please help me :(

Ok now I know there is 50 billion help me threads out there but Im freaking out lol. My mom hired me (without asking me) to shoot her 30th class reuinon and I dont wanna mess it up for her. I have never shot a big event before so I dont know what to exspect, although I did realize I would need a flash so I bought a niftty 580 II...BUT I have no idea how to use it! I do know its best to bounce it off the walls and everything but what I dont understand is what to put the camera settings on. Now I know it really depends on the situation and lighting but I would really apprciate some helpful tips if anyone out there is willing to help me out oh and its gonna be in a some what bar setting if that helps.I do have a little bit of time to practice so I need to learn how to effectivly use the 580

My gear is...
Canon Rebel XT
Canon 17-40L
Niftty 50
580 II

P.S. I plan on using M settings but If you have any better ideas please let me know

I'd use manual indoors, bounce it off the ceiling, and use FEC to adjust if needed.

If it's dark and you need longer shutter speeds, try second curtain sync to freeze the subject at the end of the shutter.

OdiN1701 wrote in post #5711378
I'd use manual indoors, bounce it off the ceiling, and use FEC to adjust if needed.

If it's dark and you need longer shutter speeds, try second curtain sync to freeze the subject at the end of the shutter.

god I wish I knew what all that meant lol, I read the manual for the 580 but it flew far over my head

I am just guessing here. Try ISO 600, f4, 1/60. Take some test shots and see how your histogram looks. It should just touch the right side. Adjust your flash power + or - until you get what you want. If you can afford it get a Lumiquest Pro Max system. If your background is too dark, lower the shutter speed a tad. Be careful though or you will start getting ghosting. If the room is pretty bright you might get away with ISO 400. Shoot in RAW format so you can adjust white balance later. Check you manual for how to set second curtain sync. This guarantees that any ghosting or trails will be behind the movement of your subjects. You can have some fun if people are dancing by slowing your shutter speed and creating trails.
Have fun and good luck.
Try to go by the venue ahead of time and take some test exposures. Preferably at the same time of day the event will take place.

See post #3
Tips for Xmas Ball Please

I'd take a look at this sticky, especially the flash 101 series by Curtis N.

How long have you got before the event? I'm guessing not long so i'd recommend checking out this article. It's not too long and is easy to follow

Thanks guys, I am really apprciating all the help

...Also how does one get the right focus in such low lighting?

lbcyalater wrote in post #5715296
Thanks guys, I am really apprciating all the help

...Also how does one get the right focus in such low lighting?

I feel your pain. My mother did something similar to me a couple of years ago, except it was her 50th.

The main thing that they wanted was a class photo of everyone together. If that is all they want then it will be an easy thing to do. Set your camera to aperture priority F8 and let the flash do the rest. The flash will help with the focus in low light.

Just a tip. If you can find the original class photo place everyone in the same/similar place, stand on a chair and bounce the flash off the ceiling. Take about half a dozen of them to make sure everyone has their eyes open.

Remember to have fun.

mspringfield wrote in post #5715622
I feel your pain. My mother did something similar to me a couple of years ago, except it was her 50th.

The main thing that they wanted was a class photo of everyone together. If that is all they want then it will be an easy thing to do. Set your camera to aperture priority F8 and let the flash do the rest. The flash will help with the focus in low light.

Just a tip. If you can find the original class photo place everyone in the same/similar place, stand on a chair and bounce the flash off the ceiling. Take about half a dozen of them to make sure everyone has their eyes open.

Remember to have fun.

yeah, im not sure what it is they want but I think they just want random shots of everyone during the whole thing...maybe a group shot

CAREFUL WHEN BOUNCING A FLASH OFF THE CEILING (see my sig)

I think the 580EX has a built in bounce card. Try using that as well, you can't depend on having a ceiling low enough or white enough to give you consistent results. If you make a larger bounce card and tape it to your flash, you can dial down the power and save the batteries. They can get hot pretty fast with constant use.

I doubt seriously that one hotshoe flash (such as a Speedlite) is going to be at all useful to create the light for a large group shot.

You will want to be up rather high. The camera will have to be supported in a VERY steady way. A good beanbag (filled with sand for stability instead of lightweight beans) on top of a 6-foot ladder would be a good start.

Try to get your ladder positioned so that you can frame the whole group with at least a 30mm focal length. That distance will help to avoid "perspective distortion" that is common with close camera positions and wide-angle lenses.

The most important tip: Get to the location and experiment when the group is not there. Have a couple of people with you to stand in at various places to represent the group so that you can confirm that your settings work.

You will probably want to jack the ISO setting up to at least 800, assuming rather poor lighting. A slow shutter speed will probably be required, thus the beanbag on the ladder. Try to get the lens' aperture to about f/8 so that you have enough depth of field to get the whole group appearing to be in focus. Focus on the center of the group (from front to back).

Because of the liklihood of using slow shutter speeds, you will need to instruct the group to be VERY still during the shots.

If you use the flash for a little extra light, use it totally bare and pointed at the group. Don't waste what little light it puts out by bouncing it off anything.

Shoot in RAW mode, NOT just in .JPG mode. That will give you the ability to tweak colors, exposure, etc., with a lot more ease and flexibility than trying to edit a .JPG file.