tips appreciated

[stocke2]

I have been wanting to get into portraiture, and now I apparently have my chance, kinda. I have been volunteered to do pictures at vacation bible school at my church this year. Someone just snaps photos with a little point and shoot.

basically they have a little space set up for individual photos of the kids then you also do class pictures, that is usually done over the course of the first 2 days.

then you also take pictures of the gerneral happenings the other days and at the end of the last day they do a litle program and sing a couple songs and you take pictures of that.

the kids are between the ages of 4 and 5th grade.
probably about 50+ kids

the building has a very high ceiling, except in the oart where you do individual pictures(is about the only place in the building you can actually use a bounce flash, and the lighting in the building is crappy, will be at night. I am probably going to pick up a 50mm f1.8 prime before that.

te eveny is not untill june 17 so want to practice some different stuff with my kids and all to get ready, they have always had really quick, not very good snapshots and I would like to be able to give them somthing better this year, andy tips anyone can give me would be great.

thanks in advance.

 

[stocke2]

the theme this year is secret agents kids, if that makes any difference to anyone

 

[Garbz]

If you get the chance go in and test the bounce flash idea. There's nothing worse than going somewhere with a plan in your mind and then having to make it up when you get there because the ceiling isn't reflective enough or too far away etc.

 

[stocke2]

yea, I plan on trying that out. I also plan on taking my wife to help out, not sure how a reflector will work under those circumstances, but maybe should try that ot as well.

any tips on general stuff like how best to pose them and get them done relatively quickly, I will have to shoot like 50+ kids in 2 days and I think it is only like 2 or 3 hours each day, or as anyone shot classes doing activities like I will also have to do, and what kind of composition and all has worked well for others under those circumstances.

 

[JIP]

I thnk if you have 2+ days to shoot 50+ kids you should at least have time to figure out the logistics on-site. I would suggest bringing as much gear as you have to account for most different situations. I don't know what you already have but a wide angle might be advantageous for some of the group shots depdnding on room size. I hope to see the results here good luck!!

 

[stocke2]

only get max 2 days to shoot all the kids, they bring them over one at a time durring their snack time, so you have approx 20 min per class, the other days are for shooting everything else.

I have a digital rebel xt(really wish I could afford a 5d), the kit lense 17-55mm a quantaray 70-300mm(not the greatest lense but does do some good work). The bigest problem with these lenses is they are pretty slow, and once it is dark this building needs a fast lense. I am looking at getting a canon 50mm f1.8, or if I can afford it before the shoot a cannon 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.8.

I also have a 430ex speedlight, and hopefully before june( I am supposed to get a raise at the beginning of june) I can get either a flash bracket, or a canon remote trigger for the flash, so that I can get the flash off camera.

I am a catachist for middle shoolers at the same building on wednesday nights, so next wednessday I will shot some photos of the inside of the building to give you a feel for the conditions I will be working under.

 

[stocke2]

also, what do you think of getting a sigma EF 500 DG Super to put on camera used as a master and use the 430ex as an off camera slave to give me more lighting options?

 

[EOS_JD]

85 f1.8 would be a great choice. 430 EX bounced should do fine although yes a bracket will help.

Don't use the 85 wide open as you'll probably find depth of field very small. Get distance to subject and aperture to calculate the depth of field. (do a search on depth of field calculators)

 

[KaraM]

I have a digital rebel xt(really wish I could afford a 5d), the kit lense 17-55mm a quantaray 70-300mm(not the greatest lense but does do some good work). The bigest problem with these lenses is they are pretty slow, and once it is dark this building needs a fast lense. I am looking at getting a canon 50mm f1.8, or if I can afford it before the shoot a cannon 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.8.

I know people say that the 50mm/1.8 is a great lens and all, but I find that it is pretty slow in low light situations. I had to shoot our Easter Vigil Mass with that lens (and without a flash) and it didn't perform as well as I hoped it would. Is there any way you can rent lenses locally? If so, spending a few dollars to rent a better lens might be worth it. If not, http://www.photolensrental.com/ may be a good idea (a friend of mine uses them often and has great experiences with them).

 

[stocke2]

I know people say that the 50mm/1.8 is a great lens and all, but I find that it is pretty slow in low light situations. I had to shoot our Easter Vigil Mass with that lens (and without a flash) and it didn't perform as well as I hoped it would. Is there any way you can rent lenses locally? If so, spending a few dollars to rent a better lens might be worth it. If not, http://www.photolensrental.com/ may be a good idea (a friend of mine uses them often and has great experiences with them).

Unfortunately I have found no place to rent locally, if I could I would rent the canon 85mm 1.2L I hate to do it mail order beacause I am afraid if somthing happens to the lense, especially in transport I will have to pay for a $1700 lens. I may be able to scrape for the 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.8(each about $300) but at $70 I will prolly grab a 50mm f1.8 for right now leaving me enough for probably a light stand/umbrella and an ebay trigger set. to give me better lighting options.

I am not being paid for the shoot(all volunteer work) although there is a possibility if I can do decent portraits I can sell the parents some prints.