A quick flash senario questions

[jimbob12]

Hi there just a few questions I need help with..
Using a 7d and a 580 ex2 flash, when shooting a social event with low lighting in a reasonably large room
would the best way to use the flash by bouncing off the ceiling with the bounce card out or just use a stofen diffuser on the flash?
Now I'm unsure of the height of the ceiling yet il find that out when I get there, the wall is all glass so that wouldn't help much I assume...
Also when shooting in portrait view should I aim the flash up or should I try bouncing off the walls if I can or just aim straight at the person with reduced power??

[kiwi]

id bounce if you can, but yes, get some going forward if you can otherwise youll get panda eyes. Stoffen diffuser is better than naked but only marginally so. Get as much ambient as you can without being too noisy using ISO

Be careful bouncing off walls where the walls are coloured

[Scotty72]

id bounce if you can, but yes, get some going forward if you can otherwise youll get panda eyes. Stoffen diffuser is better than naked but only marginally so. Get as much ambient as you can without being too noisy using ISO

Be careful bouncing off walls where the walls are coloured

Unless the ceiling is very low, I'd be doing what the bird says.

Keep the shutter as slow as you dare - flash will help freeze as will a monopod. Keep the flash power to a minimum.

[jimbob12]

hmm so if i set iso to around 400? and power down the flash that should give a nice mix of ambience and flash?
theres no monopod so the s/speed will need to be up a bit to stop movement..

[Scotty72]

7d.

No reason why you can't go 1600 (perhaps more)

It better to get correctly exposed sharp pics even if they have a hint of noise than dark, fuzzy pics that will get noisier when you try to correct with PP

[Tannin]

Good thread. Excellent advice from Kiwi in particular.

No reason why you should need more than ISO 400, maybe 800 if the room is reasonably small and you are using a 580EX II. (Any room you can comfortably fit 20-odd people in should be fine). That's getting fairly low shutter speeds and requiring a moderate aperture, but nothing you can't handle with care and attention. You will probably find that you don't need much FEC, possibly none at all.

Always try to avoid aiming the flash straight at the subject, it only really works if you have off-camera flash (such as a bracket).

Bounce off the walls if you can, ceiling if you can't, diffuser if all else fails.

[Scotty72]

Good thread. Excellent advice from Kiwi in particular.

No reason why you should need more than ISO 400, maybe 800 if the room is reasonably small and you are using a 580EX II. (Any room you can comfortably fit 20-odd people in should be fine). That's getting fairly low shutter speeds and requiring a moderate aperture, but nothing you can't handle with care and attention. You will probably find that you don't need much FEC, possibly none at all.

Always try to avoid aiming the flash straight at the subject, it only really works if you have off-camera flash (such as a bracket).

Bounce off the walls if you can, ceiling if you can't, diffuser if all else fails.

Yep, whilst the 7d can easily handle more, don't go over 800 if you can avoid it.

Scotty

[jimbob12]

So if I try the settings of approx 2-400 iso with a s/speed of 60upwards and an ap of 2.8-3.5 I should have a good base to work from?

[Scotty72]

Yeah. Depends on the light.

If it is a dark sort of room, like a reception hall with a dance floor, I'd go higher (400-800 ISO) so you can drag in the ambient light.

1/60 should be ok (unless you are a very nervous / shaky type or your subjects are pumping & grinding on the dance floor.

I would be careful of f/2.8 as you may get some DOF issues (esp if you are in their faces). f/4-5.6 should be good.

By way of eg.

The attached photo, I took at a school formal (my students).

ISO 3200 (it was very dark and they were moving pretty quick) (_MG_2989ap.jpg_MG_2999ap.jpgjudge yourself if noise was a huge issue).
F/4 (you might notice the girls' hands are getting pretty out of focus)
SS 1/80
Flash (manual) from memory, at either 1/32 or 1/64 pointing over my right shoulder at a 10ft ceiling. (about 30 degress from verticle)
Canon 7d

#2 same settings
demostrating why f/2.8 may be a prob. The lady on the left is quite a bit closer to the camera.

[jimbob12]

Thanks for the info Scotty I'm viewing on my iPhone so I can't tell about the noise, but that is the look I'm aiming for so il start from those settings and see how it goes