• I joined yearbook, wondering what some helpful picture tips are.
    8 replies, posted
I just joined yearbook at school, I'm doing the photography and stuff, I was just wondering if anyone had some pointers on getting some great candids. I don't want any of the photos to seem staged, I want them to be school life. My problem is I feel kind of weird taking pictures of people around school, even with my Yearbook Staff badge on, plus my camera is pretty freaking bulky, so most people tend to notice me. What would you recommend as far as shutter speed, ISO, and the like to use for capturing a moving subject when in dim, florescent lighting without using a flash? I'm working with a Nikon D100 and some cheap Tamrom lens if that makes a difference. How can I blend in more without looking like a total creeper if people see me? I just want to get some good shots that are "in the moment" because that's what this years theme is about, being "in the moment". Thanks a ton guys! I really appreciate any help!
Because you are shooting pictures for the yearbook, kids are either gonna be jumping into frame as to get in, or covering their faces as to get out. My best suggestion would be to take pictures of people as they are concentrating on something else, for example, action shots of football players or someone giving a speech. Also, as to be polite, you need to ask permission from your subject to put their photo in the yearbook. Shutter Speed: Try to slow it down as much as possible without getting blurry pictures. When I was photographing a musical rehearsal (the house lights were at half, and the stage was lit by one strip of white lights) I believe I was shooting at about 1/20-1/30. This really depends on how steady you are with a camera, though. ISO: I would try to stay around 800, but adjust as needed.
Alright man, will do. It's just weird to confront people about taking their picture, not like I can whip it out in class and stuff, but we have time to go around for about an hour and a half and take pics of school life, and we're asked to do it during period breaks and class if it's not disruptive. And yes, my problem was blur, when attending events such as a football game or show it would be possible to have some form of a tripod. I was keeping it around 1000, so I'll bump it down and hopefully that will work. I'm working with my steadiness too. Sometimes it will look good on the small screen, but ends up blurry at full res.
The higher your ISO, the more light you get in, so bump it up and make your shutter speed faster.
Yeah, the lens I use is crap and the body is old(ish), so I'm worried about grain. Even at 1600 it still has better quality than some of the cameras they used for last year's book though. So I'll keep it high if needed.
1600 is going to have the highest grain(noise) of all...
Yeah I know, I'm saying though, if need be then I can shoot at 1600 and run some Nik software to touch up the noise, even though the picture will be softer. That's only if occasion calls for it and it's a damn amazing shot or something.
Oh. For a second, I though you had the concept of ISO completely ass backwards. My bad!
For average indoor school lighting I'd shoot wide open, ISO 800, and a shutter speed of 1/60 or faster
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.