Event Gig - Candids

tpodonne

I've got a perspective assignment for a company's Holiday party.
I'm using a Nikon D200 with the 18-200mm kit lens.

They would like me to shoot the Decor of the party followed with some
candids. I'm looking at renting some gear - a lens and a dedicated flash and a flash bracket.
I might just buy the bracket. Money's tight for my camera budget and it's just my personal spending ~ whatever doesn't get tapped by household stuff!

I was hoping to get an sb-800 but it's out of stock at borrowedlenses. So now my choices are sb-600 or smaller, and the quantum flash - I've never used a dedicated flash so I'll need to get it under control before the event - thankfully my 4yr old has a preschool play I can practice at. What about a diffuser and a bracket??

The lens I originally thought to rent was a 50mm 1/4d but then I saw the 35mm.

I'm guessing it'll be a lower light event - hence the dumping the 18-200mm f3-5 lense.

Need to get this stuff pronto!
Any thoughts?? The sooner the better~

Thanks!!

Art Scott

The D200 isn't know for good high iso and this assignment is going to be mostly walk around shoot candids at tables and the dance floor or at the lectern while announcements or awards or gifts are given.......so search some of the other rental shops on here or in one of the Mags.....find that SB800 or 900.....I have started using a 900 as I wanted to try and match the power of my sunpak 622's.......and it seems to work like a dream...set to TTL Bl (balanced ttl) and I have had it as close as 1 1/2 feet from subject and it exposed nearly perfectly.......
Flash bracket......this STROBOFRAME PRO RL is a really good by.......a flash bracket is almost imperative to get you flash off the hotshoe and above the lens to help with nasty shadows.....the other thing you need is a dedicated off camera flash cable like THIS.......it is chinese made and I have a email to the seller to see who makes this cable if it is Yong Nuo then it whould be very reliable, as I have had no problems with Yong Nuo products and I have this cable, wireless RF shutter releases and flash trigers I use........

As the above poster mentioned getting a Metz handle flash...those are totally manual and also rewquire an expensive SAFE SYNC to make sure they do not fry your camera.....My SUNPAK 622 re very similar to the METZ 45 CT's.......any way you do not have time to LEARN to use before this gig.........Hunt down a SB 800 or 900 and you won't go wrong.........

WillCAD

I don't make my living as a photographer, but I do have a lot of experience shooting candids in party or event situations.

Glort is right. Your kit lens will be adequate, assuming that it doesn't have too much vignetting at the wide end. In an enclosed room, you'll be shooting mostly in the 18-70 range, with fewer shots at the higher zoom range.

Flash is a horse of a different color, however. Being up close, you'll need an offset flash with a good diffuser, or you'll get red-eye and nasty hot spots. A Quantum flash, with belt-mounted battery pack, on a Stroboframe bracket, is an ideal setup, though I usually make do with a Speedlight and a bounce card.

When shooting candids, fast recycle time, in both your camera and flash, is vital. You should definitely go for a flash unit with short recycle time and long battery life. Of course, it bears repeating that you should have a fully charged spare battery on hand for both the camera and flash; the darker the venue, the more power that flash unit will eat as you shoot.

For indoor shooting with flash, I typically set my ISO to 400, since my camera also gets noisy above 800ISO. This limits the distance that the flash will properly illuminate for good exposure, so I can't take shots from across the room, but it makes for the cleanest images.

kres

I've got a 600 and an 800.

If your just getting into using flashes, I'd go with the 600 - MUCH lower learning curve. Get a good diffuser and take some practice shots. The 800 is great, but is complicated enough that it can seem to be thinking on its own if you fat finger a setting.

Bounce bounce bounce bouce! Learn to scan for the best surfaces to bounce your flash off of as your walking up to your "target"

Keep the 18 -200 VR away from it's min and max. IE shoot 20 - 180 and things will look much better.

Oh, remember to have fun - it seriously helps. Good luck!

ivar

kres wrote:

...and take some practice shots.

Shooting with flash is totally different from shooting without it if you ask me. It took me a long time to get used to it, and still I'm not 100% comfortable with it. Practice, practice, practice... take a LOT of test shots under similar circumstances as you expect to have at the party