Tips on shooting an indoor ceremony next week..?

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I volunteered to shoot our Change of Command ceremony next week for our Group (Air Force ceremony, so not sure if any of that made sense). Anyways, the event will be indoors. I am not sure what the room looks like as far as lighting goes, but I assume lighting should be fairly adequate. I want to make sure I do this right, so I was hoping I could get some pointers.

To start with, I have never shot an indoor event like this. Most of my pictures are outdoors (I take a lot of automotive photos from car shows, etc. as well as photos of city architecture on my travels around Europe). Below is the equipment I will be using for this event:

Nikon D40X
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6 AF-S VRII lens

I just got the Speedlight not that long ago, and the lens itself I just got literally last week so I have only used it once. The body I am very comfortable with though. I typically shoot both with my Speedlight and camera on Manual modes, but I sometimes have a hard time regulating shutter speed and aperture with flash power and it will sometimes take a couple tries at the same shot to get it right. One thing I have noticed (and maybe it has something to do with settings I can change) is that when using a Speedlight, the exposure meter in the view finder is completely useless and I have to more or less look a the photo after I take it to make sure it was not over/underexposed. Is this just how the exposure meter works with Nikon Speedlights, or is my speedlight/camera not set up to work properly together?

Besides that, I just wanted to know if there were any tips anyone could give on how to make this a success, i.e. what exactly to shoot, what not to shoot, what settings to use, etc. I am not getting paid for this obviously, this is just a volunteer thing I am doing so they aren't expecting much, but I do try to take my photography seriously and I want to make a good name for myself with this ceremony.

 

[Solarflare]

but I assume lighting should be fairly adequate

Haha, thanks for the laugh.

Our eyes might still see fairly well in an indoor situation, but for the camera, that only measures actual light levels and doesnt have a human eye and brain working hard to compensate differences in light level, there really isnt much to work with and what there is is distributed extremely unevenly.

Unless its a bright day and you have really large windows, but even then you have the problem much light in one spot (windows) and not that much in another spot (the other end of the room).

The usually horrible light situation indoors is why I love having a full frame sensor, and bright prime lenses.

Nikon D40X
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6 AF-S VRII lens

Well you have a really old camera (= poor high ISO, less dynamic range, only APS-C too) and a really dark zoom (superzoom, lots of elements and thus bad T-stop, poor maximum aperture to begin with), but at least you have a flashlight.

Still, your results might be poor, depending upon how tricky the light situation is, especially if you cant bump the light (no white ceiling, no white walls) to make it indirect.

I came to especially like situations in which the room uses two different types of light sources, at best combined on top of it by natural sunlight from windows, which makes three types of light all over the place, possibly with huge variances in every spot of the room. The horror.

I typically shoot both with my Speedlight and camera on Manual modes

Why not use TTL whenever its possible ? Especially indoors when you really have to change needed settings for every shot - since the camera measures absolute light levels and light gets more dim the more far your subject is in the distance.

 

[Dao]

To be honest it is kind of hard to get any advice on camera settings without knowing the environment and the lighting condition.

If there is a low enough ceiling for you to bounce the flash and the ceiling is kind of white in color, I will suggest go that route. If not, you may just need to point the flash directly to the subject(s) to get a properly exposed result. Of course, it depends on the situation, you may have the camera manually set to expose to the ambient and add the flash to expose the subject. (Shutter dragging)

03 - dragging the shutter - Tangents


In order to get a good result, you may need to do some trial and error. I will meter the ambient and take a shot. Based on that result to set my Aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Please note that your flash exposure is not going to be affected by the shutter speed.


I guess you have a week to try it out at any indoor location. (i.e. your home)

 

[soufiej]

I volunteered to shoot our Change of Command ceremony next week for our Group (Air Force ceremony, so not sure if any of that made sense). Anyways, the event will be indoors. I am not sure what the room looks like as far as lighting goes, but I assume lighting should be fairly adequate. I want to make sure I do this right, so I was hoping I could get some pointers.

