Party photo advice

[sheldonc]

I have been asked to take a few pictures at my fathers birthday bash and want to have the best of both worlds & enjoy the party whilst giving him at least some images to remember. I probably won't take any formal pictures but just try & catch people relatively unawares

The party is in a large open restaurant on 2 floors and I wasn't sure whether to use my 18-105mm lens or my 70-300mm.

Also i'm still only playing around with white balance settings and don't know what setting I should use. I know I could just hit auto & trust the camera but I'm guessing i'll get better results using one of the indoor settings. I think in the early part of the evening I will still get quite a lot of external daylight through the large windows at the venue if that will make any difference

I'm using a Nikon D90 if that helps

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks

Sheldon

[Sime]

Hi Sheldon,

I do some "pub gigs" from time to time, usually end up photographing the punters after or during the evening. I pretty much always use my 24-70mm lens and shoot in RAW so that I can mess about with the white balance afterwards. Will you be using a flash?

Sime

[Doug Pardee]

Originally Posted by sheldonc

The party is in a large open restaurant on 2 floors and I wasn't sure whether to use my 18-105mm lens or my 70-300mm.

I'd think that the 70-300 would be useless. Unless nobody shows up, you won't be able to get shots from any real distance. Your flash probably won't carry that far, either. The 18-105 sounds like the ticket to me.

Also i'm still only playing around with white balance settings and don't know what setting I should use. I know I could just hit auto & trust the camera but I'm guessing i'll get better results using one of the indoor settings. I think in the early part of the evening I will still get quite a lot of external daylight through the large windows at the venue if that will make any difference

White balance with combined lighting (daylight, artificial, and flash) is very difficult. I rarely shoot Raw any more, but I'm with Sime that this is a time to shoot Raw and deal with WB later when you can adjust it on each photo. Shooting Raw+JPEG will give you the JPEGs right away if they come out nicely and Raws to work with if there is a color balancing issue.

[sheldonc]

Shooting in RAW seems the consensus

"Will you be using a flash?"

Only the one on the camera although I think it's pretty light in there so might be ok without

"I'd think that the 70-300 would be useless. Unless nobody shows up, you won't be able to get shots from any real distance. Your flash probably won't carry that far, either. The 18-105 sounds like the ticket to me."

I thought the bigger lens might come in handy as there is a sweeping staircase and the second floor is more of a balcony over the reception area and dance floor. Would that change your judgement - I realise I was a bit lacking in my original description

Thanks to you both

Sheldon

[fluoridedm]

Walking around with a 70-300 seems like a hassle because the lens is so big. and you can't take any close up shots. If you use your 18-105 you've got quite a far range but also good for taking shots up close. Remember, it is a party, and it might get crowded.

[Chip]

I have a D90. I've used a borrowed 70-300VR in church (with windows) on a very bright, sunny morning, as was surprised at how incredibly slow that lens is for inside shots. Even turning up the ISO to 3200, I had a hard time getting a useable shutter speed. Camera shake was an issue.

So, I'd recommend using the fastest lens you can either find, rent or borrow, and also turning the ISO up (to 1600 or 3200 if needed). Borrowing or renting an SB600/800/900 flash could also be helpful; mounting the flash on the camera in TTL mode and bouncing it off a white ceiling or wall is pretty simple and helps quite a bit.

I'd also recommend shooting in aperture mode and using the widest aperture possible, since the preset indoor mode might make the on-board flash pop up.

Any way you can go to this place before the party and take some test shots? Expirmenting before the party might both make for better shots that count and make it easier on you during the actual party.

[Jim Frey]

I have been shooting some company parties and gatherings over the last few months and find that the size of lens depends on the size of the room and type of gathering. If you have sufficient room to maneuver and can use a mono pod then using a 70-300 or 70-200 with IS will enable you to get some good candid photos. You will not be in the face of the party goers. Also you won't be using the flash much because of the distance but that makes for better stealth. I personally prefer candid photos over posed shots, so I tend to wonder around the outside walls and shoot across the room at small gatherings or zoom in on individuals.
On the other hand if the room is small and you can use a flash, something like the 18-105 will probably be the best choice.
Of course having both available is be even better.

[nickbedford]

If it's at night I can suggest some settings to try with your flash and your mode set to manual.

Of course it all depends on lighting and the power of the pop up flash (not very powerful), but I typically shoot photos like this, this and this on these exact settings:

• 1/60th shutter speed
• ISO 1000
• f/5.0 aperture
• On a Canon 270EX external flash with diffuser card

Unfortunately the flash you're using isn't quite as "soft" but it's probably not as bright too so it could turn out similar.

[BCampbell]

Get a flash. Learn to use it. ASAP.

One, interiors are always darker than they seem to be. Our cameras don't work like our eyes, and you don't want to end up pushing your ISO to 1600 or beyond.

Two, if the place has windows, and a lot of them, the problem is that windows tend to be on walls. Unless you have some control over the layout of the space, you'll end up shooting toward the windows often, which means people will be in their own shadow. Some fill flash helps amazingly.

Three, don't drink while you're shooting. Or do, if that's what gets you better results.

[nickbedford]

Originally Posted by BCampbell

Get a flash. Learn to use it. ASAP.

Yep! Flash isn't the evil child you may have been led to believe. It's just been used wrong too often.

One, interiors are always darker than they seem to be. Our cameras don't work like our eyes, and you don't want to end up pushing your ISO to 1600 or beyond.

Well, a lot of the time you simply have to if you're not shooting with a flash or have turned it off. ISO 1600 isn't anything to be ashamed of and the D90/50D level are decent at handling it.

Three, don't drink while you're shooting. Or do, if that's what gets you better results.

I drink But not too much. Just enough to relax.