Recommendation for a noob

[FritzG]

Hi Forum,

I did a quick search after before I signed up to post but I couldn't gather the info that came up into anything that made sense to me. I figured it would be easier to ask directly so sorry if these questions have been asked (and answered) a million times already.

Current Equipment:

- Canon T3i
- Canon EF-S 18-55mm, 1:3.5-5.6, IS II
- Canon EF-S 55-250mm, 1:4-5.6, IS II
- Stock single battery/charger
- A $10 Hakuba CT-8 tripod

Needs:

I am looking to take decent pictures at my daughter's birthday party in a catering hall. Basically, anything from "photo booth" type headshots, to portrait shots, to group shots at a distances of 2 ft. to 30 ft in mid to low lightingas a guide.

I was hoping not to have to change lenses during the event (knowing there will be some trade-offs necessary somewhere), minimize any needs to charge the batteries and not need any special lighting since all the photos will be of the spontaneous type. I figure at a minimum I will need better lenses, a better flash (than the one that pops up from the body of the camera), better or multiple batteries and a better tripod.

I welcome both single lens and multi-lens suggestions. I am open to differing choices as no one size fits all is likely to be best.

The reason for my hunt is that the party is costing an arm and a leg (110 guests and counting - ugh). A photo booth and/or hired photographer just isn't in the budget anymore. That said, my choices have to be very cost conscious and an investment that I will enjoy using on those weekends I can no longer to afford to go anywhere. lol

Mission impossible? Help ... and thanks in advance for your feedback/suggestions.

PS I am a total amateur with very little photography knowledge/experience though I have been trying to study the basics of photography (ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, Composition, Lighting, etc.) and equipment while trying to learn how to utilize those factors to take better pictures (to my own eye).

 

[Designer]

Oh, man, Bud! Where to start?

O.K., I use my (Nikon) 18-55mm nearly all the time. I's my "go-to" lens for snapshots. If you want to try to isolate some people for informal portraiture, then switch to the longer lens. I'm not familiar with Canon gear, so somebody might suggest a zoom with broader range.

Given the type of event this is, I suggest getting a better tripod, one that you can have some confidence in that it won't fail partway through.

And get thee a speedlight. Also a light stand or two (they're affordable) and a couple of shoot-through white umbrellas.

As long as I'm spending your money, get a group of RF transceivers. One for the camera, and at least one for one remote speedlight. You can fire the second light as a slave to the first one.

Prior to the "photo booth" setup, you can mount a speedlight in the hotshoe and bounce the light off a nearby white wall or the ceiling.

Good luck!

 

[FritzG]

"Oh, man, Bud! Where to start?"

Yup, that was the thought that ran through my head when I first realized my predicament. lol

I am beginning to get the feeling that this will not be as cost effective as I thought it might be though. In part, I know I am just looking for an excuse to take on this hobby. This was as good as any I thought I might be able to convince my sweet and loving yet terrifyingly intimidating wife not to gouge my eyes out for spending on yet another hobby. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[table1349]

Fritz, not trying to be a Debbie Downer here but...

You have slow glass, no light and by your own words you are a noob. My suggestion would be to hire a photographer or ask a friend who is a photographer to shoot this event, get a good speedlite and practice, practice, practice for next year.

 

[Designer]

I am beginning to get the feeling that this will not be as cost effective as I thought it might be though. In part, I know I am just looking for an excuse to take on this hobby. This was as good as any I thought I might be able to convince my sweet and loving yet terrifyingly intimidating wife not to gouge my eyes out for spending on yet another hobby.

Hey, you're welcome!

As for me, I've established a reasonable limit for myself. If I have to save up for a couple of months, that's what I do. It keeps me from buying just anything and everything.

For this upcoming event, just get a speedlight. You can have a Yongnuo for not a lot, and make some good snapshots.

Amazon.com Yongnuo YN-560 II Speedlight Flash for Canon and Nikon. GN58. On Camera Shoe Mount Flashes Camera Photo

 

[victorbreaux]

I would suggest a good 55mm lens and for most of what u described, especially in the rapidly changing enviornments, I would use Programm mode on your dslr. The portrait shots would be where id focus my energy in lighting and light metering

 

[Dave442]

I would just get the best speed light you can for the budget you have and only take the 18-55mm. If the room you plan to be in has a white ceiling that is not too high then flash on camera and bounced off the ceiling is the easiest solution. I would use manual exposure and flash in Auto (not all the third party speed lights support auto). I also like to make a custom white balance, but shoot in Raw.

Watch the background, for the budget just find a location where you can put people. An assistant can really help for staging people for portrait shots and placing people for a group shot. You will need to make everyone look at you and not their 20 friends with the cell phones. Speak with your daughter before hand on the shots you both want.

Spend time with your daughter so plan to give the camera a rest during the party and plan ahead for a few times to spend with the camera (when you do have the camera in hand spend 100% of the time taking pictures). Have a place you can put the camera with the flash on it when not using it, I use a rolling bag as its less likely to just dissapear.

Have extra batteries for the camera and the flash and extra memory cards.
Have a software like Lightroom to process all the photos.
What is the final use of the photos? Most just go to social media, but you may want to make sure you have some of your daughter for a print or two.

 

[FritzG]

Hey. Just want to say thanks for all the great advice.

So here is what I have so far:

1) Following Debbie Downer's and Dave's suggestions, I will likely ask a friend with some experience to do the party shots despite my control freak nature.

2) Dave - the final use will be for personal photo albums, some social media and if I can convince a teenager to spend a few hours posing for daddy, a portrait shot I can mount and frame as the last "little girl" picture of my daughter. I'm not a fan of clinical portrait shots so it doesn't have to be "perfect", I just want it to capture how I see her in the most realistic way (to me eye). Besides, there will be many cameras in attendance not to mention phones and selfie-sticks (worst invention ever!). I am sure the tonnage of pictures taken will yield many nice shots.

