Small party at hotel Questions ?

[MH_91]

Hello everyone Hope you all doing great

I had few questions if you guys don't mind, this week I am invited as a photographer to take pictures of small party in a Hotel(Grad party)everyone is going to wear formal Dress, its going to be dinner time, socialization part and No Dancing. I never had an experience to take pictures in small parties.

So i be great-full if someone share his\her story about this kind of photography so i can learn and avoid the small mistakes.


Thank you so much and have a good day


Moein Habibi

 

[Restomage]

When you arrive at the party, first determine what lighting you have available. If there is a good amount of light to work with, bump up the iso and go from there assuming you have good glass. If the lighting is crappy, start deciding what light modifiers you want to use to create the best light. The first thing I look for is the ceiling. If it's white and low, you got yourself a great tool to bounce some light off of. If not, carry around your camera in one hand and have an off-camera speedlight with some sort of modifier such as a gary fong lightspere or softbox.

 

[MH_91]

When you arrive at the party, first determine what lighting you have available. If there is a good amount of light to work with, bump up the iso and go from there assuming you have good glass. If the lighting is crappy, start deciding what light modifiers you want to use to create the best light. The first thing I look for is the ceiling. If it's white and low, you got yourself a great tool to bounce some light off of. If not, carry around your camera in one hand and have an off-camera speedlight with some sort of modifier such as a gary fong lightspere or softbox.

oh sorry i forgot to mention the tools that i have

its Canon 20D
Lens 18-200 MM
Flash 430EX II

and lightsphere

i dont think i will have a problem with the lighting due the flashlight and lightsphere

But thanks for your comment

 

[IgsEMT]

If I remember correctly, going about ISO 400 on 20D is risky due to noise. SOOOOOUUUUUUU... ISO 400, 1/60-1/125sec, f/5.6, flash - if you know and feel comfortable in Manual, GREAT, otherwise keep it at ttl/auto and adjust it accordingly.
Lightsphere... that is a mixed feeling item. Personally, I do not own one but had a pleasure of using it EXTENSIVELY. I do like softlight. But I don't like flat light. Plus I needed to put out 1-1.5 stops of light MORE then necessary just to get light though that darn thing. So using it or not is 50/50 in my book

 

[Pure]

Look up "dragging your shutter." The technique would probably work well for you if the lighting is bad.

 

[Big Mike]

Aim your flash up to the ceiling, maybe even turn it so that it fires behind you (if the room is small enough). This can spread the flash all around, making it look more like ambient light. If the room is bigger, then you can probably still bounce of the ceiling, but you may also want to add something to throw some of the light forward...a simple bounce card will do.

 

[MH_91]

Thank you everyone for the great comments and Review about the lighting !

I let you know guys how the pictures will turn out. Tomorrow is the Big Day !

Have a good night everyone !

 

[mwcfarms]

Good luck.