Greer Loc: SOUTH GEORGIA

Hey. I’m a newbie and wondered what settings would be best for a well lighted, indoor Christmas party.doing lots of portraits. Thanx

JimmyTB

I can't help you with settings, but when you get help is it possible to go to the venue with a friend before hand and practice in the exact lighting conditions?

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Digital.
Take some shots and see what works and make on the spot adjustments.
Not one person here can with a straight face give you any intelligent setting for an unknown condition.

ELNikkor

I always practice first, instant feedback from the rear screen is one reason digital is so much more convenient than film.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

As suggested, if you can go to the venue with someone and do test shots in the area where these portraits are to be taken. Otherwise, get there early and do the same.
If you are going to use a flash, this might make your job easier.

BebuLamar

All the others are right because we wouldn't know how bright a well lighted indoor Christmas party would be.
If the place is lighted with a lot of flourescent lighting then try f/5.6, 1/60, ISO 1600. But of course using flash or be there a head of time to make test shots is best.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

If possible set your subjects far away from Christmas lights so as to show large bokeh circles in the background. Use a 85-100mm focal length with a large aperture. Preferably use warm available light with a frontal dominance. Set white balance custom, or adjust with Kelvin/Tint to your preference with test shots. Use a tripod for shutter speeds slower than 1/60-1/100.

Dannj

If you can’t get to the venue before the event get there early with a volunteer. Pick a spot for your portraits and take some shots. Start with the settings you think will work, check the results and adjust from there.

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

It would be helpful to know what equipment you plan to use.There are a lot of variables that go into your decisions.

First is the ISO setting. With some cameras I would not go above 1600 ISO while I would not hesitate to go to 10000 ISO with my full-frame Sony A7 III mirrorless camera. Generally, the higher the ISO the higher the chance for noise, although different cameras have very different thresholds where noise becomes visible. Different photographers also have a different tolerance for noise. I would not underexpose images in the hopes that you can brighten the image in post. This actually will bring out the noise in your image.

The second question is if your camera body and/or lens are stabilized. I routinely shoot at 1/15 of a second hand-held with my Sony with IBIS and a stabilized, although motion blur is a concern, so this only works if people pose for you. With my old Nikon D7100 I would not have gone below 1/60 of a second.

The third factor is the lens. Obviously, a faster lens gives you more light. If you shoot portraits of individual people you can open up your lens. If you open up a lens to f/1.4 or f/1.8 you get a shallow depth of field which works fine for an individual portrait, but you also get a narrow depth of field that makes this less useful for group pictures because you will have a problem getting everyone in focus. So for groups I probably would not open the lens beyond f/4.

I would test this before the event and review your images on the computer screen before the shoot. For instance, you will not see excessive noise or a slight focus problem on the small screen on your camera. Good luck with your shoot.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Welcome to UHH Greer!

"...best for a well lighted, indoor Christmas party.doing lots of portraits..." Greer, you may be best served by bouncing an on-camera flash off the ceiling.... I shoot Nikon and use it's iTTL metering system with a Nikon Flash. Canon as a similar pairing with it's Canon flashes.

Please let us know what system you're shooting with so those with familiarity with same can provide appropriate guidance. Otherwise any response is no better than a guess from that posters perspective.

Below are two images with flash bounced off a ceiling...
btw, Nikon will not manager the flash beam spread once you start bouncing it off the ceiling, you'll have to configure that manually.

And like others have stated... For goodness sake please practice BEFORE you arrive at the event, k?
Final Thought? Relying on ambient is likely not going to yield commercial quality imagery... That is pretty much the purview of gifted masters of the craft. Experience is a brutal teacher, while ambient can occasionally work, you'll be more than likely dealing with poorly illuminated portraits... You need to get ample light into your subjects eyes...

Hope this helps..

Wishing you much joy for this wonderful Holiday Season Greer...

Illumination via a Nikon SB700 bounced off the ceiling... Exposure balanced TTL

(Download)

Illumination via a Nikon SB700 bounced off the ceiling... Exposure balanced TTL

(Download)

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

You have received some suggestions that may help you after you have some experience. They may or may not help you get started. I have some suggestions, but they may or may not be applicable depending on your camera and your experience. Please tell us a little more.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Great idea! I did that for out granddaughter's wedding (wedding and reception all in the same room).
The people owning the building and renting out that room even gave me some tips, where to stand for example.
My trial shots turned out nice, and even though 2 or 3 of the wedding shots were throw-aways, the majority turned out very nice thanks to visiting the venue beforehand and having a chat with the people running it.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Beautifully done 🏆❤️🏆❤️🏆

Najataagihe

<~~~ Straight face

Set everything to automatic - shutter speed, aperture and ISO.

Use flash pointed at ceiling.


Adjust settings, if you don’t like results, but modern digital cameras are so good at getting it right that you will get good results.

As a self-proclaimed newbie, you need to worry about the photo, not the camera.

The engineers who designed it know the vast majority of their products are not going to be used by professionals.

Trust them (but verify!).

Good luck!