Thrown in at the deep end - help required

Steven001

Steven001

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Hello,

My girlfriend is needing some pictures taken for her portfolio (she is a dancer) and has suggested that she could hire a studio and I - having a DSLR obviously know everything there is to know about photography! - have been asked to take the photographs for her. The studio an equipment provided is listed here:

http://www.wgphotoart.com/studio-hire-glasgow.php

I have zero experience in studio photography. I have explained that I can't promise anything useable but she has insisted that she would like me to try. For £10 extra they offer a D700 for hire along with a 50mm and 85mm 1.8, which is probably go for.

Is this doable? What are the chances of getting a keeper out of the shoot? I have asked her to get some images similar to what she would like done, so I have an idea for poses etc.

Help!
 
The extra tenner seems fair,, thou do u know ur way round a D700 ??

No point in hiring studio, if your going to spend all day finding your way round the camera,

Studio that ive used in the past is Studio Q ( falkirk )- great setup ,, and will show u how to meter the setup ,,

Im in no way an expert,,, thou if u go to Studio Q,, i could nip over and help if u want ,, even let u use my glass


http://www.studioqphotography.co.uk/
 
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I honestly think you will need some help if you have zero studio experience. Especially if you are looking at using a camera that is totally new to you aswell.
 
I'd hire the D700 too with the lenses. You could put the 50 on your crop body and the 85 on the D700 and swap between cameras.

Think you need to get yourself glued to youtube for a few hours.

Do you know how to use a light meter for the flash heads etc.

how long have you got to learn/ get clued up?
 
amfoto said:
The extra tenner seems fair,, thou do u know ur way round a D700 ??

No point in hiring studio, if your going to spend all day finding your way round the camera,

Studio that ive used in the past is Studio Q ( falkirk )- great setup ,, and will show u how to meter the setup ,,

Im in no way an expert,,, thou if u go to Studio Q,, i could nip over and help if u want ,, even let u use my glass


http://www.studioqphotography.co.uk/
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I don't know my way around a D700, but my D90 has all manual controlls buttons on the body rather than being menu driven. Hopefully there won't be too much to learn!

Thank you very much for your offer! Unfortunatly she has now booked the stuido above :bonk:

chivers67 said:
I'd hire the D700 too with the lenses. You could put the 50 on your crop body and the 85 on the D700 and swap between cameras.

Think you need to get yourself glued to youtube for a few hours.

Do you know how to use a light meter for the flash heads etc.

how long have you got to learn/ get clued up?
Click to expand...

Great idea, I never though of that. Would I be able to trigger the lights with my D90 though>

I think your right, I see a few hours on youtube ahead.

I've never had to use a light meter other than the one in the camera. I've never exposed/metered for flash heads before.
 
Ok so they've email asking how many lamps and which colour of background I require. I've looked at a few videos on youtube and think going with three lamps offers the most versatility. What's your thoughts?

I thought grey would be a good colour as it seems easier to light than white or black, although they offer blue and vine colours too.

They've asked which modifiers I require - Would I be better with softboxes of unbrellas? I know they all seem basic questions, but I obviously have a lot to learn.
 
Surely the people that run the studio will help with lighting setups ect, Explain to them what you are trying to achieve & your experience level.They will set the camera & lights for you & wont be to far away if you need more help,

Toonie
 
amfoto said:
Keep it simple

Grey background will be fine ,,, leaves u only to light the subject.

120cm octabox with grid

200x40cm strip softboxe with grid

http://www.sekonic.com/Products/L-358/Overview.aspx

look forward to see the pics
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Thanks for the link to the light metering videos - helped massively! I also contacted the studio and hopefully they will help me with some basic set-ups.

tonester said:
When are you planning on doing this? Or have you already done it?


If I'm available I would offer to help you!
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It's tomorrow at 5pm! She only get me two days notice which was nice :bonk:

I've watched several YouTube videos and feel I have a basic understanding on how things work (putting it into practice is another matter).

I have also contacted the studio and it seems like they might help with set-up etc (hopefully!)
 
Steven001 said:
It's tomorrow at 5pm! She only get me two days notice which was nice :bonk:

I've watched several YouTube videos and feel I have a basic understanding on how things work (putting it into practice is another matter).

I have also contacted the studio and it seems like they might help with set-up etc (hopefully!)
Click to expand...

Cool, hope all goes well. Enjoy and look forward to seeing the results.
 
It's a lot to take in and not something you would get right away and for a first time getting dancing shots will not be easy never mind getting exposure right!

BUT if they are helping with a couple of simple setups that's all you really need, let them do that and watch them..... to learn.

Also use your D90 - No difference at ISO100 although the crop factor could be a limitation comparing to the wider FOV of the FF cameras.

I agree keep the background simple and unlit - Grey is good.
 
tonester said:
Cool, hope all goes well. Enjoy and look forward to seeing the results.
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You're more than welcome to come along if you're free :)

EOS_JD said:
It's a lot to take in and not something you would get right away and for a first time getting dancing shots will not be easy never mind getting exposure right!

BUT if they are helping with a couple of simple setups that's all you really need, let them do that and watch them..... to learn.

Also use your D90 - No difference at ISO100 although the crop factor could be a limitation comparing to the wider FOV of the FF cameras.

I agree keep the background simple and unlit - Grey is good.
Click to expand...

I have decided to use my D90 and probably my 35mm 1.8. The only reason I thought about the D700 was for the use of the two lenses that accompanied it.

Hopefully it will go well!
 
35 will maybe give a bit of distortion. Use the longest lens you can.
 
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