Convention Shooting Tips

deimosmasque · 08-25-2008, 07:34 PM

Hello everyone, this is my first post.

I'm heading to DragonCon this weekend and I wanted to know if anyone has any tips for getting good pictures in a convention setting. I tend to get things that are very shadowed and dark.

I'm using a Pentax K10D with a Pentax 18-250 Lens and a Sigma EF-530 DG Super flash.

rfortson · 08-25-2008, 07:52 PM

Well, you'll need the flash for sure. If you're shooting lots of quick shots in succession, you can cut the flash output by 1/2 and bump up the ISO (at the risk of noise). This will allow the flash to recycle faster.

Other than that, don't expect miracles. You'll have a hard time getting a good overview shot that's sharp if the lighting is like most conventions.

You could try some creative shots. Get off to the side somewhere with a tripod (slightly above the crowd, if possible) and take a longer exposure shot at low ISO without the flash. The crowd blur will be pronounced, but it might give you a cool effect. Also, try trailing curtain flash, which will allow some ambient light in first (blurring the subject) and then the flash will pop and you'll freeze the subjects close to you.

*Clicker* · 08-25-2008, 07:57 PM

Me, i would shoot tight in crowds like interesting faces, clothing accessories and when you're in the clear just ask if some of the people would pose for you but you should offer them your online site or email them a copy of their image.

The above should work well with crowds, pretty much takes flash out of the equation, with the people who pose for you pick a monotoned background like a wall or a big bright window, just use enough fill light to balance foreground to background i would go for a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio.

Steinback · 08-25-2008, 08:25 PM

Running some sort of diffuser on your flash, or bouncing it off of either the ceiling or a wall (if they happen to be close and a light enough colour) can help to cut shadows. Reducing flash intensity and shutter speed and using more natural/ambient light (longer exposures, if people aren't moving too quickly) can also help to cut shadows and make your backgrounds look brighter, especially in areas that are too large for your flash to light on its own.

*nupentaxian* · 08-25-2008, 08:46 PM

use my PAP (press and pray) technique

deimosmasque · 08-25-2008, 09:27 PM

Thank you very much for all your help guys! I really appreciate it.

What about a bounce card? I read that it can help in high ceiling areas like hotel lobbies and churches. Has anyone ever used one?

jgredline · 08-25-2008, 10:25 PM

That lens will be your enemy. Keep and eye on the AV setting. Try and keep it at F/3.5 -4.0...really a fast 50 f/1.4 or a DA*50-135 f/2.8 would be ideal.

Marc Sabatella · 08-26-2008, 11:33 AM

The problem with flash in environments like conventions is that it can only illuminate a limited distance in front of you. So you'll get nicely exposed stuff a few feet away, but stuff in the distance is going to be dark. So the trick would be to be close to whatever you want to take pictures of and not expect much to be visible in the background. If you *want* the background visible, then it's time to turn off the flash and rely on available light, which will have the advantage of being more consistent throughout the room. Your lens is not going to be a great choice, since it doesn't have a particularly wide maximum aperture, meaning you'll have trouble getting fast enough shutter speeds. But your best chances will be t the widest end of the zoom range, both because it has the largest maximum aperture there, and also because you don't *need* as fast a shutter speed at wider angles. So I'd turn up the ISO as high as you can, zoom all the way to 18, shoot in Av mode, select the smallest f-stop number you can (probably 3.5), and see if the resulting shutter speed is one that has any chance at all of producing a sharp picture. If not, dial in negative exposure compensation to speed the shutter than expect to have to fix in in PP.

deimosmasque · 08-26-2008, 11:42 AM

Okay I have to another lens so could you tell me if it would be a better choice?

I have a Pentax 18-55.

I realize that I probably sound very newbish here but honestly I normally work with models and portraits and have less experience with events.

kerrowdown · 08-26-2008, 01:57 PM

Take a monopod with you, I'm sure it will help at times.

Marc Sabatella · 08-26-2008, 03:16 PM

Originally Posted by deimosmasque

Okay I have to another lens so could you tell me if it would be a better choice?

I have a Pentax 18-55.

I realize that I probably sound very newbish here but honestly I normally work with models and portraits and have less experience with events.

The 18-55 does not have a wider maximum aperture at any focal length than the 18-250. You generally want an aperture of f/2.8 at least. f/2.0 is even better. And really, that's often what you should want for portraits too, as larger apertures give you a narrow depth of field, thus putting the background out of focus.

Oh, yeah. Shooting in large convention settings at wide apertures, you can't get the whole scene in focus, either. That's just life. but you can choose to have the background in focus *and* light enough to see, which flash won't give you.

Most lenses with large maximum apertures are not zooms, so you might want to identify what focal lengths you like and get a lens at that focal length. Manual focus lenses are often quite affordable. For example, the "M" or "A" 28mm lens with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 would possible be a good choice, and is easily available used for $100 or so. Among autofocus lenses, the FA50/1.4 is available new for $200, but you might find it is too long a focal length - I'd experiment with your zoom to see what focal lengths you want. It is *possible* to get zoom lenses with f/2.8 maximum aperture, but they tend to be rather ore expensive (the pentax DA* 16-50/2.8 runs $600, I think).

To get lens

deimosmasque · 08-26-2008, 03:47 PM

Thanks everyone you've been tons of help!

alohadave · 08-27-2008, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by Marc Sabatella

The problem with flash in environments like conventions is that it can only illuminate a limited distance in front of you. So you'll get nicely exposed stuff a few feet away, but stuff in the distance is going to be dark. So the trick would be to be close to whatever you want to take pictures of and not expect much to be visible in the background. If you *want* the background visible, then it's time to turn off the flash and rely on available light, which will have the advantage of being more consistent throughout the room. Your lens is not going to be a great choice, since it doesn't have a particularly wide maximum aperture, meaning you'll have trouble getting fast enough shutter speeds. But your best chances will be t the widest end of the zoom range, both because it has the largest maximum aperture there, and also because you don't *need* as fast a shutter speed at wider angles. So I'd turn up the ISO as high as you can, zoom all the way to 18, shoot in Av mode, select the smallest f-stop number you can (probably 3.5), and see if the resulting shutter speed is one that has any chance at all of producing a sharp picture. If not, dial in negative exposure compensation to speed the shutter than expect to have to fix in in PP.

It is possible to use flash and still have ambient light backgrounds. Take a test shot and whatever the exposure, decrease the shutter speed. When the flash fires, it will get the person properly exposed, and the longer shutter will allow the ambient light to come in and brighten the background.

Some cameras have a flash mode called Slow Synchro that does this automatically, otherwise you have to do it in M mode.

One caveat is that most people will move as soon as the flash fires, so either prep the person, or set the flash to rear-curtain (or second curtain sync).