To start with, I have never shot an indoor event like this. Most of my pictures are outdoors (I take a lot of automotive photos from car shows, etc. as well as photos of city architecture on my travels around Europe). Below is the equipment I will be using for this event:

Nikon D40X
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6 AF-S VRII lens

I just got the Speedlight not that long ago, and the lens itself I just got literally last week so I have only used it once. The body I am very comfortable with though. I typically shoot both with my Speedlight and camera on Manual modes, but I sometimes have a hard time regulating shutter speed and aperture with flash power and it will sometimes take a couple tries at the same shot to get it right. One thing I have noticed (and maybe it has something to do with settings I can change) is that when using a Speedlight, the exposure meter in the view finder is completely useless and I have to more or less look a the photo after I take it to make sure it was not over/underexposed. Is this just how the exposure meter works with Nikon Speedlights, or is my speedlight/camera not set up to work properly together?

Besides that, I just wanted to know if there were any tips anyone could give on how to make this a success, i.e. what exactly to shoot, what not to shoot, what settings to use, etc. I am not getting paid for this obviously, this is just a volunteer thing I am doing so they aren't expecting much, but I do try to take my photography seriously and I want to make a good name for myself with this ceremony.

Well, most definitely, buy a new full frame camera and a fast prime lens. Here's a good one; Nikon Df DSLR Camera with 50mm f 1.8 Lens Black 1527 B H Photo And, if you can't afford the $3 grand price tag, do like the street buskers and put your camera case out on the floor in front of you for donations.

First, I don't shoot "ceremonies". I have though been on the tech end of many ceremonies being shot by rather unthinking souls who feel a camera allows them special privileges not afford others whom they greatly annoy. I'm sort of feeling you should ask a few questions and get a few permissions before you just wade into an unknown situation with a camera bag full of gear.

First, determine what sort of shots you wish to take. What additional gear might you want to bring along? A tripod maybe for more formal shots. If your photos include staged shots of a group of honorees, then you have no problem with doing so in a more formal setting where using a flash unit would be appropriate. Of course, flash units are rather nasty things if you don't have a near wall or low ceiling to assist you. So a flash diffuser of some sort might be appropriate. Otherwise, ask if the flash will be bothersome for photos taken during the actual ceremony. Audience members have rather become accustomed to the interference a flash can create - doesn't mean they like it but they have become accustomed - but you might not be all so much appreciated by anyone giving the awards or speaking at a podium. People who do not speak in public often are generally nervous and a flash going off every few seconds can really throw them off their game. So, just ask whether the flash should be put away for certain segments of the program.

Just as you determine what sort of shots you desire, also consider the actual use of the shots afterwards. It's very likely your camera will not read much light in any indoor setting. Given that the exposure triangle is comprised of three values; aperture, shutter speed and ISO, there's a good chance at least one of those values will need some serious adjustment for the setting. Opening up the aperture will trade off shallow depth of field. (Even more so if you score than full frame unit with the ever so cool f-1.4 lens.)

Use a DOF calculator (A Flexible Depth of Field Calculator to begin pre-planning your day. DOF apps are available for your smart phone if needed or you can make a basic cheat sheet for use. And I suppose most camera shops still sell the little wheely things like I bought a few decades back. Or maybe you are familiar enough with your lens to have a good grasp of DOF. The only point here is to plan ahead and envision what sort of situations you'll face. When will aperture be your best solution to low light and when will it be detrimental to the shot.

Long shutter speeds to accommodate lowered indoor light levels can be a problem causing blurred images. Here, I would say allow your camera to ramp up the ISO values. Know about where your camera's limits are for noise intruding into higher ISO values. And keep in mind the manner in which your photos might be used. If smaller print sizes are the norm, then noise becomes less of an issue. Unless you feel it's likely your photos will be printed at rather large sizes and viewed from a short distance, sharpness of the photos is, IMO, less important than getting a decent shot of the day's activities. A good deal of noise can be removed in post processing. Save the low ISO, big prints for those staged shots where you have more control over the lighting.

Try to have as much of your day planned out as possible. If they are available, get a copy of the day's program in advance. Think about when and where shots might be best afforded and what type of shot you might be taking at various points in the program.

