Flash photo portrait help (Page 2): walmart sell a sunpack flash that is dedicated on canon , the other one does nikon . . that would be a step up to the one on camera .then , practice...

agillot

walmart sell a sunpack flash that is dedicated on canon , the other one does nikon .[$65 ] . that would be a step up to the one on camera .then , practice in your house .

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

I agree the pop up flash is too weak for the distance and will be a battery drain anyway. If access to this site is available ahead of time, I would suggest taking a friend along and taking a number of photos of the friend and track your varied settings then plan to use the settings that produce the best results. This exercise will open your eyes to this type shooting and help you with this and other things down the road.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

If you use the internal flash remember it, too, is powered by the camera battery! I would carry a fully charged spare as well as making sure the in camera one is fully charged. Set red-eye reduction ON. This causes a pre-flash to make the subject's iris close down.

I would set the white balance to fluorescent and check the results before the session starts.

Autofocus!

Set the camera to Tv with shutter speed as fast as can be used for flash (1/200 or 1/250 depending on camera ability) and see if this makes an adequately exposed image.

1950Dan Loc: Lockwood, Nevada

I was surprised to find that the popup flash on my 7d at ISO800 could cover shots 20 feet away in dim fluorescent light using the 18-135mm

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

PHRubin wrote:

I would set the white balance to fluorescent and check the results before the session starts.

If ever a situation called for setting a custom WB, a mix of unknown fluorescents and flash is it.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

1950Dan wrote:

I was surprised to find that the popup flash on my 7d at ISO800 could cover shots 20 feet away in dim fluorescent light using the 18-135mm

Well, we can raise the ISO on any camera to increase the reach of a flash, but that does not change the fact that the pop-up flash is the world's worst light for any portrait work. It is fine for snapshots or to use outside as a fill, but that is about it. In fact, the farther the subject is from the camera, the worse the light becomes (in quality not intensity).

Photocraig

Two suggestions.
Mandatory: DO NOT use your lens hood on the lens. The pop-up will cast a shadow of the hood, even at a low "Catch light" setting. As Captain C helpfully suggests.
Beg borrow or get a loan for this very good cause of a manual flash, optical slave and stand for use off camera. Most Camera stores have some used equipment that may be available for loan or rent. Also, see if you know a Camera Club member in your town, or look one up and ask for help. Or your local Community college or Adult education department. Somebody has an old flash, optical slave and stand. Ask around.

All the other suggestions are great and will help. But your effort to bring some happiness to families in this difficult situation through Photography needs to be supported. Ask around. I'm sure one or the other of my local stores would be ready to help me do this if this were my situation. You have a little time. Get the word out and hope for the best.

I'm rooting for you but for your sake and the people's sake, get a little help. The smiles when they see your prints will be the best Christmas present you ever got. Remember. this is a Community Service job, people want to help. And your equipment needs are minimal at less than $100 used. Somebody has that stuff near you, seek and you will find.

C

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

JCam wrote:

I have been volunteered (drafted) to take Christmas party portraits at the local 'detention center' in a couple of weeks hosted by a local charity organization; it's an annual event. The subjects will be inmates and their families at some sort of a table & chair setup. There maybe a screen behind them, but I don't know yet. I have not been to the venue to see how complex the task may, but plan to do that this week. From what I've heard the physical conditions are pretty lousy--fluorescent lamps in the ceiling, some Christmas colored lights, distance from camera to subjects about 15' and I won't have the opportunity to experiment onsite. Apparently this is setup for a high speed taking and printing operation. They use two or three different chips, taking four or six shots then removing the chip inserting a new one while the old goes to the printer--no PP involved. The process is then repeated until all the pictures are taken. I have absolutely no info on the typical number of shots.

My camera is a Canon 60D and I'll be using the 18 - 135 mm kit lens that I've had for several years and will be using the built in flash which I seldom use, and the AutoFlash function or Shutter priority @ about 1/60-100. These will all be JPEG shots as we don't have to PP. I'll take a small table to set the tripod upon and use a remote release; my tripod doesn't elevate enough for my old back to comfortable using the viewfinder for the time that may be necessary.

My questions are 1. Will the AWB handle that mix of colors? If not????
2. I usually set my camera to the "Large-Fine" photo quality which at 3:2 ratio gives a 72" x 48" photo file-- 17.9 MP; they want to print 4" x 6"s which I think restricts the ratio to 3:2 and the quality to "small (S1)/fine" or "S1/Normal)" both yielding 4.5 MP. Which would be better? Alternate Recommendations?
3. Since the kids will probably not stay put long enough for a manual focus, I expect to use Auto A1Focus. Do I also turn on the AF Assist Flash beam also? I've never used it.
4. At 15' the manual indicated an ISO of 400. Does that seem OK or should I use Auto ISO?
5. Given the questionable venue setup, would it be of any help to set the camera for the 'Vivid' ambience setting?

As I readily admit I may be in "over my head" on this, should I just turn on the Auto flash and let the camera do the work? Does that function also turn on the Flash assist beam?

Thanks for any advice.

