Help for taking pictures at a fashion show

[wiggwigg2010]

Hello guys,

I have voluntered to take pictures at my School's fashion show but i have no idea how to

i was thinking "do i need a flash" and "what white balance should i use". so if any of you have had expirience with this kind of stuff, please give me some advice.

Thanks in advance

[wave01]

Hi can you tell us what type of camera you will be using and if you know the lighting conditions

[wiggwigg2010]

Originally Posted by wave01

Hi can you tell us what type of camera you will be using and if you know the lighting conditions

well, i'll be using my canon eos 450D with a 18-200mm lens. but i'm not sure what the lighting will be like :L . the problem is that i'm not the only photographer there and i don't want to mess up their shopts with a flash or ruin the performance with one....

[GeoffWessex]

From what I've heard, and read, the 450D is pretty good at ISO800...... and not too bad at ISO1600. So I think you can forget the flash and go for higher ISO..... stick it on 800, with a good white balance (Auto should be ok, but you never know - try it with the lighting in the room ahead of the show). Then concentrate on getting a good spot, filling the frame with the models, and shoot lots, preferably in Raw. Try to keep your zoom to no 'wider' than about 40mm, to avoid distortion - you'd make the models look fat, and we can't have that!

[wiggwigg2010]

Originally Posted by GeoffWessex

From what I've heard, and read, the 450D is pretty good at ISO800...... and not too bad at ISO1600. So I think you can forget the flash and go for higher ISO..... stick it on 800, with a good white balance (Auto should be ok, but you never know - try it with the lighting in the room ahead of the show). Then concentrate on getting a good spot, filling the frame with the models, and shoot lots, preferably in Raw. Try to keep your zoom to no 'wider' than about 40mm, to avoid distortion - you'd make the models look fat, and we can't have that!

what shutter speed should i use cause i don't want the images to be blury

[GeoffWessex]

I'd stick with Shutter Priority at 1/250th and try to make sure that I'm getting on the wider apertures - isolating the background a little. If 1/250th is giving you a smaller aperture you should move to 1/500th. You won't get the subject sharp and background very blurred with your 18-200mm lens, as the aperture canl probably only open to f/5.6 at best..... but that should 'throw the background off' to some extent.

[wave01]

Good advice but check you pictures if you see a colour banding then you may have to keep the the shutter speed to 1/200 which i believe is the max flash sync.

[GeoffWessex]

Isn't the OP trying to go without flash? I'd recommend going without and sticking with a high ISO - flash could annoy lots of people and probably dazzle the models (they're not professional) and you wouldn't want one falling on you!

[wave01]

Hi I would go without flash too but they all depends on the light there I would try and shoot RAW and auto white balance and adjust in post processing. As you have said already