3) There is a recessed foyer area leading to the entrance of the main hall with a light background and diffused lighting. We will ask people to "check in" to the party by posing for a group shot of their tribe before entering. We can count heads and get the "photo booth" shots where they pose themselves in whatever silly way they like. I'm not looking for studio shots so I am ok with this plus I get to have fun torturing them before they go in.

3) The portrait shots were mostly going to be after the party anyway (like the next day in the park). Mamma bear forbid any activity with "the dress" before the day of the party so we'll head to the park the next day (or day after depending on how well the party goes *haha*) to take the money shots in (hopefully) good weather/natural pre-dusk and dusk lighting.

3) Since I will be supplying the equipment to the friend I bribe/threaten/plead with, I will probably get this ...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004VTAVLE/ref=gno_cart_title_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

... so we can have two chargers/batteries plugged in at all times and one in the camera.

As for the flash, I loathe returning products and especially on internet purchases so I usually like to buy in person. I know it will cost more but for me it is worth being able to go back to a person who worked with me on the purchase to return. I guess I am old school in wanting a purchase "relationship" at the expense of a lower price. That flash Designer suggested though looked like an inexpensive tool to learn with were it not for the quality issues on some reviews. If I can source it locally, I will get that one to learn with as it seems to force one into knowing what you are doing in order to get the results you want. For this occasion however, I will likely look for a more automated flash that will work best with the T3i. I already have a rechargeable set up of AAA and AA batteries for the flash as well.

Last but not least, I think what I am hearing is that I can just stick to the 18-55mm lens and any other won't be all that much better for my purposes? I had been looking at these ...

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM Canon-ef

The idea was that I usually find myself in-between lenses for the kind of picture I want to take. I always feel like I can't zoom in enough with the smaller lens or zoom out enough when I have the long one on. I thought with something like the 18-135mm especially, I might not find myself wanting to switch as much and miss shots because the lens on the camera at the time doesn't give me the "distance" or composition I am looking for. Also, as Gryphonslair points out, the ones I have seem slow to me too so there was also that.

If I can keep the cost under $500 or so for everything including tripod, it will be less than half of what photographers with a time limited photo booth would have cost. I shopped around with the budget I had and it just didn't seem worth it to me. If it were a wedding, that would be different but its not ... yet ... oh my.

Again, thanks for the advice and feedback everyone.

 

[Designer]

I wouldn't buy anymore lenses just now. The speedlight will help you get some good pictures. Learn how to bounce the flash off a nearby white surface, such as a white wall, white ceiling, somebody's white shirt, a white poster board, whatever. Practice that a bit before the event.

 

[Derrel]

Fritz, not trying to be a Debbie Downer here but...

You have slow glass, no light and by your own words you are a noob. My suggestion would be to hire a photographer or ask a friend who is a photographer to shoot this event, get a good speedlite and practice, practice, practice for next year.

Good, easy answer, and one I think a lot of folks here would support. It's a daunting task to address the questions on how one can go from slow-aperture, no-real-lighting, intro type d-slr setup to fully equipped and capable shooter. You could try buying a full-power speedlight that has a snap-on or press-fit diffusion dome, and shooting the close-in shots (under 10 feet) with the flash angled up to 75 degrees, or straight-ahead/no diffusion dome. Or buying a full-power speedlight and one of the Rogue Flashbenders, and using that as your modern-era "bounce card"...some people, many people maybe, would find those kinds of photos acceptable. This is the type of modern, direct flash shot that fills the red carpet paparazzi sites all over the Internet, and does not look "all that bad" actually. Many of those guys are using the new, modern-era "tiny" flash brackets, and bare Nikon or Canon flash units on the bracket. Not old-school, tall flash brackets, but "tiny" brackets.

 

[FritzG]

I've been reading about those "bare" flashes. There are so many nuances to taking "good" pictures. Its almost like calculus .. only more complex.

Just looking up the Rogue Flashbenders and hearing someone refer to bouncing the light off of the walls as Designer says made a lot of sense to me in how to compose an image in my head before I take the picture. I now understand that those two things are different and not one and the same. Still calculus though ... lol

Anyway, I will keep this thread updated on my purchases (or lack thereof). Going to frequent a local photography store and ask some (now better informed) questions.

Fun!

 

[Designer]

..bouncing the light off of the walls as Designer says made a lot of sense to me in how to compose an image in my head before I take the picture. I now understand that those two things are different and not one and the same. Still calculus though ... lol

After a little practice, you can swivel the flash head just about as quickly as you re-aim the camera. You're holding the camera with one hand, and aiming the flash with the other.

If you know the venue, (and you should, I think) ask yourself are the walls and ceiling white (or nearly so)?

BTW: capture raw files and you can fix the WB in post. I have mine set to save the raw and jpeg files, so if I need to do some major saving of the WB later, I've got the raw files with which to do it.

 

[FritzG]

I have captured raw files but never really tried working with them. Is something like Paint.NET enough to learn with or do you really need a full blown image editing package to do anything with those? Also, is the software that came with the T3i any good? Another thing to learn. Well, what is life without learning anyway? Merely existing and boring as hell I think. lol

 

[Designer]

I don't know anything about paint.net, nor the Canon software.

The Nikon software would not work on my Mac.

I use Aperture3, and it handles raw just fine.

You would have to examine the specs on any other software in question.

 

[FritzG]

OK, I'll check out the specs on Aperture3 and see what the capabilities are to compare. Sleeping is so inconvenient to getting everything done I want to do. lol