First party shoot picture went wrong

[kuul13]

I always clicked pictures in the parties for fun. But for the first time I was invited to shoot a New year's party where I was paid for the pictures. The experience was awesome as nothing went as expected, Lights, backdrop and the management was really bad. Due to that I had to spend hours on post processing, fixing the brightness, cloning the backdrop etc. Lesson learnt, for next shoot I have already started building my own DIY photo backdrop and the lighting system. Hope it helps.

Here is one of the pictures that I clicked and edited. Setting was simple, I used my Sigma flash light straight on the face. I tried bouncing off the ceiling but the pictures seemed underexposed.. may be I didn't get the trick or the lighting around was not at all appropriate. I was not impressed somehow. I would appreciate if you can let me know if you think the exposure and the composition was satisfactory. What and how should I plan the lighting for my next party event where people will get their pictures clicked with local celebrities and family portraits?


Exif data

Camera Nikon D80
Exposure 0.011 sec (1/90)
Aperture f/4.2
Focal Length 32 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias +3/2 EV

[autofocus]

I'm a big fan of Neil van Niekerk's style of on/off camera flash using his black foamie idea on my flash. Bouncing off a back wall or corner can produce very nice results
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2009/11/2...-foamie-thing/

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by kuul13

The experience was awesome as nothing went as expected, Lights, backdrop and the management was really bad. Due to that I had to spend hours on post processing, fixing the brightness, cloning the backdrop etc. Lesson learnt, for next shoot I have already started building my own DIY photo backdrop and the lighting system. Hope it helps.

I tried bouncing off the ceiling but the pictures seemed underexposed.. may be I didn't get the trick or the lighting around was not at all appropriate. I was not impressed somehow. I would appreciate if you can let me know if you think the exposure and the composition was satisfactory. What and how should I plan the lighting for my next party event where people will get their pictures clicked with local celebrities and family portraits?

I'm going to sound a bit like a jerk probably, but I promise, I'm trying to be constructive.

The best advice we can give you, not knowing exactly what conditions would exist in your future shoots, is simply to learn how to use flash properly.

Longer answer:

The things you complained about (lighting and background) are technically your responsibility when you accepted the paid(!) job. Your job was to produce good images and ensure the conditions for such. You should have been prepared by at least knowing what the conditions were at the venue and at worst be prepared (with flash) to shoot pretty much any condition. So, in the future, assume good lighting and "background" is your responsibility and ask about that stuff before you accept the job. You have to ensure the conditions ensuring you do an acceptable job.

As for your actual question about the imagelighting:

Exposure seems technically fine if just a bit over exposed. Straight-on flash is never a good idea because the images look flat as it does here. It's why bouncing (if you can't get your flash off-camera) is such a good idea. The images look flat and similar to what anyone with a point and shoot standing there could take to be honest. That's the risk, the people might see this and think there's no discernable difference between you (a paid 'pro') and Bob from down the hall with his point and shoot.

Ways I would suggest to improve the next shoot:

Learn how to adjust your flash/camera settings to ensure proper exposure. That way you can tone down the flash a bit which was needed in this shot.

At the very least you need to learn the Flash Exposure Compensation settings and how to change them.

You need to get the flash bounced (or off camera) so that you're not ruining images of people with glasses.. that's the way to avoid reflection in glasses. You can do that by bringing a largish piece of white paper board to place near your subjects and bouncing the flash off that. You'll also have to know, of course, how to adjust your flash power settings and your camera settings to compensate for the loss of flash power that comes from bouncing.

Composition is pretty standard and boring straight in the middle. But to be fair, there's not a lot you can do with group shots other than putting them in the center. You can, however, find less static poses. Look online (flickr is great for this) and find examples of creative posing for group shots.

These might help though I've not actually read them, I just did a search on the "Home" page for the word "Group" :
http://www.digital-photography-schoo...-dos-and-donts
Family Portraits Do’s and Don’ts

Remember, it's your job to ensure the conditions are such as to guarantee high quality images, not the person that hires you. That's what pre-shoot talks/meetings are for. Always a good idea to know the venue ahead of time if possible. And always be prepared to be able to shoot in all lighting conditions. And come prepared with ideas.. never just wing it.

