My friend asked me to take candid shots at her daughter's graduation party / open house - tomorrow afternoon. She insists there's no pressure for great shots, she just doesn't want to have to think about taking pictures. I haven't taken many "people" shots so any tips would be appreciated. I use a Nikon D70s with two lens - 18-250mm 3.6 Tamron and a 50mm 1.8 Nikkor. Both autofocus.
I prefer my zoom lens, just for the changeability of the shots i can take. Is that a very large lens? I'm not familiar. Anyway, you will do great, just use your eye, and don't be afraid to snap those moments that aren't so obvious. A grandma digging in her purse, or a kid running from a parent...you know, things like that. I find those shots have so much character and make for fun images for the family. That's exciting, congrats!
The 50mm will probably do better for indoor lighting but 18 to 250 is a brilliant lens for changability and sneakiness...
I'd say just watching the people will be your best bet, any distractions and gatherings are great, dinner table or where food's being served, but getting them eating tends to go badly, if there's a cake cutting or a toast then they'll get great candid opportunities.
Watch the guests. You'll notice certain predictable behavior, allowing you to time your shots. As Adam @killerjackalope implied, lighting will be your enemy, you'll want to shoot as wide and as shutter fast as you can get it. Finally - get close, either physically with the 50 or zooming in with the tele.
@laceyjogautreau@killerjackalope@emsabh
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! Great advice and encouragement! I forgot to mention that most of it will be outside which is a relief for me - just hoping it doesn't rain! Indoor lighting and white balance is what scares me. If it ends up indoors I'll probably use the 50mm more but, though I like the quality and speed better, as you say, the zoom definitely gives more possibilities with variety and sneakiness. It will be a great learning experience for me. Just hoping I don't disappoint them in what I capture (or miss). I'm planning on taking LOTS of pictures.
@laceyjogautreau@killerjackalope@emsabh
Sorry, I let everyone down :( It was a total disaster! All my nightmares came true. YIKES! It ended up raining. The light inside was POOR. It was crowded. My camera was made before the high ISO improvements......enough said. The biggest problem was my inexperience! I would have been better off with a point and shot. I did learn some things but I feel sick about my friends not having pictures from their event. Live and learn, I guess.....
My cousin asked me to take pictures at her baby shower. Everything started out great, but I totally spaced and forgot to change settings when we went inside and she started opening presents, cutting the cake, playing games... Everything was too dark. What I learned from that is that I don't care if people are annoyed with my flash anymore and it's always nice to have either a second camera (a point and shoot or even a phone!) or someone else taking some pictures too. We all have our moments, hopefully your friend understands and you gain some knowledge from it. :)
Write a Reply
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
I'd say just watching the people will be your best bet, any distractions and gatherings are great, dinner table or where food's being served, but getting them eating tends to go badly, if there's a cake cutting or a toast then they'll get great candid opportunities.
Happy conversations should be good as well
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! Great advice and encouragement! I forgot to mention that most of it will be outside which is a relief for me - just hoping it doesn't rain! Indoor lighting and white balance is what scares me. If it ends up indoors I'll probably use the 50mm more but, though I like the quality and speed better, as you say, the zoom definitely gives more possibilities with variety and sneakiness. It will be a great learning experience for me. Just hoping I don't disappoint them in what I capture (or miss). I'm planning on taking LOTS of pictures.
Sorry, I let everyone down :( It was a total disaster! All my nightmares came true. YIKES! It ended up raining. The light inside was POOR. It was crowded. My camera was made before the high ISO improvements......enough said. The biggest problem was my inexperience! I would have been better off with a point and shot. I did learn some things but I feel sick about my friends not having pictures from their event. Live and learn, I guess.....