I have a canon powershot G12 and I love it.
But I recently took it to a party for the first time and I can't quite figure out the perfect setting or scene for shooting pictures of people indoors. Outdoors is pretty simple, pretty much anything works. But lighting indoors can be tricky.
Help?
@lovebrittany Yes, indoors is horribly tricky. I honestly hate doing it, but sometimes it is necessary. Try getting people next to a mirror with lights near it. The lights will reflect off of the mirror and give the lighting a more even, white tone without being too dark or grainy. Just make sure there's no glare and you don't get the mirror or anything in the shot. That's pretty much the only tip I have, though, lol I hope you get more! :D
I know this sounds a bit self centered but can I suggest that you follow me and ask questions against my photo as to how I took them. Admittedly you wont be able to do the type of photos I do, but it will give you a good insight into lighting and I am sure you learn something along the way.
@agima Oh, I'll definitely read these and make some notes and ideas this week!! I don't have any external lighting. Just a small set up in my bathroom that was confused for a legit set up. XD I never, ever use in-camera flash, though. I hate, hate, hate how harsh it is and have no diffusers or anything for it. Hopefully I can get a slave flash soon and some small things to work with that. Thanks so much!!
@toxicalice92 There are a couple of tips in there that you can use for your on-camera flash. I know since posting it I have good feedback from people that are taking some great photos using those tips, so I would be keen to see how you go.
@lovebrittany Whack the ISO up as high as you need to in order to get a reasonable shutter speed.
Shoot in Raw so you can tidy up the noise (created by the high ISO) in Adobe Camera Raw or similar, and shoot in aperture priority with a nice wide aperture (f/2.8).
This will potentially limit your depth of field, but shouldn't be too much of a problem in the sort of situation you describe.
n.b. all the tips above are based on trying not to use flash if at all possible.
Just two tips:
Tip 1. Diffusion. Most of the "good" pics using flash you see are diffused. Harder to do with built-in flash. Try taping a small piece of white fabric, such as bed linen, over the flash. Sheets of lighting gels should work as well. Or cut a small piece of plastic milk jug.
Tip 2. Reduce output. The G12 allows you to reduce the strength of the flash. Use a higher ISO, 800 max. and reduce the power of the flash.
Tip 3. (Just three tips) buy an off-camera flash. This will give you much greater power and control. You can rotate the head of the flash to bounce off the ceiling.
Tip 4. (oh, bother) Experiment. Grab some willing, or guerilla shoot, some volunteers and practice whatever methods you choose to try.
An external flash can go a long way. I normally angle it towards the ceiling or the rear wall, so that the light bounces and is diffuse enough to avoid hard shadows on your subjects.
At the last Ugly Sweater Party I went to, I had a friend shooting with a d40 and the 18-55 stock lens. I had my d90 with the 18-200 and an sb800 flash pointed at the ceiling. She wanted to know why mine come out so much better. I popped my sb800 off and put it on her camera. She took a few shots and I said "That's the difference." Whatever you can do to either soften, diffuse or redirect the light.
@joesabino@chrisdebruyn Unfortunately, I don't have an external flash. Nor am I able to get one anytime soon. I appreciate your advice but until I can invest in one, I can't really follow it. Thanks, though.
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General Lighting http://365project.org/discuss/articles/10192/general-lighting
On-camera Flash - The basics http://365project.org/discuss/articles/10218/on-camera-flash-the-basics
I know this sounds a bit self centered but can I suggest that you follow me and ask questions against my photo as to how I took them. Admittedly you wont be able to do the type of photos I do, but it will give you a good insight into lighting and I am sure you learn something along the way.
Shoot in Raw so you can tidy up the noise (created by the high ISO) in Adobe Camera Raw or similar, and shoot in aperture priority with a nice wide aperture (f/2.8).
This will potentially limit your depth of field, but shouldn't be too much of a problem in the sort of situation you describe.
n.b. all the tips above are based on trying not to use flash if at all possible.
Tip 1. Diffusion. Most of the "good" pics using flash you see are diffused. Harder to do with built-in flash. Try taping a small piece of white fabric, such as bed linen, over the flash. Sheets of lighting gels should work as well. Or cut a small piece of plastic milk jug.
Tip 2. Reduce output. The G12 allows you to reduce the strength of the flash. Use a higher ISO, 800 max. and reduce the power of the flash.
Tip 3. (Just three tips) buy an off-camera flash. This will give you much greater power and control. You can rotate the head of the flash to bounce off the ceiling.
Tip 4. (oh, bother) Experiment. Grab some willing, or guerilla shoot, some volunteers and practice whatever methods you choose to try.