I have been volunteered (drafted) to take Christma... (show quote)

#1 - As long as you like green yes, otherwise no - under fluorescent, suggest using manual balance or at least turn camera to fluorescent WB setting. One or two youtube tutorials will make you an expert in no time.
#2 - Large/Fine should work nicely.
#3 - Suggest using Auto Servo mode and leave it there.
#4 - Suggest relying on conditions on site for manual ISO, or better yet, Auto ISO should handle it. If you use pop-up flash, you may need more than 400. Without being there, we are doing a lot of guessing.
#5 - With no editing I prefer "Standard" for picture style. This is more a personal taste than a "recommended" setting in my opinion.

* Also strongly suggest reading Neil Van Niekirks tutorials on flash. Lots of good stuff. IMO, he is a master of using flash.
* Please consider picking up a cheap manual flash on craigslist or ebay. It will almost insure a successful shoot with the other posted tips. The 60D is a good camera but not sure it will handle noise well at high ISO?
* Great idea using a table tripod with remote on a table to get the camera close to level with subjects. Tripod and remote or delayed shutter, will be your friend for this event.
* Suggest using "Aperture Priority" for portraits rather than "Shutter Priority". Only guessing, but based on your description thinking f/5.6 - f/11 will be your range. If subjects are posed very close to the same plane, you can go to a larger aperture (smaller number), if they are seated in rows, you will need a smaller aperture (higher number) to keep everyone in focus ( see "depth of field")
What If - you purchased or borrowed a manual flash for this gig? Suggest bringing a cheap piece of white poster board (walmart) or white foam core about 20"x30". Since you will be at a table yourself - hold poster board slightly above camera and slightly angled toward subjects - swivel flash from front to back and angle up a couple of clicks - use remote to trigger shutter or use delayed shutter on camera while holding the "reflector". It should broaden your light considerably, reduce or eliminate any red-eye and produce a more balanced light source for you. I would start at 1/4 power and adjust up or down from there.
You may also consider bringing in a work light or two from home and use those. Once they are dialed in with camera settings at a fixed distance, you are good to go for the entire event. Same with flash set up.
Whatever you end up using - urge you to practice at the site before they bring in the subjects. Best of luck to you. Let us know how it went.

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

CaptainC wrote:

Sometimes the proper response is: "I do not have the equipment or skill for this."

...especially since it sounds like you are hamstrung and handcuffed by the authorities in charge.

If I were doing this I'd use a powerful studio strobe, large umbrella or softbox, FIXED aperture zoom, and not worry about the fluorescents or whatever they have.

Maik723

I recommend a small (inexpensive) device called a pop-up flash diffuser. This attaches to the pop-flash and softens the harshness of the flash. I used this for a Christmas/Birthday party last year and got stunning results. Explore this device on Amazon. They also offer devices that attach to the front of the pop-up flash that redirects the flash to bounce off the ceiling. This is good also and should work for you. Your remedy to this photo session is not calculus. Try this, it will work. Test shots first,,,,,,,,,,make adjustments then DO ITTTTT. Good luck.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

Maik723 wrote:

I recommend a small (inexpensive) device called a ... (show quote)

That thing is not a diffuser, it is a disperser. They are not the same. It sorta works by spreading the light over a larger area. By effectively bouncing light off wall and ceilings it does help to soften the light a bit at the expense of eating a lot of it. The ONLY thing that makes light softer is a large source CLOSE to the subject. That is just physics of light. This little disperser does help with that.

Maik723

CaptainC wrote:

That thing is not a diffuser, it is a disperser. They are not the same. It sorta works by spreading the light over a larger area. By effectively bouncing light off wall and ceilings it does help to soften the light a bit at the expense of eating a lot of it. The ONLY thing that makes light softer is a large source CLOSE to the subject. That is just physics of light. This little disperser does help with that.

Either way,,,,,,,,,,,diffuser,,,,,,disperser,,,,,,,,, the damn thing works and I have $2,349.35 in my savings account and lots of satisfied customers to prove it. No physics involved,,,,,,,just Economics.

Joe Domin

All the suggestions are good ones I would like to add a little more info on this huge project. One is make sure you have an identifying number for each photo you shoot. Also to have a name connecting to it in case you maybe be required to get a certain photo for whoever. Believe me it will happen. Maybe your assistance can help here. That is I'm assuming that you will be shooting hundreds of portraits.

Bunkershot Loc: Central Florida

Sorry for the perhaps late response, but I thought you should hear about a recent experience that I had. I too was sort of drafted to take shots of people, something I've not liked to do because I've not had great results with flash. So, for the first time, I set my camera on auto ISO, aperture at f/5.6, shutter speed at 1/100 and just shot. Lighting was fluorescent so I set white baLance on auto. All the photos were well exposed. Now when I'm drafted for one of these assignments I no longer agonize over it. You're not being asked to create a piece of art, just decent photos. Keep it simple...

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Bunkershot wrote:

Sorry for the perhaps late response, but I thought... (show quote)

I'd say you were lucky if you got good quality lighting from overhead fluorescents. Getting correct exposure isn't that hard, or white balance either if you shot RAW. but just the quality of the light from overhead lighting.