Hi all. I have been doing alot of portrait sessions and starting to get really comfortable with them but a friend of mine called me today to see if I could photograph the ribbon cutting at the new restaurant her company is opening. I haven't really done anything like this and I am just looking for some tips/advice. I have not shot in raw before but I thought maybe this would be the time to jump in. I know you have to have software that can open raw, but my thinking is to shoot raw+jpg just to cover myself in case I screw something up. Can I still treat the jpegs just as I always have if I do this? I would like the backup of raw and even if I dont need it, I can use them as a learning tool.
The ribbon cutting is going to be outside which makes me pretty comfortable, I will bring my own white balance card to set the w/b correctly. There will be staff shots and some inside shots also, so I am a bit nervous about moving outside to inside and how to remember to change my w/b. Any tips?
Also, I really havent done groups of people so I am wondering what type of apeture I am looking at to make sure everyone is in focus. I was thinking f/8 to f/11 should be good? Do I use one focus point and focus on the middle person or the person closest to me? I am probably stressing myself out needlessly but I though I would go in a little more prepared with all of your tips. I am helping a friend out by doing this but they are also paying me in restaurant gift cards...You gotta start somewhere...LOL
Sorry not going to be much help, nowhere near as advanced or brave as you but can tell you that yes when shooting RAW and JPEG you will still be able to work with your JPEG files as you have been. Good luck
what editing software do you use? you can open either the RAW file or the JPG file in Photoshop Elements.... do you use Canon or Nikon? If you have a Canon, you should have software that came with it - the EOS Utility. This will allow you to edit the RAW image AND the JPG easily. (but with way fewer options than PSE)
I shoot in JPG + RAW because I like to have the most control over my shots. Having the RAW files allow me to tweak and edit every aspect of the shot. Having the JPG allows me to shorten my processing time, as the camera does a bit of processing out of the camera, so I can process a bit faster.
Client shots, green screen shots, competition shots all get processed RAW in Photoshop CS6. Fun snaps, casual shots, weekend shooting all get processed in JPG using Aperture. However, taking shots in both formats allows me to edit the occasional gem captured when I'm just "playing".
Remembering to change your WB isn't as important if you shoot RAW. You can really tweak the heck out of your WB in RAW. If you are really freaked out by it, choose Auto WB and tweak when you process.
Regarding aperture, I think your choice of f8 to f11 is good. At that setting, you will get everyone in focus. I work hard to get everyone on the same plane so that I don't have to worry about people in front in focus, and row 2 out of focus. Again, at your choice of aperture setting, you should be good.
Have fun! Don't stress. Bring an extra card and take a TON of shots. The more you take, the more you have to choose from and the more practice you get!
@jsw0109 Hi again Jeff :) Thank you for responding. I use a Canon Rebel T2i. At the moment I just use Pic Monkey for editing but I do have Photo Shop Elements 10 to be installed. I will be taking a class in a couple of weeks to learn that and I have also been waiting to purchase a new computer to install it on. (Right now I just have a mini laptop with no disc drive) I do have the Canon software too and will be installing that on the new computer in the next month. I definitely want to jump into the shooting with raw so I figure now is just as good as any time to do it. So I guess I will be all set in the next month. :) Thanks for responding
@thomastoth Thank you so much Thomas. You hit on exactly the points that I wasn't sure about. I like the idea of shooting in both jpeg and raw for extactly the reasons you have listed. I guess I have just been freaked out by the idea of shooting in raw and I have no idea why! lol. Thanks again for taking the time to respond :)
@agima Thank you Brendan for taking the time to answer my questions. I think all in all you are right, I am just nervous and lacking confindence. I really dont want to look like an idiot I guess is what it comes down too..LOL. I appreciate your help! :)
@egad if I am understanding @agima right I think it just means if you are far enough away the focus of the shot, the subject will be small enough to fit within the area of focus that 2.8 has.
@egad Here's sort of an example. I was shooting at f 2.5 and from a distance (maybe 15 feet back, I think?) with my 50mm lens. I violated Brandon's rule about focusing on the person in the front, but that's because I was intentionally focusing on my middle son's face. You can see the other two brothers are slightly out of focus. Had I been farther back, they would have all been in focus, too, even with the f 2.5 aperture. http://365project.org/rockinrobyn/365-wannabe/2012-10-24
@egad@ontheotherside Yes that is correct. If you are far enough away then the subjects will fit in the area of focus. I would suggest that to shoot a couple one hold the other from behind, you would need to be around 15 meters away.
The closer you are to the subject the smaller the area of focus.
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Client shots, green screen shots, competition shots all get processed RAW in Photoshop CS6. Fun snaps, casual shots, weekend shooting all get processed in JPG using Aperture. However, taking shots in both formats allows me to edit the occasional gem captured when I'm just "playing".
Remembering to change your WB isn't as important if you shoot RAW. You can really tweak the heck out of your WB in RAW. If you are really freaked out by it, choose Auto WB and tweak when you process.
Regarding aperture, I think your choice of f8 to f11 is good. At that setting, you will get everyone in focus. I work hard to get everyone on the same plane so that I don't have to worry about people in front in focus, and row 2 out of focus. Again, at your choice of aperture setting, you should be good.
Have fun! Don't stress. Bring an extra card and take a TON of shots. The more you take, the more you have to choose from and the more practice you get!
Set your white balance on auto and shot raw, you can then deal with the WB in post if the camera stuffs it up.
Group shots are better in f8 bit but it really depends on how close you are to the subject. If you are far enough away you can shoot in f2.8. :)
As a guide is would shot in f11 or f8 as you already suggested.
Focus should be set at the person closest as focus falls off slower behind the subject when in front it is very harsh and unforgiving.
Readin your post I think you already have all the answers you just need to confidence. :)
Good luck and if you have any specific questions feel free to ask of tag me in the comments and I will come back and see if I can help out.
Then on this one I was even farther back (20-25 feet?) and all three are in focus with f2.5 aperture/50 mm lens. http://365project.org/rockinrobyn/extras/2012-10-23
The closer you are to the subject the smaller the area of focus.