Ask if there will be a rehearsal where you could get a better idea of the schedule of the ceremony and take some "practice" shots. Taking your initial photos at the rehearsal can give you some operating room on the day of. It will also give you some better ideas for how to set up during the actual ceremony. If nothing else, ask if there would be a time when you can get into the space with your camera (and maybe an assistant) to judge light levels and angles. The more you plan ahead, the fewer the surprises you'll have on the big day.

Mostly, take your cues from other ceremony photographers. Wedding photographers begin to anticipate the flow of action and are ready when a good shot presents itself. Don't intrude on the activities or be a bother for others in the audience. But be ready to be at the fore when you are needed.

Good luck.

 

[tirediron]

Having done a LOT of this sort of stuff, I have a pretty good idea of what you're facing. There's lots of good advice already posted; let me summarize and add a couple of points. Your gear isn't ideal, but you can make it work. First and foremost, scout the venue. I assume it's going to be a gym-type structure with high ceilings and horrible lights. Even if bouncing off of the ceiling is an option (it often isn't, especially in high-ceilinged older buildigns with exposed trusses, which create HORRIBLE shadows), it's not idea for an event such as this because people are wearing brimmed caps, and lighting coming from above will result in serious racoon eye. Instead, buy, beg, borrow or steal a TTL extension cable so that you can have the light off to the side, and NOT above. This will allow for some brightness on the eyes.

Next know what the SOE is, and talk to your CMD SGT MJR or whomever, and find out where you can and can't be. If these are deemed 'offical photographs' you will have a lot more lattitude (likely at the expense of the assembled parade) in your movement (also be aware that the US has I believe, some rather interesting codicils regarding official government images).

Generally speaking the key moments in an event like this are: The arrival and departure of the new and old COs and the superior commander. The insection of the parade (if applicable) and the signing of the actual CoC documents. Don't be afraid to get their attention, generally right after they've signed a quiet "Gentlemen, this way", if they're not already looking toward you will suffice.

All of that aside, as I said in the beginning, scout the venue, practice with your flash, and know what your camera's highest usable ISO is. Also be cognizant of the fact that your lens is a variable aperture lens, so shutter speeds will reduce as your focal lengths get longer. Try and keep your SS to at least 1/125 but don't let it get below 1/60. I would shoot this in shutter priority to ensure that doesn't get away from you.

 

[Dave442]

For something like this I usually have the camera in manual exposure and flash in TTL. I have the D200 that has a similar sensor, usually ISO 400 or 640 (not sure if you can set the D40X to 1/3 stop on the ISO).
I'll start at 1/80th and f/4 and then adjust the shutter speed for the ambient light level, but not below 1/60 as tirediron mentioned.
Have extra batteries for the SB-800 (one set of 4 eneloop in the flash and two extra sets should be more than enough).
Shoot in RAW
Do some test shots during the week, see if you can just stay at f/5.6 with that lens as it probably goes there by 50 or 60mm anyway. I would probably stay in the 24-60mm range of the lens. Spend some time with the settings on the flash, you don't want to be trying to learn those while at the ceremony.
I expect you have been to this type of ceremony in the past so you know the shots you want to get, so you just need to be in position.
have fun.

 

[KmH]

When bouncing flash you can use a DIY 'bounce card' to direct some light straight ahead to mitigate 'raccoon eyes' and other shadow problems. Note the SB-800 has a small bounce card built into the flash unit.

 

[JoeW]

TiredIron's post is so spot-on.

1. A CoC ceremony is likely to have a crowd. Thus, big space, big ceilings, thus you can't bounce off the ceiling. Mounting the speed light on your camera will create ugly hot spots (all that metal on the chest, polished brims on cover, etc.).

2. You look at that speed light and it looks like it throws off impressive light. Well, it drops off quickly. Unless you can get up close and personal, you're going to have a lot of very dark shots of your subjects OR they're going to look like they're standing just outside a cave.

