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Photography Question 

Ganesh G
 

Low light photography


Hi all (specially Kery)

I just printed out a few photos that I had taken at a friend's wedding recently. I can see they are pretty much fuzzed out. I will just describe the conditions here.

The object (the bride&groom) were quite far away, much further than the flash range. They object itself was quite well lit, but there was no light where I was standing with the camera. Since it was a moving object, I couldn't use the bulb mode or long exposures.

Now, what would be the best way to shoot in such a situation?

My guess is to keep the aperture at the widest open setting (setting the f-stop to max??) and using a higher speed film(400+) and a fast shutter speed.

Am I correct ?


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April 26, 2005

 

Chris J. Browne
  Genesh,

Sounds like your on the right path. Another option: use a remote flash/strobe closer to the subject! Let's say you are 40 feet back from the subject; then, use a strobe at 10 feet from the subject, meter and test and go with it. I've used the flash on the camera to trigger a remote flash with optical slave on a tripod. The camera flash gives the room some exposure, but the slave makes the subject pop in the frame.

You got one point wrong though, open the aperature, higher speed film or digital sensor, and slower shutter speed: about 1/60th handheld or down to 1/15th tripod remote release. This will work with subjects not moving much. But the remote flash works at all speeds up to sync speed.

Good luck

Chris Browne


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April 26, 2005

 

Ganesh G
  Thanks Chris,

Will try it as soon as I get my new camera with all those control gizmos.

As I said, I was taking a photo of a bride and a groom. Now, they are bound to move a little bit here and there(They aren't posing, mind you). You think 1/60 would be fast enough for that?


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April 26, 2005

 

Chris J. Browne
  I've used 1/30 and 1/15 for singing people on a stage. . .gains you about two stops! Especially on a tripod.

Try an Elan II at KEH.COM with a battery grip it is about $200! Pair that with a good Canon Lense for about $300 (that will get you a 24mm to 85mm USM lense. . .Great package for about $500. Then a 420EX flash for about $180. . .it adds up but well worth it.

Chris Browne


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April 27, 2005

 

Kerry L. Walker
  Chris is right, Ganesh. The flash will stop the action, assuming the ambient light is not strong enough to affect the exposure. 1/1000 of a second is considered a fast shutter speed but it is the slowest speed of the average flash. The average flash will fire a burst of 1/1000 to 1/50,000 of a second, depending on how far you are from the subject. Thus, the shutter speed only needs to be no higher than the sync speed of your camera.


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April 27, 2005

 

Ganesh G
  I must admit that was a little confusing. But anyways, thanks for explaining. I wil probably understand it when I do it practically.


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April 27, 2005

 
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