Settings for Photographing Christmas Carols

[shorty97]

Hey,

i am going to the Christmas Carols tonight and was wondering what settings I should use.

I'm thinking about ISO 400 , Shutter Speed: 1/40 , F-Stop: 11

What do you guys think?

Thanks Matt

 

[Natalie]

I don't think anyone on here is going to be able to tell you what settings to use, it greatly depends on the environment - i.e., how bright the stage lighting is, how far you're sitting from the actors, what kind of lens you're using, etc. For me personally I would start out at ISO 800 and adjust my settings from there, depending on what was necessary. You're likely going to want to shoot at a higher shutter speed than 1/40 sec, unless you're going to be in the far back with a tripod.

 

[Pau1]

How can you photograph a sound?

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

Natalie is on the correct wave length. It'd be quite hard for anyone to give suggestions not actually being there just experiment til you come out with a good exposure

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

Also if these folks are moving around at all. The shutter speed you mentioned is quite slow so you will prob get some motion blur

 

[Railphotog]

Most cameras have built in automation. Select a shutter speed that you think will stop movement and let the camera suggest the aperture. If you don't have enough aperture, keep on increasing the ISO until you do. No real need to ask others how to set your camera, they are quite capable on their own. Consider using an add-on flash.

 

[ph0enix]

How can you photograph a sound?

My sentiment exactly. I guess if you're good, you can photograph anything including sound, smell, taste, etc...

 

[Dagwood56]

Are you asking about photograhing a stage play - in which case you probably won't be allowed to take photos if its put on by professionals; or are you asking about taking photos of Christmas Carolers? Either way as has been stated by others, settings depend on the individual situation at hand.

 

[Kerbouchard]

f/11 and 1/40th of a second are a strange combination for anything that is moving. Like others have said, it's impossible for us to tell you what settings to use without being there, but the combination that you mentioned in your original post are not what I would start with. Something like that is more appropriate for landscapes from a tripod.

Assuming we are talking about a play, I would be at around ISO 800 or so, aperture wide open, and shutter speed balanced for the exposure I want. Unless it is an extremely well lit play, and then I would consider stopping down the aperture a bit. Just my .02

 

[redessa]

Without being there and seeing the light, there's no way for any of us to answer that. My kids have all had their Christmas band & choir concerts at school recently and in some cases I had to up my ISO to 1600 and open the apeture all the way (2.8) just to keep the shutter speed to a reasonable 1/80 - 1/100 (no flash photography allowed). And yes, as you might imagine, the pictures are fairly crappy; a lot of noise and it was difficult to get the focus right on at that f stop. They're pics of my kids meant for their scrapbooks so it's good enough for the intended purpose. And sure, I could have decided ahead of time that I was going to shoot at f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 400, but my pictures would have been completely black.

My point is, you can't predetermine what settings you are going to use until you get there and see what settings you need for the situation.