• Photos

  • Level

  • Score

BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Answers

Photography Question 

Aleita J. Train 		 

Band shots


 
  Kelly
Kelly
aperture 5.6, shutter 90, lens 28-90mm, Downtown Albany Oregon, this is my friend kelly caught her in a "moment", probabaly 9:30pm ish. the focus isnt great in this one, but I was just getting into it.

Aleita J. Train

  
 
I was recently given the opportunity to take pictures for a local band which is also friends. Im excited but nervous because I dont have alot of experience taking pictures in the dark. I went out and experimented with flash downtown at night. I was mostly shooting at a shutter of 90 and aperature 5.6, my camera, a Cannon REbel Ti has trouble focussing in the dark so I got used to doing the manual that night. Any suggestions for my settings or just any suggestions at all? thank you -Aleita


To love this question, log in above
October 23, 2004

 

Jon Close 		  An accessory flash, such as the Canon 420EX will solve many of the problems in your attached sample pic.

It will move the flash light farther from the lens axis so you won't get "red-eye" as often. It has a near-infrared autofocus assist light that is much more effective in acheiving autofocus in low/no light than the built-in's flickering flash. Unlike other cheaper non-Canon flashes, its AF assist light covers all focus sensors instead of just the center, so your off-center subject can be better focused. It uses more advance E-TTL metering which ties flash exposure to the active focus sensor so that your off-center subject doesn't get overexposed as in the your attached sample.

Re: shooting pictures of the local band - If you're doing concert pics then you may not want to use flash at all because it'll overwhelm the colored stage lighting. A wide aperture lens, such as Canon's very sharp and very cheap EF 50 f/1.8, might be more useful in this situation than an accessory flash.

See http://www.photo.net/concerts/mirarchi/concer_i for information on shooting concerts.
See http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/ for a good overview of flash photography with Canon EOS cameras.


To love this comment, log in above
October 25, 2004

 

Aleita J. Train 		  Thank you for the help, I didnt know where to respond so I am putting it right here. I am not familiar with taking pictures at night so with the large aperature lens would I need a tripod? Sorry for the uneducated-ness. tHank you sooo much!


To love this comment, log in above
October 27, 2004

 

Jon Close 		  There are two basic ways to use the flash at night. The first is to use the flash as the main light with a relatively fast shutter speed (1/30 - 1/125 or faster is your camera is capable). The flash fully exposes your near subject, but the fast shutter speed gives little exposure to the poorly lit background so it goes dark or black. This is the typical setting for full autoexposure (P, green box, and several PIC settings on Canon cameras).

The second method is to set a slow shutter speed to expose for the ambient light, and the flash becomes fill-lighting on your near subject. Sometimes called "slow sync" flash, on the Rebel Ti there is an auto PIC exposure mode called "Night Portrait" that exposes this way. That is also how Canon cameras meter in Tv, Av, and M modes with a flash. The longer shutter speeds can require a tripod, and also that your near subject stay still while the shutter is open to prevent streaking/ghosting.

A large aperture like f/2 gathers 4 times as much light as f/4, 8 times as much as f/5.6. Where in dim light you might need a shutter speed of 1/8 (and a tripod) at f/5.6, with an aperture of f/2 you could get the same exposure at a handholdable shutter speed of 1/60.


To love this comment, log in above
October 28, 2004

 
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here

Report this Thread