--Do mount the flash on a stand
--Do get a wireless release so you can fire it without being next to it.
--Do talk to the senior NCO or whomever is coordinating the ceremony. You need to find out how close you can get.
--Do find out what ceremonial shots are required. Just like shooting a prom or a wedding, there are a bunch of shoots you are expected to get. So talk to the Sgt-Maj and find out what shots are expected.
--Do check out the space ahead of time. In the military, this is SOP, so it shouldn't take much convincing that you need to "practice" by checking out the space and shooting in that space at the same time of day with the same lighting as you'll encounter during the CoC ceremony.
--Do have backup batteries for your camera and the speed light. And beware (since you're new to the speed light) that they can overheat easily and then not fire until they cool down (or take longer to fire).

 

[soufiej]

I volunteered to shoot our Change of Command ceremony next week for our Group (Air Force ceremony, so not sure if any of that made sense). Anyways, the event will be indoors. I am not sure what the room looks like as far as lighting goes, but I assume lighting should be fairly adequate. I want to make sure I do this right, so I was hoping I could get some pointers.

To start with, I have never shot an indoor event like this. Most of my pictures are outdoors (I take a lot of automotive photos from car shows, etc. as well as photos of city architecture on my travels around Europe). Below is the equipment I will be using for this event:

Nikon D40X
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Nikkor 18-200 3.5-5.6 AF-S VRII lens

I just got the Speedlight not that long ago, and the lens itself I just got literally last week so I have only used it once. The body I am very comfortable with though. I typically shoot both with my Speedlight and camera on Manual modes, but I sometimes have a hard time regulating shutter speed and aperture with flash power and it will sometimes take a couple tries at the same shot to get it right. One thing I have noticed (and maybe it has something to do with settings I can change) is that when using a Speedlight, the exposure meter in the view finder is completely useless and I have to more or less look a the photo after I take it to make sure it was not over/underexposed. Is this just how the exposure meter works with Nikon Speedlights, or is my speedlight/camera not set up to work properly together?

Besides that, I just wanted to know if there were any tips anyone could give on how to make this a success, i.e. what exactly to shoot, what not to shoot, what settings to use, etc. I am not getting paid for this obviously, this is just a volunteer thing I am doing so they aren't expecting much, but I do try to take my photography seriously and I want to make a good name for myself with this ceremony.

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[Derrel]

I would shoot this in AF-S (autofocus, single-shot mode) with the AF assist lamp set to ON. The lens is not a stellar low-light focuser, and the AF assist light can help nail focus. Make sure the ISO level is at 400, 500, or 640. As the ISO value goes higher, the flash's relative reach goes up, and the higher ISO levels also help pick up ambient lighting. I would be very tempted to shoot this flash on camera, flash clicked to about the 60 degree tilt upward for shots made INSIDE of 10 feet, using the supplied snap-on flash diffuser cap.

For shots beyond 10 feet, use no diffuser, and flash aimed straight ahead. This is how I would tell a beginner to shoot this in a big venue.

If you happen to have it, use the fifth battery compartment in place of the regulae battery door: having that fifth battery really helps speed up the SB 800's recycle time Obviously, shoot in RAW mode.

 

[vintagesnaps]

If you've never done an indoor event and this isn't til next week I'd think about trying to find an event this weekend to go to where attendees can bring cameras and take pictures, so you can get in some practice (although at this point it's like cramming for a test).

I usually go early and walk around and see where everything's set up so I'll know what I'll want to get. I usually have done hockey etc. where flash isn't an option at event level so even though the light may appear brighter than it is, I look for where the light looks the best to avoid dark corners. You'll probably need to find out if you can use a flash; I use sharp prime lenses. There may not be time for a lot of changes to camera settings so it takes knowing what will work to be able to adjust quickly.

Things can happen fast during ceremonial events and you might need to know where to be and anticipate what's next. Go before the event and figure out where you'll need to set up. You'll need to be aware of where other people will be so you aren't in the way of what's happening and that you won't have people in your way of getting a shot as much as possible.

I've done ceremonies pregame or during intermission where there might only be time for a couple of shots or a few before they're rolling up the carpet; I don't know if things will happen that fast at this ceremony but if you have new equipment I'd practice all week - I'm not sure what causes you to need to check to see if you got a proper exposure but that could prevent you from getting shots so I'd get that figured out this week.