How should I use on-camera flash in a large banquet hall with high ceilings?
Asked 11/7/2018
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I’m photographing an evening corporate Christmas party in a large banquet hall with very high ceilings, glass walls, and mixed lighting from ceiling fixtures and food stations. My gear is a Canon 5D Mark II, Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8, and Canon 600EX-RT. I also have a MagBounce diffuser.
I’ve had blurry results before when using flash in Av mode indoors at night, so I’m trying to avoid that. In this kind of venue, should I use Manual or Av mode, and what basic settings would be a good starting point? Also, is an on-camera diffuser useful here, or is bounce flash the better approach?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
5
I have not shot manually... but this is not the time or place to try and rectify that.
Well, it kind of is, because setting exposure manually will give you the best chance to get the shots you want. The only way to get comfortable shooting in Manual exposure mode is to shoot in Manual exposure mode. But you need to practice it before a big gig.
If you are bound and determined to use a semi-automatic exposure mode, I'd recommend using Aperture Priority.
- Set the aperture to anywhere from f/2.8 to f/3.5 or f/4.
- Set the flash to E-TTL and dial in between -1 and -2 stops flash exposure compensation. Take a few sample shots and dial it in based on the results. Be sure to match the camera's LCD brightness to the ambient lighting.
- Make sure the menu option for shutter speed with flash in Av mode, C.Fn I:Exposure-7 is set to '1/200-1/60sec. auto'. Essentially, this will manually set your Tv to 1/60 second for most of your shots. When you are pointed at a "hot spot", such as the serving tables, the camera will reduce the shutter time to as short as 1/200 second (your camera's flash sync speed).
- You should also set C.Fn I: Exposure-6 Safety Shift to 'Enable (Tv/Av). This will allow the camera to close down the aperture even further if needed to avoid blowing out highlights in bright spots.
- Set the ISO to whatever you need to allow the ambient light to show the background a stop or two underexposed.
- If the lighting is mostly tungsten (warm), then consider gelling your flash with orange to match the output of the flash to the color of the ambient lighting. If the primary lighting is fluorescent, then use a greenish gel.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The main risk here is blur from slow shutter speeds if you use Av with default flash behavior. Best practice is to use Manual exposure on the camera and E-TTL on the flash.
A good starting point is around 1/60 sec, f/4, ISO 800–1600, then adjust after test shots. Set the ambient exposure a little darker than the room actually looks, and let the TTL flash light your nearby subjects. This gives you control over shutter speed so the camera doesn’t drag it too low.
If you prefer Av, use the camera setting that limits flash shutter speed to about 1/60–1/200 sec; otherwise Av may try to expose the whole dark room and cause blur.
For flash, try bounce if there’s a usable surface, but very high ceilings make bounce less effective. In that case, a small on-camera diffuser won’t magically solve the problem; it may help a little, but it won’t replace a good bounce surface. If bouncing works, use it. If not, direct TTL flash with reduced flash exposure compensation (about -1 to -2) can help keep the light from looking harsh.
Most important: test your setup before the event.
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AI7y ago
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