Candid Company party shots

[River9]

Hi all,

I usually do the candid photography for our company party. I used to use a Samsung point and shoot camera with pretty good success.

I've recently upgraded to a Canon Rebel EOS xTi. I love this camera and am having great fun with it.

However, when I used it to photograph our company party I'm really disappointed with the results. I don't blame the camera as I'm pretty sure it's user error.

I've posted about 75 of the photos to this link.
http://riversong9.photoshop.com

The album is called Company Party 2010.

I kept the settings pretty much the same throughout the entire party. I'm sorry I don't remember what the settings are. I did have the white balance for tunsten and ISO at 400. Probably a little too much liquid refreshments. I used the flash on about half of the photos.

I would appreciate any and all feedback. I would like to do better for our next party.

[SandeeWig]

Hi there. I'd definitely say it's a white balance issue in almost all of them. The dancing shots are way too blue and the ones where people are seated on the couch and what not are way too yellow (which hotel lighting is notorious for producing).

Did you shoot in RAW or JPG? If you shot in RAW, your Canon software (Digital Photo Professional) should be able to correct it pretty quickly, and once you get one right, you can save your settings and apply it to others simultaneously. If you shot in JPG, I would first try opening them in Adobe Camera RAW and see if you can correct it there.

Good luck!

[zona5101]

First off, looks like quite the party - good to see the litgious fangs haven't bitten your company yet. Direct flash isn't your friend. It is harsh and unflattering. In many pictures it appears your color balance is off and skin tones look too cool. In shots where you didn't use your flash the shutter was too slow and you got some blurred motion (along with too warm of a color cast). For next time, you might want to use an external flash and have it on a bracket with a ttl sync cord. With a more powerful flash you will also be able to use a light modifier to spead the light out more and make it a bit softer and more flattering. Good luck and have fun!

[River9]

Thanks Aimee. I shot everything in JPG. RAW takes up a lot of memory. I think I will try playing with it though.

The sad thing is I did clean them up some before I posted them. You should have seen them before.

I had my white balance set to tunsten. What would you recommend for this type of situation?

[River9]

Thanks Zona5101. We have a blast every year. We're in one of the few industries that usually thrive when there's a down turn in the economy.

I hate using a flash but the ballroom was too dark not to. I do have an external flash but haven't really used it much. When you talk about a light modifier is that the same thing as a light diffuser?

[Digidave]

The reason that RAW is mentioned is because you can then go back & adjust your white balance for each shot individually. Lighting is your main issue in all these shots. Whether it be white balance or straight on flash. What camera & what flash unit do you have? Bouncing flash off the ceiling is better than straight on flash because it will spread the light out & be more flattering. This isn't always easy with high ceilings or off color ceilings. There are products out there that will allow you to aim your flash upwards & still grab some of the light & throw it forward toward your subject.

Here is one.

Proper lighting will give you better color & give your photos more of that "POP" your looking for.

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by River9

Thanks Zona5101. We have a blast every year. We're in one of the few industries that usually thrive when there's a down turn in the economy.

I hate using a flash but the ballroom was too dark not to. I do have an external flash but haven't really used it much. When you talk about a light modifier is that the same thing as a light diffuser?

Yes a diffuser to soften and broaden the light. Like a typical wedding photograher rig:

[River9]

Thanks Digidave. I have a Canon Rebel xTi EOS DSLR. The flash came with a kit I bought for the camera. It is specific for my camera but honestly don't remember much more about it. I think I've had it out once to try. I will take another look at it and get a diffuser for it and see if that works better for this type of venue.

Thanks everyone for your responses. It has help quite a bit.