Looking for Photography Tips Online

[hsapiens]

I've been struggling with event photography, specifically how best to take photos without flash in a darkened room and somewhat okay stage lighting. I've tried Googling various combinations of keywords such as, "Tutorial Primer Photography Low Light Event," and haven't yet hit the sort of help a total newbie needs. Any suggestions for online resources?

Also, any recommendations on monopods? Christmas & birthday time is coming up and I need to put the toys I want on there so that I don't end up with a fifth copy of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Comments

[mcroft.livejournal.com]

I have an off-line suggestion.

Talk to Chuck Ivy. (he just moved back to Houston, btw...).

[bassfingers.livejournal.com]

:P

The single most valuable book when I was first getting into photography was Concert Photography by Jon Sievert. Really opened my eyes about the technical side of doing low-light stuff, in addition to some tools of the trade (flashes, flash brackets, tripods & monopods, lenses, etc).

The short answer is, if you want quicker shutter times, you need to let in more light. If you want more light, you need a larger aperture. If you're on a fixed lens point & shoot, you're SOL. Truth is, there are really three factors in determining an exposure... aperture, shutterspeed, and ISO (be it film or digital). If you can shoot 800, 1600 or 3200 ISO, then your digital camera's sensor (or your film) is more sensitive to light, so it needs less of it to get by at reasonable speeds. In REALLY dark rooms, I find myself shooting at f/1.4, ~1/30", 1600 ISO. I try not to go below 1/30" because hand holding a steady shot any slower will lead to softness, if not downright blur. New "image stabilization" lenses have gyroscopes in them, or something equally implosible, that allow you to shoot up to 1/8" hand held. They're also expensive lenses. Many consumer SLR zoom lenses have a variable aperture. When you zoom in, the circle of light being passed through becomes smaller, because it's cheaper for them to make the lens that way. A good zoom lens will have a fixed max aperture, usually f/2.8. Doesn't mean you always have to shoot at 2.8, but it means you always can, regardless of your zoom. You'll only find f/2, f/1.8 and f/1.4 (and the insanely expensive Leica Noctalux f/1.0) in fixed length lenses.

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

Ooooo...thank you for the recommendation! I've already ordered it.

I love that Amazon has the table of contents available - chapters 4-7 look like exactly what I want. I'm not in this for business purposes but I'm lucky enough to have gained extensive copyright experience with photography when I was a museum lackey.

My digital camera claims to have ISO up to 800 but I've found anything more sensitive than 100 introduces unacceptable noise. Thank you for the 1/30" suggestion. I know I have issues with this but I never knew around what speeds to be playing with. I practice on still objects, generally, and they're far more forgiving.

I have a Sony DSC-828, so it isn't an SLR. I have no idea whether it restricts light as I zoom in but that's a VERY good thing to know. I'll play around with zoom, too.

Thanks for recommendation and the info!

[hsapiens.livejournal.com]

Oh, I definitely know he's back. :) I'm such a newbie, though, that I hardly know what *to* ask. I can say, "I'm doing it wrong," but I don't get too far beyond that. Before I avail myself of the photographers I know (I'm lucky to know several), it behooves me to learn what I can of the subject.

But then...he kindly gave me some pointers anyway.

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