Help on first event?

[campeterz]

I am shooting my first event tomorrow, a rally at a friend's school. 3 friends and I are going over and helping out their yearbook crew at the school. It is indoors at the gym. For gear, I have a 20D with a 17-50 f/2.8 tammy, but I also have access to a speed light, a 50mm, and 85mm.
The thing is, I haven't really done photography for anything besides as a hobby. Do you have any good advice? I would love to impress my friends with some great shots!

 

[tirediron]

How close can you get to the participants? I would think that the 17-50 would be the lens to use; and either rig up a diffuser for the speedlight, or (if conditions permit) bounce it off of walls/ceilings.

Good luck!

 

[campeterz]

How close can you get to the participants? I would think that the 17-50 would be the lens to use; and either rig up a diffuser for the speedlight, or (if conditions permit) bounce it off of walls/ceilings.

Good luck!

I'm not sure how close I can get. This is one of those things where I am tempted to use the 50mm for the low f-stop (and possibly drop the speedlight), but also want to use the 17-50 so I don't miss a wide angle shot. I might just bring a bag with all three, and scope it out when I get there.

From what I can remember, the ceiling is relatively flat and low (for a gym), so bouncing is definitively an option.

 

[scorpion_tyr]

Take all three. Arrive with plenty of time to try everything out and see how it works. If the 85mm is of the f/1.8 variety that would be my first choice from shooting many indoor sporting events.