First time shooting in low-light...need some advice!

Alright, I'm going to be doing my first real low-light shoot at a high school homecoming dance. I'm going to be using my 1D2 and 70-200 f/2.8 IS for the most part. I'm going to be shooting the dj, who is my girlfriend's brother. I'm not sure if I'll be able to use my 580EX II, but I want to be prepared for the worst.

I know some of the basics like use a relatively large aperture, use a tripod if able, but besides that...I'm drawing a blank.

I've never shot in low-light, so what advice can you give?

My 1D2 isn't the greatest with noise, so what can I do to keep the ISO relatively low?
What mode would you suggest shooting in?
I'm thinking about getting a Canon 15mm fisheye to add some effect, yes or no?

But just in case, say that I can use my flash...any advice there?

Having shot low light with the 1D2, push the ISO to 1600 or 3200, and ETTR as much as you can. Pull back in post and it'll clean up nicely.

Usage of the flash really depends on how the venue is set up... White ceilings? Doubt it, so bouncing is pretty much out of the question. You could dial in a few negative stops of FEC and let the scene primarily be lit by ambient light using the flash as a fill... Be creative with it. Rear curtain sync would definitely be helpful.

Thalagyrt wrote in post #8679660
Having shot low light with the 1D2, push the ISO to 1600 or 3200, and ETTR as much as you can. Pull back in post and it'll clean up nicely.

Usage of the flash really depends on how the venue is set up... White ceilings? Doubt it, so bouncing is pretty much out of the question. You could dial in a few negative stops of FEC and let the scene primarily be lit by ambient light using the flash as a fill... Be creative with it. Rear curtain sync would definitely be helpful.

What's ETTR, and what do you mean by pull back in post production? Thanks for the advice!

First, if you can use flash you will be in hog heaven -- you can use a pretty low shutter speed and get pretty cool results in that kind of venue.

Without flash, you will still need settings to let in as much ambient light but won't have the flash to freeze motion, so you'll want a higher shutter speed and the widest aperture -- f/2.8 will need to do, and use your ISO to get the proper exposure.

Check out this thread on nightclub shooting for some inspiration:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=415099

Also, check out the Performance section for more ideas.

ETTR means that as much as possible you want to set your camera to give you a brighter than "medium" exposure. This is really advised if you are shooting Raw as opposed to jpeg because jpegs tend to suffer quality-wise if you mess with their exposure too much in post-processing. But the idea is to first set your shutter speed and aperture to give you the shot you need, then, if you see from your histogram that the exposure isn't the best, up your ISO to give optimum results (best to up the ISO by full "native" stops). If shooting Raw, up the ISO until you are approaching the right side of the histogram -- this is where the phrase "ETTR" comes in -- it stands for Expose To The Right (of the histogram). Like I said, this is best when shooting Raw. When you do this, you get less noise in the image and when you "pull" the shot down to a more "normal" exposure (by moving exposure and highlights down in software) the noise becomes pretty negligible.

Check out those threads -- there are people who get great results by shooting flash and without flash.

Good advice so far

Alternatively you might consider hiring a faster prime lens like the 135 F2 or 200 F2 ... it'll help you make the most of the available light without having to go too high with the ISO ... shooting at F2 instead of F2.8 will mean you can shoot at ISO 1600 instead of 3200, etc ...

Cheers


David

If just shooting the DJ, a shorter zoom might be more versatile/usefull, like a 24-70 since you don't have to worry as much with people getting between you and the subject as you would with a longer zoom. With more flexibility to move around, you cna more easily get different angles. A 17-40/24-70 combo would be perfect. I am assuming you have unobstructed access to your subject and can move around wherever you wish.

As long as the ceilings/walls or not too far away, use a flash and bounce it, at least for some of the shots. Use -2 FEC, as a start. The wall/ceiling colors don't matter, imo, other than reducing the amount of reflected light.

I would not bother using anything faster than f2.8, even if it meant lower ISO, since very little will be in focus. That's cool for a couple of shots but gets old if the majority of them are the one-eye-in-focus type, especially since you will probably be close in and want to get the environment into the framing... at least the equipment.

If there is any limitation to your equipment it is the range of the zoom you have.

Just as an aside to the good advice offered above (and following on from a comment above about the possibility of long exposures being used creatively)...

If you can fire your 580 a little, that can be used for interesting effect too.

Try this (maybe at home before the event so you've got the hang of it a little)... Use flash and long exposure together. I've shot for publicitiy material in night-clubs before, and it's favourite 'quick trick' in these situations which can produce interesting results.

If you were going to hit a shot at perhaps f/5.6 (or around that mark) with 1/200 (again, ish) shutter and a reasonable amount of flash - use the same aperture, a shutter of 1" or 2" and play with manual flash power to get the subject correctly exposed (or thereabouts). If you're on first-curtain sync (normal), hold still while you hit the shot and the flash will expose the person you're shooting nicely, then for the remainder of the second (or two), wave the camera around a little - luck has to be on your side to some extent, but you can get some interesting looking light-trails from the other light sources in the scene.

You might not be a fan, but I thought I'd mention in case it's useful...

Regards,

Rob.

Another possibility is to setup an off camera flash (if flash is usable) right next to the dj and have it aimed at the dance floor to use as sort of a backlight and have an on camera flash to fill in the front.

When I know I will be shooting in low light I stay away from caffeine for the day. Afterwards, Mnt Dew time!

A slightly slow shutter speed combined with flash so cool too.

bohdank wrote in post #8680741
I would not bother using anything faster than f2.8, even if it meant lower ISO, since very little will be in focus. That's cool for a couple of shots but gets old if the majority of them are the one-eye-in-focus type, especially since you will probably be close in and want to get the environment into the framing... at least the equipment.

i disagree w/ this. a fast short focal length prime (35, 50) can be highly useful in these situations for single performer shots, even wide open. that's two stops of light, which is very significant. the resultant DoF is certainly manageable.

Maybe I misunderstood the context of how/what the OP will be shooting. A DJ on a stage. I imagine, he would use a 35/50 quite close in otherwise why use it.

A couple of, DJ and the environment, shots then close and personal.