Documenting a 50th Birthday Party

**photophorous** · 03-04-2008, 09:59 AM

I've been asked by some friends to take photos at a 50th birthday party. These people have seen my photos, but they know I don't typically photograph this kind of thing. It would just be a favor; no money exchanged and no professional put out of work. I haven't answered yet, mostly because I'm nervous, but I'd like to do it as a learning experience. I have two main concerns.

First, I'm typically kind of shy about sticking my camera in peoples' faces, so if anyone has any tips on how to interact with strangers as a photographer, I'm listening. :blush2:

Second, what should I do about lighting, if I can't bounce my flash? I'm fairly comfortable bouncing the flash, but if the ceiling is too high or otherwise prevents me from bouncing the flash, what are my other options? The venue is a cheesy bar with all kinds of junk on the walls, so no bouncing off the walls either. Would you recommend just using direct flash and try to balance the ambient (neon beer signs

)? I figure I'll drag the shutter for some blurred effects once in a while, but I don't know what else I can do.

I'll be using a D70s with an SB-600. I have colored gels so I can balance with tungsten lights, but I don't have any kind of diffuser. I don't have much time either. It's this Saturday. I'm planning to go buy a Stofen Omni-bounce at my local shop, because I assume it will help with fill and catchlights, when I bounce the flash.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

**gahspidy** · 03-04-2008, 12:03 PM

Hey Paul,I'm sure some of the better qualified members here could offer you more help. As far as approaching people and taking their photos I guess you will just have to get the nerve up and remember you are there for that reason and most people do not have a problem with it at a party especially.
As for the flash, I think the most effective and simple approach would be to get a good diffuser( I have the GaryFong Lightsphere cloud and it is really effective) and get a stroboframe bracket to lift the flash above the camera. These two things will have you set.
If you cannot get these things, at least get some type of diffuser that will be essential.
I think you can just set your white balance to flash as it sounds like the flash will be doing mre than just fill, but will be the actual light source for many of the shots.
If your store near you does not have what you need, you canalways order from Amazon.com or Adorama and have it shipped two day.
The bracket and diffuser will really go a long way in getting a good shot.
good luck.
I have this Stroboframe Bracket and Flash Diffuser You would need the LightSphere C1 for your SB-600

**photophorous** · 03-04-2008, 01:48 PM

Thanks for all the tips, Gary. I've thought about getting a flash bracket, but then I'd also have to buy the TTL cable. Throw in the Gary Fong and that all adds up pretty quick. Since this is my first time doing something like this, I was hoping to avoid spending much money, because I don't know if I'll end up using it very much. I was thinking if I have to use direct flash, maybe I could just fire it wirelessly and hold it out away from the camera with my left hand...but I guess I wouldn't be stable enough to drag the shutter doing that. I should practice that a little. My local shop has the omni-bounce and some kind of Lumiquest diffuser thingy. The omni-bounce seems to be the most recommended and they're only $20. The Gary Fong looks better, but I don't think I can bring myself to spend $40 on it, especially since I'd have to pay expedited shipping to get it here on time.

If I enjoy doing this I might buy a bracket later, but I'm half expecting this to stress me out so much that I won't want to do it again.

Paul

**adina** · 03-05-2008, 04:03 PM

I'd say get your diffuser thingy, and leave the flash on the camera. Yeah, not the ideal situation, but it'll be the easiest and cheapest method. As far as interacting with people, once they see that camera on your face, they are going to cheese it up, with no help from you. On the other hand, shots of people interacting and ignoring you (think wedding reception) would be nice as well.

If it were me...I'd jack up the iso, use a fast lens, and do the whole thing in b&w. But that's just me, I love noise, or grain, whatever you want to call it.

**photophorous** · 03-05-2008, 04:51 PM

Thanks for commenting, Adina. Unfortunately, the only fast lens I have for my D70 is a 50/1.8, and I'm thinking that will be too long for a lot of things. But, I was planning to use it some, so I'll try some high ISO B&W too. Good idea. My only other lens is an 18-70.

I was also thinking about taking a film camera and some fast B&W film. I have several fast primes for my manual film cameras, but that would have to be a secondary priority. I think they're expecting regular clean boring color shots.

I don't know if it's a good idea for me to try switching between two cameras either, but I'll take it and see how it goes.

I hope you're right about people cheesing it up for me. I'm not sure if they'll know I've been asked to take photos or if they'll just think I'm some weirdo with a camera. I always feel like I'm being intrusive, but I know I need to get over that.

Paul

**MJS** · 03-05-2008, 09:04 PM

I've been using the lumiquest diffusers for years with great results. I will be trying one of the fong units in the not to distant future. When in a real rush, I just go with the diffuser supplied with my SB800 and point the flash straight up when the cieling is at a normal height and is white. I will tell you that the smaller difusers are useless at distances over 10 feet, they just become large point lights, so save the f/stops and pull the thingees off after the 10 foot mark. The TTl cord and stroboframe are a fantastic tool for events. Lots less redeye and nice shadows. I actually use mine wit a photoflex small softbox for up close and personal events.

**gahspidy** · 03-06-2008, 12:32 AM

Originally Posted by MJS

I've been using the lumiquest diffusers for years with great results. I will be trying one of the fong units in the not to distant future. When in a real rush, I just go with the diffuser supplied with my SB800 and point the flash straight up when the cieling is at a normal height and is white. I will tell you that the smaller difusers are useless at distances over 10 feet, they just become large point lights, so save the f/stops and pull the thingees off after the 10 foot mark. The TTl cord and stroboframe are a fantastic tool for events. Lots less redeye and nice shadows. I actually use mine wit a photoflex small softbox for up close and personal events.

Mike, is that the 12x16" softbox that mounts over the flashead? I was thinking of getting that as well. I just purchased the Photoflex Medium Lite dome softbox with hardware and mounting to shoot my 580 EX ll through it on a light stand. they say that is the biggest box they would recommend for the shoe flash. I am going to experiment with it tomorrow.

**MJS** · 03-06-2008, 06:35 PM

You got it, the 12 x 16 works pretty good for a single hair and shoulder light and isn't totally unwieldy on the flash frame at events, provided you stay within the 10 distance. I have a few small umbrellas, so I didn't bother with the medium size for my portable strobes. I can go bigger if need be with the studio stuff.

**photophorous** · 03-10-2008, 07:58 PM

Well, I did it. I can't say I got any great shots, but I definitely learned a thing or two. I didn't even think about having focus problems, but my auto focus was very unreliable. Several times it wouldn't focus at all and it was too dark to focus manually. I used the flash on full auto TTL mode and sometimes it worked great. Other times it severely under exposed, and I had to crank it up as much as 2 stops. I also took a few with the 50 f/1.8 wide open at 1600 ISO.

All in all, I think I got enough good shots to make the birthday boy happy (considering my minimal fee of three Bud Lights and some chips and queso). I'm not sure if I want to do anything like this again, but if I do, I think I'll be a little better off for having done this. Thanks for the help. Here's a few that run the gamut:

1. The birthday boy, with his wife and daughters.
2. Birthday boy on bass. The whole family plays instruments, so the band let them do a couple of songs.
3. His brother on the keyboards.
4. It got kinda wild by the end of the night.