Well, after what seemed like very long 7 hours, the first contracted event is over. I arrived at the venue at around 6PM, and left around 1 o clock in the morning. Exhausted. I made a few mistakes, that I'll fix the next time I do this. Some of them not specifically photography related, but about health and comfort.
1. Can't stand for 7 hours straight. The body, or at least my almost 50 years old body can't take it. Maybe at my early 20s I could stand all day, but not anymore. I need to find a place to sit and rest from time to time, and drink a lot of water. Even if that means loosing some photo ops. When I arrived home, I couldn't sleep due to the pain in my legs. I had to take a pain killer to grab some sleep.
2. The venue was darker than I expected, and the ceiling was higher too, so reflecting the flash to the ceiling burned batteries like hell. All and all, I was able to shoot straight with two sets of Eneloop AAs. I brought 3 sets, and had 1 charging after I exhausted the fist one.
3. Face recognition + small AF square + slow zoom, is a recipe for disaster. I shot half the event with this combination, and AF reliability was around 60%, no more. A few hours later, I realized that increasing the size of the AF spot actually improved focusing abilities.
4. I know you guys told me about this one, but sadly I couldn't afford it in time. I don't have the right lens for this type of low light events. The 20mm hunted a lot, making it very difficult to AF at moving subjects (people dancing like Disney World teacups). So, as of this now, the 12-50mm and the 20mm are on sale, and I already have the 12-40mm ready to order. I might get rid of the 45mm also, if I find myself not using it very much once I get the 12-40.
5. I had to use the 12-50mm for almost 95% of the shots, simply because I was walking around the tables, asking people for a group shot, and the 20mm was simply not wide enough. And I didn't had enough room to move back and grab everyone. That's why I'm getting the 12-40mm ASAP.
6. The Yongnuo 560 IV flash performed flawlessly. I had my 560 III on standby, just in case. All the shots were taken with the head pointed at the ceiling, with the white card extended, just to fill up some shadows on people's faces.
7. All shots where in M mode, ISO 1600, wide open (as much as the 12-50mm could do, depending of the zoom setting), around 1/40th and 1/20th of a sec shutter speed, and the flash between 1/8th and 1/16th of power. The 1/40th speed gave me some halos when people were moving fast, which look kind of nice, and give the sense of movement, without loosing too much sharpness.
8. My son was using the E-M10, that's why you see some shots at ISO 3200 or 800, if outside. For the next time, I'll let him take more pictures, and help me out while I rest. This definitively would be easier as a 2 man job.
9. I took 780 shots, and ended up at around 340 for the final edit. I shot every group of people twice, and that technique saved me from people closing eyes more than once.
I'm still processing all images in Lightroom, since I shot RAW (Light conditions were not ideal, so I went the safest way).
Here is just a quick sample of them. I still have lots to do, so I might post some others later.
[ATTACH alt="Downstairs venue, where all started. Still enough light for ISO 800. There was a photo booth taking pictures against a huge doll dressed with typical Panamanian costumes. The theme of the night was, "Tipico" (Folklore Panamanian dresses)"]media_3334941[/ATTACH]
Downstairs venue, where all started. Still enough light for ISO 800. There was a photo booth taking pictures against a huge doll dressed with typical Panamanian costumes. The theme of the night was, "Tipico" (Folklore Panamanian dresses)
Light broke havoc of any kind of white balance. I opted for a warmer balance.
Fireworks display before entering the main venue
Dessert station
People entering main hall room
A group of Folklore dancers animating the night
Guests imitating the professional dancers. There was this harsh laser like light dancing around the place. I wanted to take it down.
The Group
--
Martin
"One of the biggest mistakes a photographer can make is to look at the real world and cling to the vain hope that next time his film will somehow bear a closer resemblance to it" - Galen Rowell
1. Can't stand for 7 hours straight. The body, or at least my almost 50 years old body can't take it. Maybe at my early 20s I could stand all day, but not anymore. I need to find a place to sit and rest from time to time, and drink a lot of water. Even if that means loosing some photo ops. When I arrived home, I couldn't sleep due to the pain in my legs. I had to take a pain killer to grab some sleep.
2. The venue was darker than I expected, and the ceiling was higher too, so reflecting the flash to the ceiling burned batteries like hell. All and all, I was able to shoot straight with two sets of Eneloop AAs. I brought 3 sets, and had 1 charging after I exhausted the fist one.
3. Face recognition + small AF square + slow zoom, is a recipe for disaster. I shot half the event with this combination, and AF reliability was around 60%, no more. A few hours later, I realized that increasing the size of the AF spot actually improved focusing abilities.
4. I know you guys told me about this one, but sadly I couldn't afford it in time. I don't have the right lens for this type of low light events. The 20mm hunted a lot, making it very difficult to AF at moving subjects (people dancing like Disney World teacups). So, as of this now, the 12-50mm and the 20mm are on sale, and I already have the 12-40mm ready to order. I might get rid of the 45mm also, if I find myself not using it very much once I get the 12-40.
5. I had to use the 12-50mm for almost 95% of the shots, simply because I was walking around the tables, asking people for a group shot, and the 20mm was simply not wide enough. And I didn't had enough room to move back and grab everyone. That's why I'm getting the 12-40mm ASAP.
6. The Yongnuo 560 IV flash performed flawlessly. I had my 560 III on standby, just in case. All the shots were taken with the head pointed at the ceiling, with the white card extended, just to fill up some shadows on people's faces.
7. All shots where in M mode, ISO 1600, wide open (as much as the 12-50mm could do, depending of the zoom setting), around 1/40th and 1/20th of a sec shutter speed, and the flash between 1/8th and 1/16th of power. The 1/40th speed gave me some halos when people were moving fast, which look kind of nice, and give the sense of movement, without loosing too much sharpness.
8. My son was using the E-M10, that's why you see some shots at ISO 3200 or 800, if outside. For the next time, I'll let him take more pictures, and help me out while I rest. This definitively would be easier as a 2 man job.
9. I took 780 shots, and ended up at around 340 for the final edit. I shot every group of people twice, and that technique saved me from people closing eyes more than once.
I'm still processing all images in Lightroom, since I shot RAW (Light conditions were not ideal, so I went the safest way).
Here is just a quick sample of them. I still have lots to do, so I might post some others later.
[ATTACH alt="Downstairs venue, where all started. Still enough light for ISO 800. There was a photo booth taking pictures against a huge doll dressed with typical Panamanian costumes. The theme of the night was, "Tipico" (Folklore Panamanian dresses)"]media_3334941[/ATTACH]
Downstairs venue, where all started. Still enough light for ISO 800. There was a photo booth taking pictures against a huge doll dressed with typical Panamanian costumes. The theme of the night was, "Tipico" (Folklore Panamanian dresses)
Light broke havoc of any kind of white balance. I opted for a warmer balance.
Fireworks display before entering the main venue
Dessert station
People entering main hall room
A group of Folklore dancers animating the night
Guests imitating the professional dancers. There was this harsh laser like light dancing around the place. I wanted to take it down.
The Group
--
Martin
"One of the biggest mistakes a photographer can make is to look at the real world and cling to the vain hope that next time his film will somehow bear a closer resemblance to it" - Galen Rowell
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