Canon 1000D - Prom Portraits ?

[PhotographyGal]

Hello,
I have been asked to take some pictures for my neighbours prom tonight, and was wondering what the best setting would be on my camera - Canon 1000D.
Thanks
Lauren

[OsmosisStudios]

The settings that provide you with an adequate exposure.

/not being obtuse.

[ArmySoldier777]

Osmosis is right, it's not easy for us to give you an answer to that one without actually seeing what the lighting and setup is going to be there. Being a prom, it's probably going to have very poor lighting though, so you're going to want to use a shutter speed that freezes movement, but one that still gives you enough exposure. This also means that you're probably going to have to go with a very wide open aperture as well as high ISO. Also be sure to shoot in Raw so that you can correct the exposure issues that you're most certainly going to have when it comes time for Post Processing

Will you be using flash?


David

[PhotographyGal]

Originally Posted by ArmySoldier777

Osmosis is right, it's not easy for us to give you an answer to that one without actually seeing what the lighting and setup is going to be there. Being a prom, it's probably going to have very poor lighting though, so you're going to want to use a shutter speed that freezes movement, but one that still gives you enough exposure. This also means that you're probably going to have to go with a very wide open aperture as well as high ISO. Also be sure to shoot in Raw so that you can correct the exposure issues that you're most certainly going to have when it comes time for Post Processing

Will you be using flash?


David

Okay, its going to be in the house before prom so will use the room lighting and if needed I will use flash, I was just wondering how to get a nice bokeh (blurred background) is it a aperture of like f/8.0 or f/32 ??

Thanks

[ArmySoldier777]

Ah, before prom pictures. That's a little easier. For a blurred background, you're going to want a wider aperture "Lower F Stop #" The f/8.0 will give you more of a blurred background than the f/32. The higher the aperture "lower the number", the shallower the DOF.

[Rentham]

Originally Posted by PhotographyGal

Okay, its going to be in the house before prom so will use the room lighting and if needed I will use flash, I was just wondering how to get a nice bokeh (blurred background) is it a aperture of like f/8.0 or f/32 ??

Thanks

You'd get more bokeh at wider (smaller number) apertures - all other things being equal. This can be tricky when shooting a group of people who aren't all on the same focal plane.

But honestly (and I'm not trying to be a jackass here), if you have to ask these questions you may be better off putting the camera in Auto or Program just to make sure you get the shots.

[litenphrame]

Generally the smaller the "f-stop" number the more shallow the focus or Depth of Field, but that requires changes in the shutter speed and ISO. My recommendation in this case is to use the portrait setting and set the WB to incandescent or fluorescent lighting dependent on the lighting in the house (regular bulbs or the new "green" fluorescent bulbs)-you will need to ask. Set the flash to the "Red-eye reduction" setting and start shooting.
There are a myriad number of other settings dependent on the type of flash, background lighting, fill-in lighting, exposure preferences, etc. that you would adjust dependent on your equipment (diffusers, additional flash units, lenses, etc.) and the lighting available. All these additional items can be cumbersome and confusing, but increase the quality of the photos. In your case, use the above recommendation and have fun.