How would you shoot?

Hello Photographers!

I have been asked to take photos of a Kindergarten graduation in a few weeks, and I am not sure how/what to shoot. The graduation will take place in a church worship center, which does not have much lighting whatsoever. I shoot with a 20D, and I have a 430EX. SO, my question, should I shoot in manual? Auto? RAW? JPEG? What do you suggest? Thank you in advance.

Suggest going there now and practicing. Look for a good background, maybe even outside. A tripod will help, even a cheap one. Group shots will be tougher than individuals, so prepare extra for that. Good luck and let us see how it went!

johndevane wrote in post #5387557
Suggest going there now and practicing. Look for a good background, maybe even outside. A tripod will help, even a cheap one. Group shots will be tougher than individuals, so prepare extra for that. Good luck and let us see how it went!

Great!! Thank you, I hadn't even thought to test it out beforehand, duh.
I'll let you know.

I would shoot in M and like was said, go practice so you have an idea how to adjust the settings to get the best result!

As far as composition goes, remember to kneel down and shoot on "their level" as much as possible.

JCH77Yanks wrote in post #5391029
As far as composition goes, remember to kneel down and shoot on "their level" as much as possible.

Yep, don't shoot down on them - that's how we see them every day

Testing seems to be a lost art when people can just ask questions.
See post #3
Tips for Xmas Ball Please

Remember if all else fails, don't freak on the spot! Flip that puppy into "P" mode and keep snapping pictures! If you shoot in RAW you can save just about any picture you shoot whether it's over or under exposed. Tell the teacher or whoever is handing out the diploma that he/she needs to look towards you when shaking the little one's hands so that you can get a good picture of each of the kids as that is their shining moment

PhotosGuy wrote in post #5391422
Testing seems to be a lost art when people can just ask questions.
See post #3
Tips for Xmas Ball Please

dude.. Frank... you are like a friggin walking/breathing photog encyclopedia. I also shoot in Manual... and it's because of this guy ^^^^^

take his advice... he knows his stuff

oh.. go practice before you shoot this event... if you can't get the exposure right, screw it... just shoot auto and RAW.... (I'm gonna get flamed for that one)

Great info, thank you everyone!

Nah! Just a lazy 2-fingered typer. I keep the links in a Notepad file so I can search for them.