[sleaver]

OK

The company my wife works for asked if I would be interested in taking some photos for them and she has kind of twisted my arm but I'm apparently going to be compensated for my time!

Its for a website (Astins Institute - Welcome) and it would be to promote women in the construction business. It would also be on two sites.

So, any advise on what I should be doing, equipment or settings would be good! I wouldn't use manual for this, so would aperture priority be OK?

what lens would be best? I have the choice of the 400D kit lens, 70-300 and nifty fifty. The kit lens would give me a zoom but should I see if any shoots araise that would benefit from the 50mm?

Should I think about using the flash (580 EX II)?

Sorry if I sound like I'm rambling, but something like this has never come up before.

The subject of how much hasn't come up yet but if I'm asked what should I say? Obviously I would keep in mind this would be my first one?

Also would the following be reasonable to ask for?

• I keep the copyright.
• Each photo used has my name with it. (They have already said this).
• I can use them for self promotion.

[johnaalex]

My tips would be to work out what you want to photograph then work out the best lens and settings to achieve the desired result. As these are going to be pictures for the web site think about what the picture will look like as part of a web page (size etc).

Aperture priority gives great control over depth of field so be sure you are comfortable with that concept. That is do you want a well focused picture of a person against blurred background (shallow DoF from low f number) or do you want all of the subjects in sharp focus (high f number, but try not to go above f16 as that can cause other problems).

[grantsteve]

Something like this ought to do the trick ...

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/1986824/2/istockphoto_1986824-female-construction-worker.jpg

... Sorry, I couldn't resist

[sleaver]

Thanks for all the usefull help so far!

As I have an external flash, at what sort of conditions should I start to think about using it? Also would it then be best to try and bounce it of a ceiling if one is avaliable?

Also, I only have one battery. Should that be enough for a few hours or should I maybe pop down to Jessops and get a second?

[fuzed]

get yourself a second battery, very important, just in case your other one goes on you (not that they normally do but you never know) I take 4 batteries with me when doing events/weddings and I take my charger just in case...

shooting with flash depends on the light you have in the location your shooting, if theres enough light you may not need flash, pushing the ISO up means you'll be able to take pics in darker situations without the need for flash... but that all depends on the lens your using as well.

but if your taking shots of people I would try a stofen omnibounce, do alot to reduce the harsh shadows you get when taking pictures... I'm no pro, but I think that should help a little - I would keep on asking those questions, only way to learn.

[stevegreen]

I would say the first thing you need to do is to find out what they want the photos of? What are they trying to achieve in the pictures? Where do they want them taken?

You can't really make any decisions about kit unless you know that.