Taking photos indoors - flash unit(?) and advice please!

[Chris71]

I'm off to cover an awards dinner for work next week and I've also been asked to take some photographs. I have a vague idea what I'm doing and a Canon 400D (with standard kit) to play with. I wondered:

Is it worth getting a external flash unit? If so, how much do I should I look to pay and what features do I need to look for? ETA: as a rough guide, it may be difficult to justify more than about £100, so I'm looking at the budget end of the spectrum it appears...

Any tips? The idea is to capture some casual shots of the various big cheeses chatting to eachother and the like, as well as some group shots of the speakers and delegates.

Less importantly - I might also grab a bigger memory card, any good deals around at the moment?

Edited by Chris71 on Thursday 12th November 12:19

[andy-xr]

I think, if you're going to use flash, use a flashgun rather than popup - it rarely looks good. Howver, it sounds as though you may be sniping, in which case a fast long lens (hired?) might be a better option and suffer with some ISO noise

[Rofly Lollers]

The pop-up flash is for emergencies only. It produces harsh unflattering light and strong shadows. It also gives red-eye because it is mounted so close to the lense.

Definitely use an off-camera flash.

[Ed_P]

If you're there to formally photograph the event, then relying on the pop-up flash is very risky. A speedlight flashgun will give much better and more reliable results and is also an excellent investment in your basic photography kit. A light modifier (eg Stofen diffuser) is also helpful but not essential.

Even with a speedlight, don't be tempted to point it directly at the subject(s). Bounce it off a wall or ceiling (preferably a white one), so that the subject is illuminated obliquely. It looks like your budget is insufficient for a Canon 430EX or 580EX speedlight. There are compatible models available, but make sure they offer a tilt and swivel head and that TTL functions are supported.

Good Luck ...

Edited by Ed_P on Thursday 12th November 13:41

[Chris71]

Thanks. Can anyone recommend any specific models at that sort of price range? Will the cameras semi-auto modes recognise the more powerful flash automatically and compensate? (I want something reasonably fire'n'forget).

One of these maybe? http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nissin-di622-f...

...or stick with Canon, but ger the very base model? http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-canon-high-pow...

Thanks for the advice gents. I've played around with the camera quite a lot, but never had cause to do much indoors under artificial lighting before! I have stressed to the people I'm providing the pictures for that I'm not a photographer, but they just seem to want snapshots - providing they're decent res, in-focus etc.

[craig_s]

I've got the same one as this, but for Nikon and does everything I need. Works with the camera's TTL metering, bounce and swivel head and a built in diffuser too. It can also be fired remotely using the on board flash to trigger it. All for £100. It won't compete with more expensive options obviously, but is pretty good value I'd say.

[Simpo Two]

Technically it's the same as wedding reportage, but without the wedding. At the very least get the biggest flashgun you can, then ideally a fast midrange zoom for 'people chatting' and a 70-200mm f2.8 for the awards bit.

Oops, I just spent £2,300 of your £100 budget

[Chris71]

Simpo Two said:

Oops, I just spent £2,300 of your £100 budget

Well I estimated it at £130 for flash, lead and a few quid towards a bigger memory card (only have the basic bundle one currently, which is pretty restrictive...) I think with that in mind the idea of hiring a proper photographer suddenly sounds rather more appealing to the powers that be!

[Simpo Two]

The £99 Nissin flash might be the best single thing you can do, but I don't know anything about them. At least you have the monitor, so if something's not working properly you can do something about it on the spot. (You may of course have to figure out what the problem is and then solve it instantly whilst chatting over canapes and smiling politely!)

Just keep your head and I'm sure you'll get some usable shots. Oh, and bone up on 'flash compensation'.

[Ed_P]

Simpo Two said:

Just keep your head and I'm sure you'll get some usable shots. Oh, and bone up on 'flash compensation'.

Excellent advice. And read the flash manual a couple of times before the event!

[Whoozit]

I took piccies of a party for my brother-in-law last weekend in an underlit marquee. Strictly amateur but quite a few reasonable shots came out. The tips I took away on what worked and what didn't

1. Manually set a shutter speed that captures a reasonable amount of ambient light without flash (perhaps 1 stop underexposed), and leave it there. When you use the flash you'll then avoid having a completely black background where the flash hasn't reached anything
2. Bouncing the flash is definitely better. Be careful of the colour of the walls/ceiling you are bouncing it off
3. Give yourself 15-30 minutes before you spring into action to test out various shutter speed/flash compensation settings to see what works best. I found myself flipping between three different flash settings depending on the relative angles of the flash/bouncing surface, distance to the subject and what mood I was trying to capture
4. Use a wide fast lens (although that may have been more of an issue for me where the marquee was lit only by fairy lights!). I got by fine without a longer lens, I just got closer up to people and turned down the flash so as not to blind them!

[V8S]

Chris71 said:

Simpo Two said:

Oops, I just spent £2,300 of your £100 budget

Well I estimated it at £130 for flash, lead and a few quid towards a bigger memory card (only have the basic bundle one currently, which is pretty restrictive...) I think with that in mind the idea of hiring a proper photographer suddenly sounds rather more appealing to the powers that be!

Mifsuds currently have a 430EX II secondhand for £160. Bit over budget, but may be worth it for long-term use. When I was looking for a flash a couple of weeks ago, they had an original 430EX for £110 I think. Might be worth looking around some of the other used specialists for one of those. In the end I bought a new 430EX II.

Mifsuds are a very reputable company if you've never used them before.

I've just looked at Ffordes but they have no EX series in your budget. Another good company.