Indoor Photography - No Flash

[Nikkor]

Yeah, I have a reflector as well, I like using it most of the time. I have an SB-900. I just bought a Nikon D3S a few months ago, so I've upped my equipment to the best of the best (or at least that's my opinion)

 

[bennielou]

Yeah, I have a reflector as well, I like using it most of the time. I have an SB-900. I just bought a Nikon D3S a few months ago, so I've upped my equipment to the best of the best (or at least that's my opinion)

And hey that is cool. It shows you mean business. This will only mean more money in the future.

 

[Nikkor]

Yeah its pretty darn sexy if I do say so myself ...

D3S from Nikon

 

[myfotoguy]

Wow, old thread. Great info too.

For someone reading this that might currently be limited to a kit lens and pop-up flash:

• I would recommend finding some kind of flash diffuser to see if that helps. I normally use my speedlight, so when I do use my pop-up I don't have anything in front ot it.
• Know the limits of your flash, the range is usually only up to 10-15 feet (check your manual).
• You may see a tendancy to overexpose if subject is close and the ambient bacground is also metered by the camera. Learning to use flash exposure compensation would help greatly.
• Use slow-rear sync if available. In this mode I usually go to manual and adjust the ISO to let in more ambient light and shoot wide open or one f/stop up for more sharpness. I adjust the shutter-speed as needed for the action, but if it's "low" action generally around 1/30 give or take a stop or two is sufficient. Straight slow-rear sync in say, aperture priority mode tends to set the speed too low for some subjects.
• If you are totally new at this, and want a qucik setting for the situation the OP mentioned, and are not familiar yet with exposure settings and the exposure triangle, etc. Try a "Night Portrait" setting if your camera has scene modes.

The above is not the "best" solutions, but some ideas if you are currently limited with your equipment.

-