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07-06-2018, 03:01 PM   #1
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First Indoor People Shoot - Birthday Party

All,

I've been dubbed "family photographer," as I am the only one with any camera other than an iPhone.

So, the MIL is having a birthday party on Sunday, inside a well-lit room, with about 100 guests.

I have my Pentax K-3, a three batteries, two memory cards (32 gb each), a Neweer TT560 speedlite flash, and various lenses. The Neweer has various filters and a diffuser.

My "go to" lens is a Tamron SP 60-300, but I doubt this will suffice for this occasion. My first thought is to take my 35mm Tak, my SMC-DA 50mm 1.8, and...?

Then get there early, use my kids in various places with direct flash, bounce flash, diffuser, etc.

I have an older Slick (not yet Slik) aluminum tripod for group posed shots.

Other thoughts? Rec's on other lenses to take? I have lenses in various zoom and prime lengths.

Thanks for any thoughts!

07-06-2018, 03:52 PM - 1 Like   #2
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Something wider (e.g., like 18mm on the K-3) would really help with group shots and room/ambiance shots showing lots of people.

Perhaps the offspring of the MIL (aka spouse) will permit some LBA.

Have fun!
07-06-2018, 04:39 PM - 1 Like   #3
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A Family Tradition - First Birthday

DA 18-55 mm or even better DA 16-45 f4 (Indoor Party)
TAv let the ISO go to 3200 if necessary K-3 onboard flash control & bounce flash slave. Spot focus & Back Focus "pre" central location e.g.(one year old's in High Chair for Cake) . Hand held.

Last edited by honey bo bo; 08-07-2018 at 04:34 AM.
07-06-2018, 04:43 PM - 1 Like   #4
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I have to agree with the others, have something wider. I’m not sure what else you have, but the 18-55 is good with flash. My go-to is the 20-40.

07-06-2018, 04:58 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by twilhelm Quote
I have to agree with the others, have something wider. I’m not sure what else you have, but the 18-55 is good with flash. My go-to is the 20-40.
I have the DA 18-55 AL. I'll do some flash testing with it.

---------- Post added 07-06-18 at 04:59 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by twilhelm Quote
I have to agree with the others, have something wider. I’m not sure what else you have, but the 18-55 is good with flash. My go-to is the 20-40.
So, the 18-55 might be good for the whole kit and kaboodle - just have the plastic fantastic in the bag "in case?"

---------- Post added 07-06-18 at 05:03 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by honey bo bo Quote
DA 18-55 mm or even better DA 16-45 f4 (Indoor Party)
TAv let the ISO go to 3200 if necessary K-3 onboard flash control & bounce flash slave. Spot focus & Back Focus "pre" central location e.g.(one year old's in High Chair for Cake) . Hand held.
So, to interpret for my newbie self:

You're saying to set the dial to TAv mode, and use the onboard flash control to control the mounted flash. I do not have a separate hand-held mount for the slave, so I couldn't use both flashes.

As for the spot / back focus - I'm not sure what you mean here. Do you suggest using manual focus and presetting the focus on some pre-determined point for group / posed shots? Or....?
07-06-2018, 05:35 PM - 1 Like   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by jawats Quote
You're saying to set the dial to TAv mode, and use the onboard flash control to control the mounted flash. I do not have a separate hand-held mount for the slave, so I couldn't use both flashes.
Use TAv and your built-in flash set to Auto/ Red Eye the shutter will go automatically to 180 sec; set your ISO to max out @ 3200 and chose an F stop that you like for Depth of Field (DOF) In my pictures I used f4 & f8. I don't know anything about Neweer Flashes so if they are not P-TTL and your only problem is you don't have a hand held bracket use the little stand it came with or bean bags and set it up on a shelf\table \ floor etc. with an optical trigger and bounce the light off the ceiling to the area you will be working in. If it is P-TTL then use it as a slave same way. (Bounce)

---------- Post added 07-06-18 at 08:52 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by jawats Quote
As for the spot / back focus - I'm not sure what you mean here. Do you suggest using manual focus and presetting the focus on some pre-determined point for group / posed shots? Or....?
Auto focus but change from Half Shutter (focus every time)to Back focus so that you can avoid lens searching and temporarily lock in on a subject especially using a smaller F stop e,g. f8 and you can still focus at any time you want. Spot focus as opposed to Auto27 or select etc. .I do all my shooting hand held no tripod in these circumstances. You can pre-focus if there is a general area High Chair / Table / Cluster of chairs etc.

