mrs.cos Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Ok, so i went to COSI today with my neice and husband. I was FULLY armed with my flash and 50MM and 18-55 Kit lens. Normally i would rent a faster lens (like the 24-70 2.8 that i love) but i just didnt have the money for it this weekend. Anyways.. I fucking HATE the lighting there. Its like its MADE for people to NEVER have a real camera at all. I feel tortured that i cant take a fun picture of such awesome faces that the children i am with, are making. I seriously feel stabby about it. The first time i went with another niece of mine, and i thought, "well im learning out to use a camera properly" and thought thats why i didn't get great shots in the lesser lit rooms. I felt i was still a noob.. Three+ years later.. i am back, and still feel like its the first take i took the camera off Auto. I floundered all day.. I really feel like i had a crappy photographer day.. i forgot to change ISO in dark to light rooms, i had terrible focusing.. at one point, I even set my camera down to do something with my niece AND FORGOT TO PICK IT UP, and didnt realize it till the next exhibit, and had to run to find it. I realize i was completely distracted, trying to keep her happy, but geeze. But at this point in my photography skills i SHOULD have this figured out.. Terrible lighting should NOT be this much of an issue for someone who is sometimes paid for work. I also feel like this is where my weakness is and could really use some direction. SHIT from today. (i did get some other great shots in other rooms, but those arent what i want to show off and learn from) The Ocean room at COSI, is a green lit room, and very dark. Its meant to give you this under the water feeling, but it has (TO ME) the most interactive fun things kids like to be around.. WATER!! --Without further ado.. the Crap. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5277/5846877011_f40a3925d2_z.jpg Crap.. serious Crap. by Lucky Lola Studios, on Flickr http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3407/5846875963_d59ffa3585_z.jpg Crap.. serious Crap. by Lucky Lola Studios, on Flickr I realize here, that 1600 ISO was wrong, it was left over from my trying out other stuff from the Ocean room, but i cant figure out the red hue. After the "Progress" exhibit, i switched to raw, hoping i could salvage any other poorly lit rooms that i wanted something decent out of. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5141/5846888613_98e9650092_z.jpg More Crap. by Lucky Lola Studios, on Flickr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Is there a chance you can post the full exif data or link me to images with exif attached? Unfortunately I can't tell you a thing without it. It's like tuning a car without a computer providing logs and data Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted June 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 heh.. sure. I thought it was visible via flickr I know i can set it up on flickr to show the exif, but i dont feel likem essing with it tonight.. you have a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Ok, so i went to COSI today with my neice and husband. I was FULLY armed with my flash and 50MM and 18-55 Kit lens. Normally i would rent a faster lens (like the 24-70 2.8 that i love) but i just didnt have the money for it this weekend. I fucking HATE the lighting there. Its like its MADE for people to NEVER have a real camera at all. I feel tortured that i cant take a fun picture of such awesome faces that the children i am with, are making. I seriously feel stabby about it. While you gather the exif, here's my take. Lighting in settings like this is tough. There are three things you can do. Use no flash and either shutter or aperture priority. Manual where needed. Challenging for obvious reason in terms of shutter speed, especially so if kids and movement are involved. Natural, but then also a little lifeless at times depending on the setting if the light is too low. Manual Mode using a direct or even bounced flash. Tough as cielings are high, recycle times without a battery pack longer and FPS slower. Direct can be harsh, and indirect may not even be enough. I really prefer fill flash, but again, in very low light settings can be difficult given ambient levels usually produce very low shutter speeds. However, I do shoot here often just bumping ISO's up and reviewing where they are vs what is required. I have no fear going ISO 3200-6400 with a flash involved. I don't even have the latest and best Camera's but the results for such events and settings rarely requires them given the print sizes coming from them. Overall desired result is balance lighting with as little appearance of a flash as possible. The first time i went with another niece of mine, and i thought, "well im learning out to use a camera properly" and thought thats why i didn't get great shots in the lesser lit rooms. I felt i was still a noob.. Happens to everyone. Don't sweat it. I do event photography thus this is exactly my type of gig. However, I often don't have all my gear able to be rolled out either. Most of the time it's me with 1-2 flash units. But at this point in my photography skills i SHOULD have this figured out.. Terrible lighting should NOT be this much of an issue for someone who is sometimes paid for work. I also feel like this is where my weakness is and could really use some direction. Again, if you don't do event or on location photography regularly, don't sweat it. If I make it to a CR Drag day, I'll surely choke off the line if but just hope everyone will laugh with me not at me I'll keep checking in here. SNL is on and I'm editing some restoration work as I surf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 So what Trish is seeing is an obvious underexposure. I think part of it is related to her metering mode being matrix vs center weighted. In situations like this the surrounding lights and colors can often confuse metering systems so it's best to center weight the metering off your focus point/subject. I think that's further evident in that the camera was on Auto White Balance and yet in the red image, it clearly read the incorrect ambient light temperature and thus selected the wrong output to use resulting in the red color. Another more likely cause was that her flash was in manual mode vs TTL. In studio, manual is easy to set up and use as the ambient light is controlled. However, in settings like this, it because trial and error if you're not familiar with how to read changing conditions. Given the stress today and all that was going on, no doubt you weren't able to adjust the flash as needed. The exif comes back that the Strobe return light was not detected I which could be caused from an incorrect use of wireless flash, but here is likely due to being in manual mode and not having proper exposure. One thing I'll lead off with is while images we were working with were jpegs and the edits are fine, the real potential lies with shooting in RAW format. Makes the possibilities of recovering data and performing edits a breeze. Here's an example edit/fix http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/135687916/original.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 My settings for the ocean room start at 1/125th f 4 iso 1600, flash in auto mode with an index card rubber banded to it for a larger light source. Then I move from there. I love the ocean room and the old city street sets there because the lighting matches what I find at nice receptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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