[Magslad]

Hi everyone

Have been off the forums for quite a while now (basically a new job which has taken up all my time plus a fair bit of travelling over the past 6 months or so), but have missed the photography forum especially so now making an effort to get back into it as things have settled down a bit.

So I thought I'd start back with a question. It's my son's first communion on Sunday (plus 4 other kids), and knowing that I'm into photography the other mums and dads have asked me to do the group/individual photos. This is fine and I'm happy to do it, but I don't do much/any indoor photography (I'm more into wildlife/landscapes/architecture - I take plenty of shots of people but usually outside) plus I only have the onboard flash at the moment. I should be able to use a tripod, and the light is usually reasonable inside the church but not fantastic. My lenses are in my sig, but my current thoughts are:

- The Sigma 100-300 is obviously no use, and whilst I love my 18-200 VR as an everyday lens I'm presuming I'll get best results from the 50mm/1.8 and the 90mm/2.8 (although will this still struggle inside without decent flash?)
- Use my tripod
- Shoot in aperture priority (although I'll need to be careful for DOF on the group shots if I'm shooting at 1.8 with the 50mm)

So any thoughts/tips from anyone (Guy, if you're out there I know you'll have good advice, but the more the merrier folks ). Am I thinking along the right lines, or do I really need to go and invest in an external flash?

Aargh - first post back and I'm already looking to spend more money, I knew there was another reason I'd kept away from this place Still, I haven't bought any new kit for a while...

And if I should take the opportunity to buy an external flash (which would probably be the Nikon Speedlight SB800), what would be the idiot's guide to using it in this circumstance, bearing in mind I'll probably only have an hour or two to play with it before Sunday?

Any comments/advice gratefully received folks.

[Brammers]

How much have you got for flashes? I 'think' Nikon's flash system is the same as Minolta's, in that you can control flashes wirelessly using the kit built into the camera as standard.

In this case I'd be very tempted to spend £220 on 2 Sigma EF 500 Supers, place them wirelessly around your subject and shoot with the 18-200, having totally solved your lighting needs

Try to get hold of some diffusers too (even a white piece of paper) to soften the lighting. I'm guessing the church ceilings will be a little high to bounce off :P

Otherwise, take the 50 1.8, shoot at 2.2 (the extra sharpness and DoF will make up for the lack of speed), shoot ISO 1600 and convert to B&W for really simple, punchy shots

[grantsteve]

Off topic ... good to see you back Magslad, wondering where you got to. Your old D50 is still going strong BTW!

[Magslad]

How much have you got for flashes? I 'think' Nikon's flash system is the same as Minolta's, in that you can control flashes wirelessly using the kit built into the camera as standard.

In this case I'd be very tempted to spend £220 on 2 Sigma EF 500 Supers, place them wirelessly around your subject and shoot with the 18-200, having totally solved your lighting needs

Try to get hold of some diffusers too (even a white piece of paper) to soften the lighting. I'm guessing the church ceilings will be a little high to bounce off :P

Thanks Brammers.

I went for a little walk from the office this afternoon, and just happened to pop into Microglobe - as a result of which I ended up with a Nikon SB600, diffuser and a remote shutter control (£170 for all three, couldn't resist ).

So the problem of external flash is now solved, I might have to pop down to the church on Saturday and play about a bit to see what's going to work. Even though it's quite modern the ceilings in the church are relatively high and also at funny angles, so bouncing off them probably not an option.

Any other tips folks, now that I have a proper flash to play with?

Off topic ... good to see you back Magslad, wondering where you got to. Your old D50 is still going strong BTW!

Cheers mate, glad you're getting good use out of it. Must admit it feels nice to be back!

[Brammers]

Nice one So you can now trigger the flash remotely from the camera?

In that case stick it in a corner facing the reflector, so that the reflector bounces light back onto the group. Try to use it on manual mode - it'll be lovely to be in a 'studio' not having to worry about the technical settings at all - just focus, compose and shoot

You've only got one flash, so try to use it with the natural lighting. Say you've got light streaming in from one window, place it on the other side to ensure even lighting.

Also make sure it's fairly level at head/body height and is coming more from the front than the side or rear - don't want any haloween lighting on this! :P

[PaulBoy]

Hi Magslad - Don't know jack s about flash (although I must get round to getting one myself) - good to see you back :thumbs:
Paul

[Magslad]

Nice one So you can now trigger the flash remotely from the camera?

In that case stick it in a corner facing the reflector, so that the reflector bounces light back onto the group. Try to use it on manual mode - it'll be lovely to be in a 'studio' not having to worry about the technical settings at all - just focus, compose and shoot

You've only got one flash, so try to use it with the natural lighting. Say you've got light streaming in from one window, place it on the other side to ensure even lighting.

Also make sure it's fairly level at head/body height and is coming more from the front than the side or rear - don't want any haloween lighting on this! :P

Thanks Brammers.

I can trigger the flash wirelessly, but I don't have a reflector only a diffuser. What would be the benefit of having the flash wireless in this instance - would it be just to put it at one side to even up the lighting (i.e. if there is a window on one side), or is there something I'm missing?

I was thinking about having the flash (with diffuser) on the camera, set to rear sync or slow sync, and using it just to fill in the background/shadows better than onboard flash would do. Will this work or am I thinking along the wrong lines here?

[Magslad]

Hi Magslad - Don't know jack s about flash (although I must get round to getting one myself) - good to see you back :thumbs:
Paul

Cheers Paul - good to be back, even if it took the upgrade-itis less than 24 hours to hit me!