Last edited by honey bo bo; 07-06-2018 at 05:55 PM.
07-06-2018, 06:30 PM - 1 Like   #7
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Since you have it, I would bring the DA50 with for some nice head shots. It may seem redundant with the 18-55, but the f/1.8 will give you some nice artistic leeway with the out of focus areas.

Back button focusing can make your shoot go smoother, but if you’ve never used it, take time to practice before hand to get comfortable with it. You don’t want surprises during a shoot, Family or otherwise.

07-06-2018, 06:51 PM - 1 Like   #8
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1980 a Generation Ago - Their Dad

QuoteOriginally posted by honey bo bo Quote
A Family Tradition - First Birthday
K1000 / Gun Powder Flash / Printed on Birch Bark (Matte)
He ate the plate for the fiber content

Last edited by honey bo bo; 08-07-2018 at 04:34 AM.
07-06-2018, 07:09 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by honey bo bo Quote
K1000 / Gun Powder Flash / Printed on Birch Bark (Matte)
He ate the plate for the fiber content
LOL. Fantastic.
07-06-2018, 07:12 PM - 1 Like   #10
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I would use the TT560 on the camera. You can do a test in the common area(s) of the already lit area you mentioned by doing some sample shots and checking the results. You can set your camera to Manual mode, something like F9 aperture, 180 shutter speed sync for the flash if it requires it, and ISO 200. You can test with flash by starting at approximately 1/8 power, checking results, and if necessary change the flash power for brighter/dimmer or change the ISO for more brightness if needed. The test shots will tell which settings can be used where, and what settings perform best in most areas. You can view the histogram of your image results to see if they are turning out alright, and also your image, both in your rear lcd screen.

I know you can use TAV if you want to, but Manual camera mode will give you control over ISO use/results. Of course the decision is up to you, but when you get past 1600 ISO for example, most likely you may start to get image noise which you will not have in 200, 400, or 800 ISO images. If you have a flash, you should not have to stray above 400 ISO in most cases. That is the advantage of a flash.

Also, if you want to avoid any of the testing I mentioned, and have automated metering while using a flash (P-TTL), I would recommend a Yongnuo YN585EX flash for Pentax. This type flash will allow you to be in Manual mode on the camera with the settings you
want, and the flash itself will assess the light needed for your subject and emit that amount automatically. Below is a path to the Yongnuo YN585EX for Pentax in case you are interested.

Yongnuo YN585EX Speedlite for Pentax Cameras YN585EX/PENTAX B&H

Last edited by C_Jones; 07-06-2018 at 08:33 PM.
07-07-2018, 12:20 AM - 1 Like   #11
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Just to chime in about back focus (BF) not lens back focus. Your camera has a button on the back that can be used to focus. In the menu you can set your camera up so the shutter release button will not cause the camera to focus at all it will only release the shutter. When you want to focus you use the focus button on the back. With practice this operation works awesome!!! But if your not familiar with it try to practice ahead of time.
"WORDS OF WARNING!! when you first set your camera up this way at some point you'll forget you did!!!! Then in a couple of days you'll try to take some photos and you'll go into a panic because your camera won't focus while pressing the shutter button 😱. I would venture to guess that everyone who has made the change to BF forgot about it a time or two 😀 (myself on a couple of occasions)
On the K3II (that's what I use) if set to full auto (GREEN) the camera will function as normal. (This is good, if you need to hand the camera off to someone, you can spin the dial to green and not need to explain how to focus with the BF)
Hope this helps if you didn't know about BF
07-07-2018, 05:22 AM   #12
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if you want to work with your Takumar, check, if the flash works with it. A lot of flashes wont work with full manual lenses! Most of them need at least A-Lenses with aperture automatic
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