I am shooting a College Graduation - HELP!

[jessography]

One of the Nursing Colleges Coordinator's asked if I can shoot their Graduation, and of course I couldn't say NO!

Any suggestions of a Lens? I believe it'll be more of up close shots of the students getting pinned and receiving their diplomas.

It'll be in-doors.

I have a Nikon D3100 which is incredible with Low Light.

Do you think Standard Lens 18-55mm would do the job? Any suggestions would help!

Thank you

 

[bigtwinky]

Your camera is not incredible in low light. It is a step up from a point and shoot, but behind other models.

Can you use flash? You might want to get a hotshoe flash
How about a 50mm 1.8? Cheap lens, good low light. I dont know newer nikon entry level cameras, but back in the d40 days, you needed to buy a lens with a focusing motor as the body didnt have one.

But hey, sounds like expectations arent too high. If you arent being paid then go have fun with what you have

 

[KmH]

Yes, I think your 18-55 will do the job, if you use strobed light. Without strobed light a different lens in that focal range, will work. You could pre-focus manually for the 'getting pinned and receiving their diplomas' shots and would not need an AF-S lens. In that case Nikon's AF 50 mm f/1.8G ($130, new), which will not auto focus on your D3100, may be your best solution. (Note: That lens will send distance info to your D3100 so it will still light the in-focus indicator in the D3100 viewfinder. You just need to turn the focus ring on the lens instead of a motor doing it for you.)
Your D3100 doesn't do quite as well in low light as a D90, as bigtwinky mentioned.

Plus using strobed lighting effectively is much more involved than just putting a speedlight (strobe, or flash unit) on the hot shoe and snapping away. If you are not already familiar with how to used stobed light I would not recommend you use it.

Hopefully, you will have advance access to the graduation venue so you can make some test shots before the event.

Were you to opt to go with strobed lighting, I would strongly recommend you use a flash baracket to get the strobe even further above the lens axis than the camera hot shoe.

I've always used 2 shooters for a graduation. One to shoot the getting pinned and receiving their diplomas, and the second shooting individual 3/4 portraits just off stage.

 

[TJ Donegan]

Keith is definitely right there: keep it simple if you can, work with what you know how to do. You don't want to cope with shooting in an unfamiliar environment while also applying techniques you're not familiar with. I'd say the kit lens is going to struggle a bit there as you're likely going to only have access to apertures of 5.6 and smaller unless you're doing the pinning! How are these photos going to be used? Are they going on the web, small prints or will they be larger than 8.5x11''?

I'd say opt for something like the Nikkor AF-S 85mm ED f/3.5 VR lens. You can grab that for under $500 and it's a great lens to have in your kit for all kinds of shooting and it will autofocus just fine on any of the Nikon models that lack a focusing motor (D3100/3000/5000/40/40x/etc.)

 

[crimbfighter]

Something else to keep in mind, is the type of lighting. I discovered the high pressure sodium lights used in my local arena cause really weird coloration. As I understand it, this is because the high pressure sodium lights don't emit the full spectrum of light, or something like that. As a result, I often needed a light source bright enough to completely over power the arena lights. When I work the college graduations at the same place, I noticed the photogs hired for the event were setting up large, powerful strobes for the 3/4 portraits, just like KmH mentioned above. When asked why, they said a) it provides better light (obvious) and b) they wanted to make sure they completely over power the stadium lights. Of course, if you're shooting outside it's a mute point. Just something else to keep in mind when you scope out the venue, you may have to over power the native lighting.

 

[JimO]

Your lens will also depend on where they will allow you to be positioned. If you are on-stage the 18-55 will work as well as the 85mm suggested. If they have you off stage or set at a distance you may have to look at longer zoom to frame the shot. If this is the first time you are shooting at this location, preparation is key to success. Getting onsite and taking test shots in advance will ensure you capture the images and exposure properly.

 

[MichaelsImage]

Your kit lens will do the job if you have adequate light, and that's really all there is to it. I'm assuming your widest aperture is f/3.5 and that's probably not fixed so unless you keep your lens set at 18mm, you'll be working with an aperture between f/4.5 and f/5.6(or higher) which will greatly reduce your shutter speed when shooting indoors. Keep in mind that, ideally, you don't want to hand-hold while shooting with a shutter speed below 1/60(or even 1/80 depending on your experience level).

The kit lens that came with my Nikon gave me many great shots-outdoors! However, the quality of the indoor images with that lens was unacceptable because most indoor venues are poorly lit. This is why I purchased a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8(fixed aperture, which means no matter your focal length, the aperture stays at f/2.8) This lens was worth every penny of the $500 it cost me, maybe more.

Again, if the lighting is great, then you will probably be ok. If it isn't great, you will be disappointed with the results. And keep in mind that on the LCD screen they ALL look good, but when you see it full sized on your computer screen, the out-of-focusness( ) will jump right out at ya!

 

[Felix 222]

nikon 50mm 1.8 is the best reasonably priced lens for the job. its actually an 80mm zoom on your cropped body camera which makes it even better.

 

[imagemaker46]

Beyond all the advice of what is right to use, why not just tell them to hire a professional photographer to cover the event and save the stress. Maybe in the future when you are asked to do something that is outside your skills and experience recommend that they use someone that doesn't have to come on a forum and find the possible answers.

 

[Forkie]

Beyond all the advice of what is right to use, why not just tell them to hire a professional photographer to cover the event and save the stress. Maybe in the future when you are asked to do something that is outside your skills and experience recommend that they use someone that doesn't have to come on a forum and find the possible answers.

Yes. Turn everything that might be a challenge down and gain zero from zero experience. Great way to learn, that. :scratch:

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Yes. Turn everything that might be a challenge down and gain zero from zero experience. Great way to learn, that. :scratch:

If I'd have paid 40 grand to go to college, and spent 4-6-8 years of my life studying my ass off to get a flippin degree - on graduation day, I think I'd prefer to have someone who had a clue, taking my pictures! I'm juss sayin.....

 

[imagemaker46]

Well Forkie, there is a time and place to gain experience and shooting a graduation, or anything else that can't be re-shot, that is a one off, isn't the place to learn. You want to learn shoot something pick an assignment that can be set up and re-shot again when you screw up. If you are "required" to produce quality images, then you had better know what you are doing when you accept the task. If you shoot it and blow it, the only thing that you will have learned is that you should have said no in the first place, the experience you will have gained is zero, the chances on being asked to shoot again by anyone that didn't get their graduation photos is also zero.

 

[Joves]

Well Forkie, there is a time and place to gain experience and shooting a graduation, or anything else that can't be re-shot, that is a one off, isn't the place to learn. You want to learn shoot something pick an assignment that can be set up and re-shot again when you screw up. If you are "required" to produce quality images, then you had better know what you are doing when you accept the task. If you shoot it and blow it, the only thing that you will have learned is that you should have said no in the first place, the experience you will have gained is zero, the chances on being asked to shoot again by anyone that didn't get their graduation photos is also zero.

Exactly! Then you have alot of people who will have less than fond memories of you when they talk about their school days. The way to learn is as an assistant if you plan on going pro and, then moving up to second shooter.