Indoor photography

[realworld]

Hey Everyone...

I was hired as an intern to take photos of an indoor event as a boutique/shop opening. I have never done indoor photography and will just be going with my Nilon D50 SLR camera and an 18-55mm lens. Does anyone have any tips on making sure I do a good job on this? It's for a weekly magazine in Miami and I would hope they would continue to use me!

Thanks in advance!

[Ronnoco]

Hey Everyone...

I was hired as an intern to take photos of an indoor event as a boutique/shop opening. I have never done indoor photography and will just be going with my Nilon D50 SLR camera and an 18-55mm lens. Does anyone have any tips on making sure I do a good job on this? It's for a weekly magazine in Miami and I would hope they would continue to use me!

Thanks in advance!

Well, the first issue is to check the lighting to see if it is sufficiently bright to shoot without flash. Even if it is, you may have to deal with a colour cast from the fluorescent lights..often toward the green spectrum.

A good auxiliary flash is probably necessary and if you go with it, you need to, of course watch for reflective and white surfaces that will mess up your flash sensor, if it is on auto.

In an event, you need to also carefully watch the backgrounds and people that can interfere with your shot of what is happening. Considering your lens, you are also going to have to work fairly close and pick your position carefully, if it is difficult to move around during the action.

My favourite lens for this kind of situation is a 28mm to 200mm, but you make the best of what you have.

Good luck!
Ronnoco

[Canuck935]

One word: Tripod

[realworld]

Thanks Ronnoco and canuck...but I was trying to see if it would be possible to just work with what I have and not spend more money for a non-paying job.

Is that like asking to bake a cake with no ingredients but flour?

[Canuck935]

Thanks Ronnoco and canuck...but I was trying to see if it would be possible to just work with what I have and not spend more money for a non-paying job.

Is that like asking to bake a cake with no ingredients but flour?

I would say so. Unless the existing lighting is excellent you'll be hard pressed to make any decent images without the use of a good flash and/or a tripod.

[realworld]

Thanks Canuck...any recommendations on a decent tripod

[Canuck935]

Thanks Canuck...any recommendations on a decent tripod

The world of tripods is vastly huge. There's probably more choices in tripods than there are choices in camera's. Bogen/Manfrotto are probably are most popular as they are very solid and built to last. Most however will also require the purchase of a head in which the basic choise is between pan/tilt and ball. Cheaper alternatives are out there. Personally I think Slik tripods are excellent and many come with a head.

However, if you feel you won't use the thing ever again I guess you could get away with a real cheap one from any number of retail stores. Try them out first and make sure they dont wiggle and shake easily when set up. The biggest problem with these cheapo tripods is that they won't last long before breaking on you.

I haven't even scratched the surface here...

[realworld]

I hear you...guess the research starts over again from here :-)

Did it with my camera b4 buying and ended up with a good choice- the Nikon D50

[Ronnoco]

One word: Tripod

I disagree. Having done a lot of journalistic photography and still doing it, I find that tripods are too restrictive Tripods are for slow shutter speeds and potential camera shake when the subject is not moving. Tripods will certainly not help, if the person moves at the wrong moment and you are shooting at a slow shutter speed. They can also be a problem if someone moves in front of you at the wrong moment.

Angles, composition, and background are important and that means looking carefully, and moving and adjusting your lens and position as you are shooting. Not possible with a tripod.

Ronnoco

[Loupey]

Hey, Ronnoco, we finally agree on something

Realworld, if you think that you'll need to use shutter speeds so slow that you can't handhold an 18-55mm lens, then plan on not being able to shoot real people doing real people things (like shopping).

My advice would be to watch out for bright windows in the background and use strobes carefully (only bounced/diffused and preferrably with multiple strobes if you have them). Your goal should be to mimic how people normally see in a store. Not that dark, in-a-cave-look that one gets if you use a flash direct-on. And as Ronnoco mentioned earlier, you may end up with mixed lighting which hardly ever looks good.

Best bet may be to lurk near the windows with your back or side to them and use the natural diffuse light to illuminate the shoppers near the window.

[Canuck935]

Hmm I had the impression he was going to be shooting for the shop like their arrangements and stuff. Reading it again I now see the 'event' part. Sorry for giving bad advice I did not read the post correctly. Flash is necessary for people. Multiple would be nice to be able to light the background. I still use a tripod though if I'm setting up to do portraits in a single spot. If moving around a lot yeah a tripod can get in the way.I feel like such an idiot...

[Loupey]

Canuck - no don't think like that. Your advice is very appropriate for a non-event session. I shoot a lot of interiors myself and for those I use exclusively a tripod. There are no people in my shots which is good because I usually shoot at shutter speeds between 1/15 second to 2 seconds during the middle of the day.

[Canuck935]

Thanks Loupey. I just hope the original poster hasn't gone out at bought a tripod already only to find out it isn't the right piece of equipment for that event... If he/she has bought one already then well a tripod is always good to have and it will come in handy sooner or later...

[RWalker900]

A monopod is a good thing to have even when using flash