Lens suggestion for speakers at conferences

Sorry, I misread your original post. I thought you will be shooting primary video. Still shots are easier.

I can handhold my 70-200 f4 IS at 1/30s. I get too tired holding a heavier f2.8 lens to wait for the right moment.

The problem is catching the speaker with no motion blur. 1/60s can freeze facial motion about half of the time. You need to capture peak action, not mid sentence. It is easier for me, since I shoot singers and I know their music. Get to know the speakers and you can anticipate their moves. Hand motions are hard to freeze, unless you have enough lights to shoot 1/250s. I like the blur when it adds to the character.

Some speakers are more photogenic than others. On average, it takes 10 shots (not a burst of 10 virtually identical shots, but single shots) to get one with no facial blur, shut eyes, or funny non-professional looks. Then walk to the other side of the hall and repeat the process. You don't know which way the speaker faces will fit the layout of the publication better.

Check your exposure, especially in locations that have spot lights on the lectern. You can't fix blown highlight on the forehead in post. Experiment then settle into manual if the speaker is not walking away from the spot lights.

Pepege wrote:

Peter Kwok wrote:

Focal length is usually dictated by how close you are from the speaker. That means the size of the venue. You should not be front center and block the views of the audience. So, it is either from the sides near the front or in the center rear.

Will most of the speech take place in your company conference rooms or convention centers else where? Do you know how bright the light will be? Will the speech be accompanied by power point projection? Do you want to see the speaker in front of his/her slides? These will determine how much light you have and what ISO, f-stop you can use.

Thanks for your advice!

It will be used more at conventions centers. And no way to influence light.

So longer focal length I guess. And the powerpoint, I did not thought about this one. Hmm, I suppose mostly with powerpoint, but I want to focuse more on the speaker than on the slides in the background.

The purpose of the PowerPoint background is not to show its content, but to add impact. Picture Steve Jobs in front of a slightly blur huge image of an iPhone. For that, you need a tele-zoom lens and shoot from sitting on the ground. Pick your front row seat before the start.  BTW, wear black, not because you want to look like Jobs, but to be inconspicuous.

Talking heads are pretty boring, especially when you have only one camera. Will you edit them and insert power point slides? If so, you can plan ahead and change framing/position after inserting a slide. Use zoom only when it does not draw attention. Go with the flow of the speech. Zoom in when the subject becomes intimate, or the speaker is about to demonstrate something small. The best time to zoom is when the speaker is moving, because you can change framing and zoom at the same time while the viewer is focused on the speaker's move.

As you can see, I would recommend a zoom lens like the 18-135 if the light is sufficient. Using a prime wide open can get you some artsy shots if you move around. But this may not be appropriate for serious corporate video.

Thanks for these tipps. I dont't have much experience with video yet, this is definitely helpful!