Any help on this subject?

prestonjames09 · Aug 6, 2008

Hello, I'm new here. I guess you could say that overall I am a newbie. I have only taken two photography classes so far but plan to finish the degree program.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has some advice for me. I am about to do a photoshoot with a model in the next couple of days. I am working with a Canon 40d. We are doing an outdoor shoot and an indoor shoot. I have no access to a studio at this time so the indoor is going to have to be at my house with incandescent light unfortunately. I would really appreciate any tips or advice for making these photos turn out the best they can. I'm not as worried about the outdoor shoot as I am the indoor. Is there any way that I can make indoor shots look nice, even with incandescent light? Any thoughts on the outdoor or the indoor would be great!
Thanks

Big Mike · Aug 6, 2008

Welcome to the forum.

What lens or lenses are you working with?

When indoors, will it be bright enough outside to use window light?

When shooting with incandescent light, be sure to shoot in RAW so that you can adjust the WB afterward. If you have trouble getting a fast shutter speed, don't be afraid to push the ISO up to 1600 or even 3200...just make sure that you get good exposure...you want the histogram to be biased to the right (bright). When shooting at high ISO, adjusting the exposure up will bring out a lot of noise...but adjusting it down is better...so that's why you should 'expose to the right'. You might try shooting in 'Highlight tone priority'.

prestonjames09 · Aug 6, 2008

I'm using a 24-105mm IS lens. I'm worried about too much noise with the ISO up too high. Can't I just flood the room with lamps and turn on all the lights....lol

manaheim · Aug 6, 2008

prestonjames09 said:
I'm using a 24-105mm IS lens. I'm worried about too much noise with the ISO up too high. Can't I just flood the room with lamps and turn on all the lights....lol

You would be amazed how little that works. I often marvel at how much light it takes to expose pictures properly vs. what you and I can see with our very amazing eyes and brains.

You would also be amazed at how well "exposing to the right works", btw. There is a bit of camera shake on this, but this image is a good example taken at ISO 2000...