Q & A: Dwight McCann (Event Photography)

Glad Rene stepped in ... I have never shot in these conditions, but if you linked images are of the venue it looks like it has a lot of potential.

DwightMcCann wrote in post #2615151
Glad Rene stepped in ... I have never shot in these conditions, but if you linked images are of the venue it looks like it has a lot of potential.

The albums linked are from the venue. It's changed names and management since I took those photos, but I have a feeling that it hasn't changed layout *too* much. My nephew is due right around that time, though, so I'm not *dead* sure I'll be able to make it. But, I hope I can. Family comes first always, though.

Anyway, thanks for the compliment on the venue. One last question. The 70-200 that I have is the f/4 version. Is that just too narrow for any kind of indoor, low light shooting?

Thanks again

Get a 50mm f/1.8 for about $75USD. Then consider an 85mm f/1.8. The f/4 is really slow for concert shooting unless you have the best of lighting. I have managed to shoot with a 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 but it was at the casino with great light.

First of all, thanks for everyone's help so far! Now, I hope this is the last question. Given that the DRebel is a 6.3MP camera, would 8.5GB worth of CF memory be enough to for about four hours worth of shooting (Highest Quality JPEG only, no RAW)?

Thanks

René Damkot wrote in post #2613608
I'd suggest using a fill flash for crowd shots. (emphasise on fill).

Yet another question. The 420EX is a great flash, but unfortunately doesn't have any manual control (at least not that I'm aware of). Would the 420EX with - 2 stop FEC in the hacked firmware be enough for minimal fill flash, or would it be necessary to invest in a new flash?

Thanks

Depends. ETTL can be quite unpredictable. In close situations using 'M' on the flash won't be neccesary I think. Some (F)EC might be needed to get the balance you want.
On an 'overview' shot I find FEL to be very nice. Or I use manual flash. Drawback is, you have to use your camera on 'M' as well. (Canon won't do Av on camera when the flash is set to 'M')
Some threads on using flash / party photography.
thread 1, thread 2.

Some shots; not the best, but all I could find at the moment...

This one was shot with the camera on M (so the camera would not try to expose the subject for ambient, but rather expose the background well), and the flash on ETTL.:

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Excellent! Thanks for the advice.

FlipsidE wrote in post #2618766
Excellent! Thanks for the advice.

Thanks for adding this great flash technique review to this thread!

I did not read all of the "advice" on flash.

Most of you know how I feel about flash when shooting a "concert". My reason is I don't want the fill flash to change the mood created by shadows and colored light.

Understand I do shoot a tremendous amount of flash for my "event photography", I'll post some later.

The biggest mistake I see people making with flash is the shutter speed. When I am using flash I base all my decisions around one or two simple things. How much ambient light is there and how much do I want in the shot.

I always start my shooting with flash in M mode, I will put my shutter speed at 1/60 at the highest, I'll put my ISO @ 400 and my f/stop at f5.6. I will then take a few test shots and take a look at my histogram. The key is how much bounce you have available. If I have bounce available I find I can get fabulous shots by playing with these settings.

What you have to understand is how to increase "light", each stop will give you twice as much light. You must decide where you want it to come from. I'm not afraid to adjust the shutter speed down to 1/15, bump the ISO to 1600, or shoot wide open. You just have to understand how changing each one of those settings impacts final image output.

So If I have a group of people that are 2 or 3 deep then I'm not going to shoot wide open, I'll lower shutter speed or raise the ISO to get a better picture. If it is only 2 people and I don't want the background to be well lit then I'll bump the shutter speed up and open up the aperture so the background is less in focus.

The biggest problem is most people don't understand the "exposure triangle"....

ISO
Shutter Speed
Aperture

It is important to understand how all of these work by themselves and together. Once you understand this then there are many options that will help improve your flash photography. I have the Demb card, I have the Gary Fong LightSphere System, I have 2 speedlights that I can pull off camera and use umbrella's.....

My point is there is a time and place for light.......you had better understand the exposure triangle and then you can "see the light".

With all that said.......then you add "style"....and creating your own.

Good post!

i would like to purchase a dslr for nightclub/nightlife photography where light is low. i was thinking of a 20d + 20mm 2.8 or xt + 20mm 2.8. would there be a difference in quality? is an xt sufficient enough for what i want to accomplish? any help would be much appreciated. thank you in advance.

Turntablist wrote in post #2621546
i would like to purchase a dslr for nightclub/nightlife photography where light is low. i was thinking of a 20d + 20mm 2.8 or xt + 20mm 2.8. would there be a difference in quality? is an xt sufficient enough for what i want to accomplish? any help would be much appreciated. thank you in advance.

I own a 20d, 5D, and a 1D Mark IIn.

I'll be honest, I'd never give up the 1D but the 20D has less noise than the 1D Mark IIn and takes better images (from a noise standpoint, not a sharpness standpoint) with a high ISO of 1600 or 3200.

If you can only buy one lens you'd be better off with a 50mm 1.4 as you get an extra stop. Yes you will have to back away from your subject but that extra stop is worth it. Remeber each stop is actually giving you twice as much light.

Using the 20D in burst mode will also help reduce camera shake.

The difference between f/1.4 and f/2.8 is two stops.
1.4
2.0
2.8
4.0
5.6
8
...

jfrancho wrote in post #2622098
The difference between f/1.4 and f/2.8 is two stops.
1.4
2.0
2.8
4.0
5.6
8
...

Sorry, of course you are correct.....

Major pain meds from major surgery on Thursday!

taygull wrote in post #2623266
Sorry, of course you are correct.....

Major pain meds from major surgery on Thursday!

Brain transplant!