Taking shots with SLR advice please

Right guys,

Only had my SLR since December and haven't had much practice with it being busy and stuff but been able to get a few shots of the car obviously :smile:

I need some advice on taking shots in a darker environment. I'm DJ'n in a place called The Tunnels tonight and the name says it all.. It's a kitted out tunnel with a Funktion one sound system. ;/

But i'm needing to take some snaps of the whole night but i only have the lense i got with my 1000D.

Any advice on ISO and shutter speed and stuff because last time i tried everything was too dark as i tried not using the flash.

The image below gives an idea how dark it is after we had a photographer in one night (it was at the start).

IMG_0873.jpg
 
You'll need a lens with a small aperture to capture more light.
You'll also need to set the ISO higher but unless you have a very good camera the picture will have digital grain - this is bad.

You could get around this by using a tripod and your current set-up but then people will not be in focus as they move they will blur but this would be a nice effect as if shows people are lively and enjoying the night.

Hope this helps.
 
You'll need a lens with a small aperture to capture more light.
You'll also need to set the ISO higher but unless you have a very good camera the picture will have digital grain - this is bad.

You could get around this by using a tripod and your current set-up but then people will not be in focus as they move they will blur but this would be a nice effect as if shows people are lively and enjoying the night.

Hope this helps.

What sorta aperture were you thinking?

Yeah i have been setting the ISO quite high but doesn't seem to catch good images of the DJ's which is a pain. I don't mind the movement with the crowd but trying to catch still images of the DJ's proves hard..

Any way i can go about avoiding this? I know quicker shutter speed, but i will struggle to get light through won't i?
 
You really want ISO 2.8 or lower to get enough light in. Use ISO800 if this gives you a clean enough image and ideally aim for a shutter speed of 1/60 or higher.

I always set my canon 400d to aperature priority in these situations, keep aperature to a minimum and keep an eye on the shutter speed in the viewfinder
 
You really want ISO 2.8 or lower to get enough light in. Use ISO800 if this gives you a clean enough image and ideally aim for a shutter speed of 1/60 or higher.

I always set my canon 400d to aperature priority in these situations, keep aperature to a minimum and keep an eye on the shutter speed in the viewfinder

Thanks Ben, this seems to help. Still need certain things explained to me like im stupid lol.

I don't use the flash cause it always gives out digital camera like images and not good looking things. This all ok do you think?
 
I think the flash can be good for some subtle lighting if you turn it down, you can do this in the settings somewhere. I think it's called flash exposure or something like that, would suggest giving it a go :smile:
 
I think the flash can be good for some subtle lighting if you turn it down, you can do this in the settings somewhere. I think it's called flash exposure or something like that, would suggest giving it a go :smile:

I did not know this!! lol! Need to find out before i have to leave tonight. Thanks mate :smile:
 
If you have a canon you MUST buy this:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/12878/show.html

However if you want the best results you need to turn the dial to M and practice :smile:
ISO should be ok as long as you don't go above 800ish though how much you can push it depends on your camera also, my 50D is pretty noisy over 800 so I never go beyond.

Aperture wise you want the lowest you can go all the time if you want to avoid using the flash, lower number = more light.

Shutter speed is dependant on what you want as playing with slow shutter speeds in environments like that can give some pretty funky effects.

Some useful info:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/
 
If you have a canon you MUST buy this:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/12878/show.html

However if you want the best results you need to turn the dial to M and practice :smile:
ISO should be ok as long as you don't go above 800ish though how much you can push it depends on your camera also, my 50D is pretty noisy over 800 so I never go beyond.

Aperture wise you want the lowest you can go all the time if you want to avoid using the flash, lower number = more light.

Shutter speed is dependant on what you want as playing with slow shutter speeds in environments like that can give some pretty funky effects.

Some useful info:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/

Thanks Twig, Ill check these links out in a minute or two.

I have the idea of uses of the Aperture and Shutter Speeds and ISO and stuff and iv been practicing, just tonight i want to have a rough idea what settings to use and once im there i can adjust to suit if i can get anywhere :smile:

Thanks for the advice though. Do you have any idea about what Ben said about the flash?
 
That 50mm F1.8 is meant to be an amazing lens (The nifty fifty!) but won't be much good in a club, 50mm is just too much.
 
That 50mm F1.8 is meant to be an amazing lens (The nifty fifty!) but won't be much good in a club, 50mm is just too much.

It was more of just a general recommendation than for the club.

Liambo, just try not to use the flash at all.
 
Little update, :smile:

Everything went well by the looks of things through the camera screen but i haven't looked at them on the computer yet so things might change. :smile: But F3.5 was the lowest i could get with a shutter speed of 1/50 (if i remember) and a ISO of about 800 i kept it at.

So happy days :smile:

Thanks for all the advice guys.
 
Sounds pretty good settings mate!

As said though the proof is in the full size images!