Photography & Camera Forum - Digicamhelp.com
May 21, 2012, 12:19:35 PM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: ~ This forum is closed ~
But you can browse any of the 8000+ forum posts...
... or post Comments and Questions throughout the main site.
 
   Home   Help Search Login Register  

Gallery shots / Live performance indoor shots

Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Gallery shots / Live performance indoor shots  (Read 923 times)
ksuze
New Member

Offline Offline

Posts: 1



View Profile
« on: June 25, 2006, 03:48:11 AM »

Hello,

This is my first time on your site really amazed at wealth of info.

I have a Canon Powershot S60.

I am an 3-D Visual artist and recently am realizing how different it is from photographing my old 2-d work...seems like a whole new monster.  I have two problems. I hate the effects flashes have on indoor shots...it is great for the party social pix but when for gallery/portfolio work...urgh.  I had to shoot a live INDOOR low light performance art installation peice this weekend...since I am anticipating doing more of these I would like some advice on what settings would be best. When I had my camera set on its normal still settings as you would imagine the movement became blurry...or one of the people were perfectly in focus and the others were not.

The other problem was a gallery with windows. In the day the set up lighting was ruined, everything that I took looked dark except of course around the three windows, so I tried shooting at night. The front is in focus but the background is blurry, and I think they look grainy...again fine for portrait or social photography but for portfolio stuff..urgh. I set the white balance. My ISO was set at 50, I had superfine L on the function side selection, however on the rec.menu I just noticed I had the s set. Aghh...frustrated which is right for the best quality recorded image.

Are these both instances if I wasn't using a flash I should of brought lighting?

Also out of curiousity, what is the best settings for nightshow indoor photography, similiar to say if you were photographying a band or play.

Thanks...having a difficult transfering stuff I know from the manual 35  to the digital.  :-/
Logged
bdery
Moderator
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 672



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2006, 11:44:09 PM »

Hi, and welcome!

You encountered, all at once, many of the limitations of a point-and-shoot camera. Let's go through it, with some advice.

First, when the light is low, the camera will have to open up its aperture to get more photons in. And a larger aperture reduces the Depth of Field (or Depth of focus, if you will). That's probably why some parts of the image are blurred, if they were not in the "focus range". That effect is even more dramatic if you use the zoom.

The grainy effect you saw in low light was probably caused by an increase of the ISO value (I'm guessing you had the ISO on auto). When the light source are dimmer, the camera can try to compensate by increasing the "volume" on its detector (the "film"). That means you can expose for a shorter duration, but noise level (grain) will increase.

Some images were blurred because of the low light levels too, I'm guessing. When the camera has no other options, it will keep the shutter open longer to get sufficient light in. That in turn increases the risk of blur caused either by you (no one has perfectly steady hands Wink )  or the people in the frame simply moving around. To avoid blur, the basic rule is to shoot at a speed of 1/60 seconds or faster.

About the windows, to expose properly the inside of your room, you will have to accept that the windows will be completely white. Play with the exposure until your real subject looks good.

About flashes... The S60 has a limited flash power, of course, but there is one thing you COULD do (it can become expensive, though). There are some powerful external flashes that can be triggered by the inboard flash of any camera. So if you could lay hands on such a flash, you could use it with your S60 (those flashes are called "slaves") You could aim that flash at the ceiling, so the light hitting your scene wouldn't be too harsh.

The best camera for your shooting situation would be a digital SLR, because they have larger sensors and thus can use very high ISO values without noise issues to speak of. But they're quite expensive.

Ask away if you have more questions! I hope I helped.
Logged

Be happy to be alive. It gives you a chance to love, have some fun, and see the stars.
ShutterbugGail
Global Moderator
Member
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 2054



View Profile WWW
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2006, 12:33:22 AM »

In addition to what brey shared, information in these articles my help:

Taking photos at school plays:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/camera-questions-and-answers/taking-photos-at-a-school-play.htm

Taking photos in museum:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/taking-photos-in-museums-with-a-digital-camera/index.htm

I don't get the impression that you are photographing small objects but, if so, this may help:

Photographing products:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/auction-photography/index.htm
Logged

Photography & Camera Forum - Digicamhelp.com
   


:: HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH A HOME ~ Professional-looking photos help sell homes more quickly! This easy-to-understand, illustrated eBook helps you learn to take photos with a compact digital that stand out from the crowd! eBook only $3.95 ::

 Logged
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to: