need Advice On Shooting Outdoor Event at Night: I am going to shoot my condo's holiday party which will be held outdoors at night. There are some outdoor lights but generally it is...

steveg48

I am going to shoot my condo's holiday party which will be held outdoors at night. There are some outdoor lights but generally it is fairly dark I tried this last year and had many out of focus shots. My plan is as follows:
Shooting with Nikon D800 and 50mm f1.8.
Will use aperture priority at F8.
Will use manual focus using viewfinder (not Live View)
Will use off camera Nikon SB-700 speedlight with an attached small softbox. I plan to use it in TTL mode.

I would appreciate comments on this plan and any suggestions are welcome. Thank you

jrb1213 Loc: McDonough GEorgia

why dont you pactice before hand? I would also consider a more open fstop, even down to 1.8 your lens is capable of. After all thats what you paid for in that lens.

charles brown Loc: Tennesse

Will the flash be on a stand or someone holding it?

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

steveg48 wrote:

I am going to shoot my condo's holiday party which... (show quote)

How are you going to control the SB700?
Cable? Wireless? Pop-up flash in commander mode?

Why manual focus? There's a focus assist light on both your camera body AND the SB700. Turn them ON. If you're trying to focus with your left hand, how are you going to hold the flash?

I run almost the same setup. SB800 with an external power pack on a monopod, with an extension cable. Having it on a monopod allows me to rest it on the ground, saving my left arm, AND it allows me to hoist the flash over my head if necessary.

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

jrb1213 wrote:

why dont you pactice before hand? I would also consider a more open fstop, even down to 1.8 your lens is capable of. After all thats what you paid for in that lens.

That will decrease his depth of field to almost nothing.
There was a thread a few days ago about shooting in a dance hall, where f 5.6 had one person's face in focus, and the one next to them, not.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

steveg48 wrote:

I am going to shoot my condo's holiday party which will be held outdoors at night. There are some outdoor lights but generally it is fairly dark I tried this last year and had many out of focus shots. My plan is as follows:
Shooting with Nikon D800 and 50mm f1.8.
Will use aperture priority at F8.

Yikes! f/8?

No way.

Shoot at your widest or close-to-widest aperture...f/1.8 or f/2

Quote:

Will use manual focus using viewfinder (not Live View)

Probably not a bad idea...try it both ways.

Quote:

Will use off camera Nikon SB-700 speedlight with an attached small softbox. I plan to use it in TTL mode.

Are these portraits or are you going to be walking around taking candids?

Even if you attach a "small softbox" to your flash...it will look bad...frontal flash assault is ugly.

Quote:

I would appreciate comments on this plan and any suggestions are welcome. Thank you

Personally..I'd use the 50mm...keep it wide open...and shoot people close to light sources and let the shadows be shadows...

Here is an example of what I mean: (not my image)

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

rpavich wrote:

Here is an example of what I mean: (not my image)

That image is no better than a P&S snapshot.
There's no definition to the face of the 'subject'.

And posting someone else's image without their permission AND credit, is not appropriate.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Wall-E wrote:

That image is no better than a P&S snapshot.
There's no definition to the face of the 'subject'.

And posting someone else's image without their permission AND credit, is not appropriate.

First off...I'm not talking about the image quality, I'm talking about the way the light is on their faces and the depth of field as a general approach.

Second, this is a public picture taken from the web...I made sure to note it wasn't mine.

Lastly...who asked you?

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

rpavich wrote:

First off...I'm not talking about the image quality, I'm talking about the way the light is on their faces and the depth of field as a general approach.

Second, this is a public picture taken from the web...I made sure to note it wasn't mine.

Lastly...who asked you?

Well, without the information about the shot, it's just a reasonable pic.

How do you KNOW it's a 'public' picture?
Does the website say so?
Or are you just making a wild-a _ _ assumption?

Lastly, YOU did, when you posted your reply.

steveg48

I will get someone to hold it. (Hopefully)

steveg48

I want to make sure the shots are in focus. I want a wider DOF. These do not have to be artistic. I just want to do a good job recording the event.

steveg48

Thank you. Control will be wireless (pocket Wizard). I may try the focus assist lights and autofocus as an experiment. I am taking a class and my teacher advocates doing everything in manual, including focus.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Wall-E wrote:

Well, without the information about the shot, it's just a reasonable pic.

I guess you feel like a forum sheriff today...**sigh**

You win I lose...(and the OP loses also...too bad)

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

steveg48 wrote:

Thank you. Control will be wireless (pocket Wizard). I may try the focus assist lights and autofocus as an experiment. I am taking a class and my teacher advocates doing everything in manual, including focus.

PWII's/III's? Or Flex?
TTL is only available with the Flex.

And your teacher isn't the one trying to do three things at once.

I'll wager that your teacher is an old film portrait guy.
Back when auto-focus was a dream.
Exposure and composition haven't changed, but the technology has. Handled properly, and having an understanding of it's limitations, auto-focus is used quite successfully every day by thousands of working photogs. Especially those NOT in a studio.

I, too, shot film with manual focus, and 24/36 shot rolls for a fair number of years. It was a great awakening when I could let the camera focus, and I could take several hundred shots without changing film. And a missed shot didn't cost me $1. I can capture way more of the 'cute' moments with the available automation. And for a lot less money.

cthahn

steveg48 wrote:

I am going to shoot my condo's holiday party which... (show quote)