People in glass houses shouldn't........use flash?

[CaptainNH]

I've just been signed up to do an awards presentation night for a major corporate here in Sydney.

Sounds idillic, harbour cruise at sunset - a backdrop of setting sun or twinkling lights - capture the ambient and I'll looking at some stunning shots.

Well I would be that confident, if the whole damn ship wasn't glass walled....



I think I'm going to be looking at some very careful angles to make sure that my flash doesn't bounce back to me in the same way that my "power-shot" in snooker/pool works.

Other than pulling out my fastest lenses and going available light only, any tips for shooting in a greenhouse?

[acedrew]

I'd put an anti-reflective filter in front of your flash... that should do the trick
If you can use off-camera flash that will be your best bet at getting the ambience of the glass with usable pics of the people...
All I can say is best of luck to you

Andrew Rodgers
Perfected Perspectives -- Photography by Andrew Rodgers | Andrew Rodgers (acedrew) on Twitter | Login | Facebook

[elkidogz]

Flash Bounce Diffuser
(a piece of semi clear plastic) so you still get some flash, but not as much "punch".

[OsmosisStudios]

Im going to assume the ceiling isn't glass too? just bounce it off that.

[bhursey]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Im going to assume the ceiling isn't glass too? just bounce it off that.

I agree if the ceiling is white just point the flash straight up throw it at 1/2 or full power and bang.

[CaptainNH]

Originally Posted by acedrew

I'd put an anti-reflective filter in front of your flash... that should do the trick

Thanks Andrew, I did think about using an aperture widening filter on my 85 f/1.8 to see if I can get it to open up to f/1.2 and stick with available light

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I've been pondering some more and my initial concerns probably are a bit OTT.

I've shot plenty of weddings with large expanses of glass behind the top table - this isn't really all that different as long as I ensure that I only have one "side" of the "greenhouse" in any one frame.

Downstairs, I have a ceiling to bounce off, but am still a bit concerned about stray light on the glass walls - I'm thinking a snoot or gobo to try to keep any direct flash off the glass.

I'll post up some shots after the event.