Yes, I'm a bit harsh.. but your photos don't suck and you have the right questions, so you could definitely do a good job on this sort of shoot. You just have to be more prepared.

Good luck!

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by autofocus

I'm a big fan of Neil van Niekerk's style of on/off camera flash using his black foamie idea on my flash. Bouncing off a back wall or corner can produce very nice results
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2009/11/2...-foamie-thing/

Thanks for the response and the link. I surely need to practice and read more bouncing techniques. The link seems to be very interesting with some great pictures. Thanks!

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

Yes, I'm a bit harsh.. but your photos don't suck and you have the right questions, so you could definitely do a good job on this sort of shoot. You just have to be more prepared.

Al, yes, you are little harsh. I guess that's the reason why you have so many well wishers and you are favorite of many. I always heard about you and your constructive comments, glad that I received one. I am sure my next shoot would be far better than the last one and the suggestions and tips from you will be handy.

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

The things you complained about (lighting and background) are technically your responsibility when you accepted the paid(!) job. Your job was to produce good images and ensure the conditions for such. You should have been prepared by at least knowing what the conditions were at the venue and at worst be prepared (with flash) to shoot pretty much any condition. So, in the future, assume good lighting and "background" is your responsibility and ask about that stuff before you accept the job. You have to ensure the conditions ensuring you do an acceptable job.

I completely agree with you that it should have been my responsibility and no excuses but unfortunately that same day we had to do our move to new place. But I guess now I should be in better position with my own white muslin backdrop (10x20ft) with 10ft wide PVC backdrop stand. And I got some work lights to use with the backdrop. I know, I need to do some research and trial on how to get best results with them. Basically, what will be my setup?

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

The images look flat and similar to what anyone with a point and shoot standing there could take to be honest. That's the risk, the people might see this and think there's no discernable difference between you (a paid 'pro') and Bob from down the hall with his point and shoot.

That is really very disappointing and may be that was the reason why I posted here. The picture was no where close even to p&s one.

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

Learn how to adjust your flash/camera settings to ensure proper exposure. That way you can tone down the flash a bit which was needed in this shot.

At the very least you need to learn the Flash Exposure Compensation settings and how to change them.

I know, this is my weakest point. If you see my candids in daylight, they are reasonable better. I wish I can get some website that explains various techniques with examples. I will google it now. I am sure this is one of the dumbest questions, still I will ask. Bouncing flash from ceiling will always work? even if the ceiling is too high? or the walls are far?

I completely agree, I have to start reading on flash exposure compensation settings.

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

Remember, it's your job to ensure the conditions are such as to guarantee high quality images, not the person that hires you. That's what pre-shoot talks/meetings are for. Always a good idea to know the venue ahead of time if possible. And always be prepared to be able to shoot in all lighting conditions. And come prepared with ideas.. never just wing it.

Sometimes it gets difficult to do pre-shoot due to time and distance. But I strongly feel what you said "always be prepared to be able to shoot in all lighting conditions". I need to get that setup. If I get that setup right then I guess I will gain loads of confidence and with confidence I can get some decent pictures. I don't know if someone can suggest what should be the best lighting setup for non-studio portraits like above picture (party portraits):
If I have the following:
2 Incandescent Clamp Light with daylight bulbs (100W) each
1 Sigma EF 530 DG Super that works off camera but fires with nikon inbuilt camera flash
In camera flash

Again thanks Al for your constructive comments and for the links (first didn't work though. One more thing, your website is really cool and the pictures are amazing!

[Matthew_Scullion]

Hi Kuul,

You've already had a lot of advice here so I'll keep mine brief.

To me the shot looks like what is is: on-camera flash, nuked from the front. Unfortunately, you'll always struggle to get a decent looking photo using this technique.

You mention that you'd like to find a web site that would tell you how to use your flash properly. I have found flash and its associated skills/techniques/results to be fascinating and I personally believe that if you have $300 to burn and a couple of days to use learning then the best way to spend them is on a decent strobe (which you already have) and some time on the web site "Strobist" (just Google 'strobist'). This site will teach you all about flash in a way that's easy to understand and it will improve your reportage and portrait photography far more than anything else I have found.

