Sasha Cohen and D40x-18-200 VR- Future settings suggestions?

Unfortunately taking pics in this lighting always seems to be way to dim when the superstars like Sasha come out. My first outing with my new D40x and 18-200 Vr combo went ok. Pp was needed to salvage most of the shots I took unfortunately. I took this one @ 1600 ISO, spot everything, AF-C, WB auto, VR on and shutter priority 1/250 sec. Then sent it through PS 7. Anyone have any suggestions on setting for this environemnet for future show?

Comments and suggestions welcome.

regards,
Ray

You did a fine job with the exposure. I’m hoping she is supposed to be lavender. How do you feel about keeping her on the right side so that she has more space to move into?

Morris

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I think you did a darn good job. My only thought would be to try a slower shutter speed and panning the camera on your subject. If there isn't much movement, the VR will let you go a lot slower thus giving you more light. I agree with Morris about not having your subject dead center in the pic. Dave
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with that rig and that lighting. You've gotten the most possible out of it, I suspect. There really just isn't enough light for that lens. Maybe 1/200 of a sec shutter speed would still stop the action sufficiently, but I don't know if I'd have done that. You may not get enough extra exposure to justify the risk.

I don't even like the idea of using flash. I like the color "as is."

Next step, big glass. If you do enough of this kind of shooting, you get to buy yourself a nice 70/80-200 f/2.8.

Bob

I did play with the color balnace a little bit but basically she is probably still a little too lavender. I also thought about going down to 1/200th sec. but am afraid i'll get too much camera shake even with the VR on.

Finally I guess I have maxed out this set-up as i supposed, barring getting better much more expensive glass.

thanks for the input.

Ray

heres one more for the road.

I know I always feel a little guilty if I do a lot of pp to a pic, especially if it's necessary to sort of bring one back from the dead.

Our gear gives us a lot of capability. I don't know what we'd have come up with in these circumstances using film.

Bob

I like this one better than the first. The composition with her in the center works well here as she is headed right for you. Very well done. Dave
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raywes said:

I also thought about going down
to 1/200th sec. but am afraid i'll get too much camera shake even
with the VR on.

Click to expand...

David had a good point - Panning and VR should let you slow down quite a bit more yet. Try at 1/50th and see how it works.

This is extremely lavender. If you want to correct it - I don't know if you do - you can do it via the levels tool by setting the white point. Once in the levels tool, click on the white eyedropper thingie, and click into the ice (you're lucky - the ice is a perfect white target). You may pick more than once until you're satisified, and if you always carefully select the brightest spot of ice you can find (basically if you click into the ice, and some parts blow out, click into the blown out part, and you'll set a new white point, reducing the blown out area), you should be fine. I tried it with your image, it works perfectly.

[Edit: Ok, I may have promised too much - it works well with the second image, but not as nicely with the first one].

BG

Would the Expodisc help with the difficult lighting by doing a preset WB instead of using Auto WB ? I know that there was a world of difference between Auto , incandescent and preset in a little test I did with my D40 and 18-200VR. Just a thought.

Enough about compostion and color balance. Doesn't Sasha look great? Seems to have become a little more womanly since the last time I saw her.