Inside Christmas Light Photoshoot Little to no light

[xxWesxx]

Okay, so I have some issues im having to work around. Im having a girl hire me for a photoshoot inside "Opry Mills Hotel" Which if you don't know is a very big Christmas decorations/ lights in a Hotel with nice rivers and very beautiful lights. Now. My issue is, My Camera can't go over 400 ISO without being very very noisy. Its very very dim except the Christmas lights inside the hotel. I have a Cannon Rebel T3i. I have a 50mm 1.8: 85mm 1.8 and a 18-55mm Lens Kit. I do not want to use a External Flash if at all possible. I do want to keep my f/stop at least 5.6 or above. Any suggestions, Comments.

Thanks!
-Wesley

 

[Designer]

Tripod.

You're welcome.

 

[Nevermore1]

As Designer said, a tripod. If you can I would look into possibly renting a different body. Also, verify with the hotel that they will allow photos, some do not.

 

[tirediron]

First and foremost, what kind of photoshoot? Christmas card? Glamour? Regardless, I can't imagine doing this sort of thing without lights, and my bodies shoot clean at ISO 3200! I think if you give us a better idea of what you mean by "photoshoot" it will help us help you.

 

[xxWesxx]

Tripod would be great, but hotel wont allow me to bring a tripod. My guess they think since most people dont have DSLRs that there will be crappy pics so they have there own photographers for more money. And I was thinking Glamour!

 

[tirediron]

A tripod would be of no use whatsoever, but lights would be. To me 'glamour' is a 2-3 light minimum set-up, and I suspect that if they won't allow you to bring in a tripod, lightstands and modifiers are probably a no-go from the start. Do you have the capability to trigger the flash off of the camera?

 

[Designer]

Im having a girl hire me for a photoshoot..

She wants glamor shots inside the hotel, only the hotel has no connection to this at all. Did it occur to anyone (your client) to ask permission of the hotel?

I thought you were going to shoot the decorations, in which case I would take a tripod and a cable release.

tirediron is correct; for a glamor shoot, you don't use a tripod, but you WILL need lights.

Now the question: Why don't you want to use external lights?

 

[Light Guru]

My issue is, My Camera can't go over 400 ISO without being very very noisy. Its very very dim except the Christmas lights inside the hotel. I have a Cannon Rebel T3i. I have a 50mm 1.8: 85mm 1.8 and a 18-55mm Lens Kit. I do not want to use a External Flash if at all possible. I do want to keep my f/stop at least 5.6 or above

Tripod would be great, but hotel wont allow me to bring a tripod.

Well your going to have to bend on one of those things.

Your best options.

Use a higher ISO (borrow or rend a better camera body if needed)
Use flash - THIS IS YOUR BEST OPTION.

 

[xxWesxx]

Well, Id love to use a flash as well. That would make the shoot a whole lot easier. Problem is, Hotel will not allow any flash photography whatsoever. No external lights. Now i might possibly be able to bring in a mono pod. MAYBE. The flash i wouldn't have a way of firing wireless. At least not as of now.

 

[TCampbell]

Question: "My client wants me to take photographs which conflict with the laws of physics. What should I do?"

Answer: The laws of physics _always_ win. Sorry.


The camera needs a certain amount of light to capture the exposure. Assuming the goal is to not have blurry photographs (if blurry photos are ok, you're in luck), then if the camera is not moving and also if the subject is not moving, then almost any amount of light is "enough" light because you can put the camera on a tripod and leave the shutter open as long as you need (trust me on this... astro-imagers take photos that involve HOURS of collecting light all to make a single exposure (although there's a LOT of technique that goes into this... it's not just a single shot to produce a single image.)) You won't need hours for rooms lit by holiday lighting.

The point is, there is a reason why they invented the tripod. Sometimes the tripod is the right tool for the job.

If the hotel won't permit the use of a tripod, and the amount of available light is inadequate for hand-held photography given the equipment you own, and you can't bring in your own supplemental lighting (or at least don't think you'd be satisfied with the results of any supplemental lighting you could manage to bring) then you're sort of at an impasse... pick a different venue or find a way to change the shooting circumstances.

If you're shooting hand-held, then you'll need a flash and you'll "drag the shutter" -- meaning you'll set a longer shutter exposure time then you'd normally consider. This is because the flash on your subject will be very brief but as the shutter continues to remain open the ambient light will fill in the background of the room.

As I dig through my own photos of holiday lighting (using no other lights) I see I have settings like ISO 3200 or 4000, an f/2.8 aperture, and shutter speeds around 1/40th to 1/60th. I have other shots that don't have people in them... just the room... they were taken at much lower ISO but the shutter speeds are also much longer (too long for a person to be able to remain still to avoid any blur.)

 

[runnah]

Well, Id love to use a flash as well. That would make the shoot a whole lot easier. Problem is, Hotel will not allow any flash photography whatsoever. No external lights. Now i might possibly be able to bring in a mono pod. MAYBE. The flash i wouldn't have a way of firing wireless. At least not as of now.

I don't see anyway that this would work. Even with a high iso body you are just going to end up with a bright but flat looking model.

 

[tirediron]

Well, Id love to use a flash as well. That would make the shoot a whole lot easier. Problem is, Hotel will not allow any flash photography whatsoever. No external lights. Now i might possibly be able to bring in a mono pod. MAYBE. The flash i wouldn't have a way of firing wireless. At least not as of now.

I don't see anyway that this would work. Even with a high iso body you are just going to end up with a bright but flat looking model.

I missed the word "hire" in my first reading of the OP. This is the part where you say to the client, "I'm sorry. My equipment, and/or the circumstance are not what is required to produce a professional quality product. Here's your retainer back. Perhaps we can do business at another time."

 

[Designer]

Well, Id love to use a flash as well. That would make the shoot a whole lot easier. Problem is, Hotel will not allow any flash photography whatsoever. No external lights. Now i might possibly be able to bring in a mono pod. MAYBE. The flash i wouldn't have a way of firing wireless. At least not as of now.

See, xxWesxx, this thread is highly suspect. Your statements are contradictory at best. I used to have to judge whether people were telling me the truth, and I'm pretty good at it. So either you don't want to be up front with us, or you have "forgotten" some important details.

You started by saying "I do not want to use a External Flash if at all possible."

Now the story is; ".. Hotel will not allow any flash photography whatsoever."

I think it is time to sit down with your client and discuss your (her) options.

 

[Light Guru]

You started by saying "I do not want to use a External Flash if at all possible."

Now the story is; ".. Hotel will not allow any flash photography whatsoever."

Good catch. So which is it? Why is the story changing?

 

[pjaye]

I also seriously wonder about someone who has a "professional" site but doesn't understand that his idea is not possible. Seriously?