Night time shooting??

[frommrstomommy]

Eek!! I'll be shooting a military homecoming relatively soon and rumor is it might be a night time homecoming. Tips?? Flash?? I never use flash!!! And it's not like I can really "set up" either.

 

[Derrel]

A lot of times, flash works best when shot at ASA 400, for multiple reasons.

The biggest worry when shooting nighttime flash is that on close-up subjects surrounded by a lot of "night", that the flash will "see"all the black, and will therefore blast out a lot of extra light, and cause massive over-exposure of close-range people and objects. This depends somewhat upon the sophistication of the camera/flash combo, and what kind of metering mode the flash is in.

If you have a high-end, TTL flash that goes with your camera, you're probably okay. Something like a night-time homecoming event...is probably best going to be shot with a flash unit, from 10-15 feet distant. The best tip is this:arrive at the area the event will be held at, and take a few test shots, of the exact kind you will be making...and use those as a guideline.

 

[xxWesxx]

I cannot stress this enough, SET YOUR ISO LOW, If you don't do this, you will have so much noise especially at night time. You really dont have to get a Hotshoe flash, You can buy what they call a onboard Flash Diffuser for about $10.00 depending on where you buy it. Amazon would be a great place to look for a diffuser. Or you can make yourself one, Many great tutorials on that.

 

[KmH]

The built-in flash unit doesn't have very much power.

Eventually, you really need to get and learn how to use a hot shoe flash unit. Using supplemental light is an essential part of doing photography.
Most of the books on how to do 'available light' photography even have a chapter on using a flash unit in daytime for fill and other things.
Doug Box's Available Light Photography: Techniques for Digital Photographers

 

[xxWesxx]

^^ for hot shoe your looking to spend a pretty good chunk of change for a new hot shoe flash, now this website im about to give you, you can get used equipment, which i would recommend going for, Buy and Sell used cameras and lenses - B&H Photo Video

 

[frommrstomommy]

Amazon.com: Yongnuo YN-560 II Speedlight Flash for Canon and Nikon. GN58.: Camera & Photo

I have one of those.. I just apparently need to read the manual because I haven't a clue how to use it. lol

 

[frommrstomommy]

Well, good (maybe good?) news.. its at night still but will be indoors! I am no stranger to crappy indoor lighting.. lol so I am hopeful I can pull this off with a bit of dignity even.