question regarding people shots

wheresdavid · August 23, 2007

question - i am in se asia and for a lot of my people shots the light is very low and i can't ask the people to move. i have a canon 24-105l and a 135l prime. i don't want to shoot at iso 1600 if at all possible. with the low light should i just shoot in TV to make sure i don't have camera shake and not worry about depth of field? often times the light is so low that with my 135 (i have a xti so that is about a 200mm) i have to set the aperture to 2.0 at iso 800 and the shutter speed is often lower (a lot lower) than 1/200.

what would you reccomend for shooting people in low light situations? is there a trick that i am missing? i do have a new ex 430 speedlite but i am not too sure how to use it. am i just going to have to take these shots with a flash? i do have a reflector but again often times i can't use it. any help would be greatly apreciated.

hopefully the rainy season will end soon and the sun will come out!

cheers.

DAve

dlibrach · August 24, 2007

Hi Dave,

Don't think you meant to post this in the "whipping post" section. You will get better responses in the "people" or "technique" forums.

I willl say though that if light is a problem, shooting in "TV" won't help. The sensor needs light and if you are getting too slow of a shutter speed when wide open, than changing the shutter speed and letting the camera decide the aperature won't get you anywhere.

I have owned, or currently own, both of those lenses and they preform extremely well wide open. Don't be afraid to use them as such. Also I have heard good things about the high ISO of your camera. I will often shoot natural light portraits indoors at 800 or higher ISO.

Of course using your flash could help emensly but try your best to bounce it off some surface and do not shoot it directly at the subject. Using a flash is one of those things that takes a bit of time to understand and can require a lot of experimenting before you fully understand its properties and how to use it effectively. A ver informative, but long, article about using Canon flashes can be found here: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Dave

P.S. I wouldn't worry about depth of field too much. A shallow depth of field can be quite pleasing in portraits. Just make sure to keep the focus on the eyes. The sensor size of your camera will also give you more depth of field than you think.

DavidTO · August 24, 2007

I've moved this thread to Technique.

pathfinder · August 24, 2007

What choice do you really have, David?

If there is inadequate light to shoot at f2.8 ( or f2.0) at 1/30th or 1/60th ( maybe 1/15th with your lens with IS ) - you either add more light in some manner, or you go to a higher ISO. There really is not any other option, but under exposure ( which is shooting at a higher ISO but not knowing your are doing it, right?) You could use faster lenses of course, like a 50 f1.4, but that requires great care in focusing as well.

I think adding light is very worthwhile - whether with flash, a reflector, or moving the subject. It is very hard to shoot people with long shutter speeds - unlike landscape shots that can be done on a tripod.

Are these candid shots and you do not want to let your subjects know they are being shot? Or what?

I say go with ISO 1600 or 3200 - embrace the noise, but get a shot that is properly exposed.

wheresdavid · August 25, 2007

AS far as the shots go they are not candid per se, the people know I am taking their picture. Sometimes it is impossible to get them to move out from under the hut that they are sitting in (they may be weaving or something like that). As I thought, I will either increase the ISO or use my flash (after I figure out how to use it. one other option is that i have my 50mm 1.8 lens with me and i could use that lens.

as far as buying a 50mm 1.4, the prices here in thailand are about 50% higher than in the states. i heard they are cheaper in Camodia and I will be heading there in a few months. Maybe by then I will have mastered my flash. Well I guess I will have to meet a local and ask them to be my model as i experiment with the flash. I guess that will be a good way to meet locals.

pathfinder wrote:

What choice do you really have, David?

If there is inadequate light to shoot at f2.8 ( or f2.0) at 1/30th or 1/60th ( maybe 1/15th with your lens with IS ) - you either add more light in some manner, or you go to a higher ISO. There really is not any other option, but under exposure ( which is shooting at a higher ISO but not knowing your are doing it, right?) You could use faster lenses of course, like a 50 f1.4, but that requires great care in focusing as well.

I think adding light is very worthwhile - whether with flash, a reflector, or moving the subject. It is very hard to shoot people with long shutter speeds - unlike landscape shots that can be done on a tripod.

Are these candid shots and you do not want to let your subjects know they are being shot? Or what?

I say go with ISO 1600 or 3200 - embrace the noise, but get a shot that is properly exposed.

wheresdavid · August 25, 2007

thanks for the link on the eos flash. I think I will be busy for the next 96 hours rading through it

!

cheers

Dave

dlibrach wrote:

Hi Dave,

Don't think you meant to post this in the "whipping post" section. You will get better responses in the "people" or "technique" forums.

I willl say though that if light is a problem, shooting in "TV" won't help. The sensor needs light and if you are getting too slow of a shutter speed when wide open, than changing the shutter speed and letting the camera decide the aperature won't get you anywhere.

I have owned, or currently own, both of those lenses and they preform extremely well wide open. Don't be afraid to use them as such. Also I have heard good things about the high ISO of your camera. I will often shoot natural light portraits indoors at 800 or higher ISO.

Of course using your flash could help emensly but try your best to bounce it off some surface and do not shoot it directly at the subject. Using a flash is one of those things that takes a bit of time to understand and can require a lot of experimenting before you fully understand its properties and how to use it effectively. A ver informative, but long, article about using Canon flashes can be found here: http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Dave

P.S. I wouldn't worry about depth of field too much. A shallow depth of field can be quite pleasing in portraits. Just make sure to keep the focus on the eyes. The sensor size of your camera will also give you more depth of field than you think.

dlibrach · August 25, 2007

wheresdavid wrote:

thanks for the link on the eos flash. I think I will be busy for the next 96 hours rading through it !

cheers

Dave

Yeah, it's a bit long but well worth the read. Enjoy!

pathfinder · August 26, 2007

Learning to use fill flash as per the EOS notes is the bomb!

question regarding people shots

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