On the up side, one BIG thing with this style of photography is nothing to do with the technicality... it's handling the subject(s). For your first time, and whilst this isn't the *most* creative of poses, I think you've done a good job getting this family all on one place, looking at you and smiling... No mean feat!

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by Matthew_Scullion

Hi Kuul,

You've already had a lot of advice here so I'll keep mine brief.

To me the shot looks like what is is: on-camera flash, nuked from the front. Unfortunately, you'll always struggle to get a decent looking photo using this technique.

You mention that you'd like to find a web site that would tell you how to use your flash properly. I have found flash and its associated skills/techniques/results to be fascinating and I personally believe that if you have $300 to burn and a couple of days to use learning then the best way to spend them is on a decent strobe (which you already have) and some time on the web site "Strobist" (just Google 'strobist'). This site will teach you all about flash in a way that's easy to understand and it will improve your reportage and portrait photography far more than anything else I have found.

On the up side, one BIG thing with this style of photography is nothing to do with the technicality... it's handling the subject(s). For your first time, and whilst this isn't the *most* creative of poses, I think you've done a good job getting this family all on one place, looking at you and smiling... No mean feat!

Matthew, so kind of you for the encouraging words. I have seen the Strobist website and looks very promising. I will definitely go through it and learn how to use my strobe effectively. To make the things worse, I got another shoot offer for Valentine's Day.. 10 days to go. I don't know what will I do? I want to make this shoot better than last one. Not sure if I will get better results with my storbe + 2 CFL lights + backdrop. I am struggling to find best light setup using CFL lights. Any one, any idea (though I have posted this in various forums). Hope get some response soon. Thanks Matthew for the response.

[Matthew_Scullion]

Just get on Strobist and read through the Lighting 101 tutorial. It's pretty easy.

Once you've learnt one to do I would suggest not bothering with your two incandescanet lamps - just use the flash.

Either:

- Use it on camera to bounce of the ceiling - with a diffuser on it
- Better, use it off-camera as a key light, balanced against ambient. To do this:

-> Get the flash on a stand off to camera right/left (45 degrees to subject and slightly above, pointing down). It's need to be shot through a diffuser of some sort - an umbrella is easiet or a softbox such as a Lastolite Eze-Box.

-> Expose (using a grey card or flash meter) for the flash to correctly expose your subject

-> Expose to have the ambient light 2-stops under expose your subject

-> Ensure you balance the colour of your flash to the ambient light (if indoors) using a gel (all explained on Strobist)

-> Stand the subjects suitably far in front of your backdrop so they dont cast a shadow

Easy 1-light portrait setup. For details on how to do each step, read Lighting 101 on strobist.

This shot was taken using this technique:



Good luck

[kuul13]

Originally Posted by Matthew_Scullion

Just get on Strobist and read through the Lighting 101 tutorial. It's pretty easy.

Once you've learnt one to do I would suggest not bothering with your two incandescanet lamps - just use the flash.

Either:

- Use it on camera to bounce of the ceiling - with a diffuser on it
- Better, use it off-camera as a key light, balanced against ambient. To do this:

-> Get the flash on a stand off to camera right/left (45 degrees to subject and slightly above, pointing down). It's need to be shot through a diffuser of some sort - an umbrella is easiet or a softbox such as a Lastolite Eze-Box.

-> Expose (using a grey card or flash meter) for the flash to correctly expose your subject

-> Expose to have the ambient light 2-stops under expose your subject

-> Ensure you balance the colour of your flash to the ambient light (if indoors) using a gel (all explained on Strobist)

-> Stand the subjects suitably far in front of your backdrop so they dont cast a shadow

Easy 1-light portrait setup. For details on how to do each step, read Lighting 101 on strobist.

Good luck

Matthew, thanks again for your step by step setup and brilliant example. I wish I get that output this time. You know what, I spent little more and purchased 2 light stands with umbrellas from ebay. I am getting a third light stand for (smaller) free. So, now I can setup something like http://photo.stackexchange.com/quest...for-2-3-people
Key Light (my 530 + umbrella)
Fill Light (CFL + umbrella)
Reflector (may be on the floor)
Back Light (third stand with bare bulb)
..need to do some practice shots before. What do you think?

Expose to have the ambient light 2-stops under expose your subject

How do you do this?