Family Party - What Settings on the 30D?

shepthedog

Hey all,

Looking for some advice. I have an important family event tomorrow night and I will be taking the photos for it.
It will be held in a large pub where the lighting will be ok but not great.
I will be using my Canon 30D and standard kit lens, I had ordered a 50mm from Albert at Keaphoto but it wont arrive in time :mad:

So this will be my first time using the 30D in such an event what settings such I be looking at to maximise quality? Aperture/ISO?
It will be mostly small groups of people, couples..
Also should I shoot RAW or JPEG?? Not going to need to blow them up up to massive sizes or anything..

Thanks for looking:D

5uspect

First of all I'd go RAW as this gives more flexibility when trying to salvage bad shots.

Keep the ISO high, I'm not sure how the 30D does compared to a full frame but if it's like a 350D try to avoid 1600 unless you want grain.
For those dark shots I'd say stick it in TV mode at an exposure that wouldn't cause motion blur and let the camera do its best with the aperture. You should be able to fix up dark shots in RAW later. If you can borrow a 50mm somewhere it would be ideal.

digitally-yours

Being a Nikon man i would suggest you to have a look here

I would suggest you an ISO of 800 or something like that

have a look here some explanation

linky

Carrigman

Good advice above but you really need an external flash for that kind of thing.

Paulw

You want to use at least ISO 800. You'll want to use f/5.6 or lower.

An external flash would be a better choice though.

Fionn

is it with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6?
if it is, i'd say ISO at least 800, focal length of approx 30/35 that'll give a equivelant 50mm like its on a full frame, you move then to frame the subjects don't move the lens focal length.
there's a rule of thumb thats goes like this
1/focal length generally more used when using longer focal lens for instance if you were using a 200mm youd have at least a shutter speed of 1/200 which is result in a reasonably sharp shot with handheld shots.

if you can get a tripod you will have more flexability, although that may not be an option of course.

Consider using the on board flash - the only prob here is that it'll do for perhaps three people - head & shoulders type shots, but tends to be very bright and harsh, you could try and diffuse the light if your creative enough, alternatively try and get a loan of a speedlight - really makes a huge difference with group photographs.

Check the backlighting if it's a pub check for reflections ect. too

Oh! one more thing when you do take the shot, move to a slightly different angle and take another maybe two, it allows for blinks and looking in different directions and unusual looks that are sometimes inadvertantly caught. Ask them to look into your lens!

You'll be grand! good luck with it

shepthedog

Thanks for all the advice guys.. Ya its a pity I the 50 didnt arrive but i'll just make do with what I have. I dont know anyone with a flash light!

Yes its the Canon 18-55 mm and its the only lense I have. I'll try follow the advice and give it a shot.

5uspect

You could try the diffuser suggestion by sticking a bit of a plastic milk bottle over the flash, if you don't mind the funny looks. Tho that would give interesting photos...

Here an idea with a speedlight. Maybe you could pull something similar off with the built in flash.
http://home.comcast.net/~dougsmit/bounceflashtoys.html

Thirdfox

For the built in flash I use a fuji film canister (make one cut down the middle and it clips on onto the flash head). Nice translucent white plastic

Plastic card in front of flash can also be used for bounce... just make sure it's not an important credit card! I remember when my flash turned the magnetic strip on one of my cards into a puff of smoke (I was just glad that the camera wasn't damaged )

Third_Echelon

ISO 800 or 1600 should be fine... Depending on the lighting you mightn't need to use flash...

I like to only use the flash if absolutely necessary..

Every environment is different, so just take a few test shots to see what setting suit the lighting etc...