Tips for shooting in a big Auditorium

[D.P.]

I have an event to shoot tonight and most of tomorrow. Most of the paid events I have shot to date have been in mock-Tudor style function rooms with reasonable daylight, smallish rooms and low ceilings that make it dead simple to use natural light or bounce flash and get pretty backgrounds.

This event is different and is held in a hotel's conference room. There will be a load of presentations. The room is very big, very dark, the lights will be out/dimmed, the projector will be casting nasty light, I may end up quite far away. People will be presenting on the stage and they wont want me up close and in their face, so i will have to be back in the audience and shooting with a longer lens. The room is very sterile and boring.

These types of conditions I dread and I am looking for some tips.
I will be shooting with a D800 + D7000, the D800 will mostly have a Nikon 24-70mm for close up work and a 70-200mm f/2.8 for distant work, the D7000 will have either the 85mm f/.8 for reach when the D800 has the 24-70, or a 35mm f/1.8 when the 70-200 is on the D800. This way I always have long and short options between 2 cameras. I may put the 85mm f/1.8 on the D800 if need that extra 1&1/3 stop with more reach than the 24-70mm. For lighting I have a single SB-600, never needed any more than that until perhaps today.



I kind of hope I can get away with simply bumping the ISO to 6400 and shooting wide open but I fear that may not be enough for some of the event. I can use direct fill flash but that never gives good results with me, any tips? I also prefer not to be wide open because I want sufficient DoF to capture groups of 2-3 people. The event is about networking & social interactions and I am specifically requested to capture people and their group work.


I have looked at previous years photos and they were typically shot at ISO 6400, f/2.8 and 1/80th second at 200mm with a 70-200mm on a Nikon D3S. They don't look great at all.

 

[DBT85]

How far back are you talking? At 200mm and 2.8 you should get about half a meter of focus at around 11m away which could be enough for you if the groups are together on the stage.

Also, if you're getting paid to take the pics why won't they want you up front? You're the photographer, tell them that if they want decent photos you need to be up there. Go talk to head honcho and tell him/her what the deal is.

How close is close, I suppose.

 

[D.P.]

A Sneaky look at last year's photos on flickr is showing distances of 15m and more recorded in the exif. TBH, the long distance shots aren't a big concern because the flash is basically useless and the DoF will be large enough for the single presenter, so all I have to do is shoot at f/2.8 ISO 6400 and hope V makes a keeper. I will pack my tripod and monopod but it may not be practical. These shots will look quite boring but there is simply not muchchoice in the way to do it.

It is some of the other photos that will be more challenging, e.g. people doing team work around a table that I need to capture. So I need a DoF large enough to capture the group but I am much closer so DoF at f/2.8 will be too narrow for my needs. This is when the flash can be used but I wont be able to bounce the flash. So I will use it as a fill flash with a reduced flash exposure but maintain a high ISO to try to get the background appropriately illuminated and avoid the white subject/black background look of point and shoot cameras. But I'm less experienced in shooting such difficult conditions.


They don't want the photographer to interfere with the presentations. A lot of them are students giving presentations to a lot of people form industry who will be keeping an eye on them for potential jobs. I don;t explicitly have to be far away from it all but I think there is just a big stage and it would look awkward with 1 person standing presenting and then me walking around in front. The stage is raised so if I stand at the front of it I will be looking up which is not a flattering pose, so I believe that is why last year the tog stood some way back so they were at the same level.
i'm friendly with the organizer and if there is a good spot a bit closer, maybe the edge of the stage I should be able to get there.

 

[D.P.]

Just finished a quick first pass at processing. Conditions were tough I spent the first 20 minutes trying without a flash but at ISO 6400 at f/1.8 I was still only getting 1/30second shutter on the 85mm. I started using the 70-200mm f/2.8 hoping the VR would work but there wasn't a big improvement so I gave in and used the flash. Some times I could bounce sometimes I just had to fill. These worked better. WB proved a big problem, the lights were or age, the carpet was or age, the walls were orange and of course given then dark WB were typically way off, and very or orange. Half way through I tuned the auto WB so importants would be closer. A common problem I have faced before is that flash light cause a cold blue light, but if you are in environment that is very orange you end up with cold foreground foreground where the flash bounces and orange backgrounds. A quick desat on the yellow channel and careful tuning of WB ensures a close color balance.

I could walk right up to anyone I wanted but eh environment just made it easier to be further back and rely on the 70-200mm. The speakers on stage stood at podium righT at the front so getting on stage would mean side views or thir back side. Getting close and in front would mean looking up, so standing back and using focal length helped get level photos of their front. In general the 70-200mm was the tool of the trade , I could stop down a bit and get plenty of DoF but the focal length would ensure great background separation, when you shoot wider but closer it is too easy to find insufficient DoF over the subject but the background is still pro ain't due to perspective. Perspective trumps aperture IMO. The 24-70 had its uses but was all to frequently too short in this event, although some of the best photos of the weekend came from it.

Another good point was that the best photos came from the breaks where I wasn't required to shoot. People sitting down watching presentations makes for boring photos, people going to grab a coffee and trying to network with the guest speakers make for golden moments.

Will post some examples ASAP, nothing I amroud of but tough conditions.

 

[D.P.]

A few examples, mostly SOOC with a little cropping. Nothign I'm proud of but the event organizer said they were the best photos they have had so I pleased enough but looking at previous years results that doesn't say much IMO! It is mostly about networking and how to talk yourself into a high paying job on wall street so many of the photos try to highlight that.

Lots of boring photos like the following but that is what the client wanted:

Photos like this were important

This photo was the organizers favorite and might form the front cover of next years event because it epitomizes what the event is about.

 

[DBT85]

Looks like you got a nice set considering the setting and what they wanted from you. No manky shadows and nice even lighting. A few look like they could be recruitment website main images too. Well done.

Jim missed a spot though.

 

[D.P.]

On the success of that event I have a couple more events lined up.
I don't wan to loose all my free time to this so last year I turned down a number of event but my job is exceedingly insecure right now so I will likely commit.

 

[Origin]

Great photos, well done on getting them. Completely off topic question and seeing if my google skills are working. Was this the Westin at Corvette Way? If so, you're just down the road from me (15 mins from my work, home is a bit further 40 mins) (like I said, completely OT!)

 

[D.P.]

No, westin hotel in Richmond, virginia

 

[Origin]

No, westin hotel in Richmond, virginia

Quite some difference there then. I thought it might be the one in Richmond Vancouver