-70mm though. That usually smashes against things when I move around.

I personally just don't like seeing the back and sides of a bunch of peoples heads, I'd rather see happy smiling people. Each to their own of course I tell potential customers if they want true candids I'm probably not the photographer for them. I don't have to make a living with photography any more so I do what I want, and if people want what I do they can hire me.

I agree with Tim on this one. And think about it, that shot Colin posted would really not be used by anyone in it to show someone except for the guy facing the camera in the middle and even he probably does not look his best in his eyes. Candid's are great when you can get them (using a 70-200 or greater is key) but we find we can shoot 10 shots to get a good one. Would rather just say, "Hey look at me" and move on. The trick to get them in a great pose is to loosen them up a bit by kidding around. We always have fun with those posed shots of groups to get them to relax.