Candid Pictures in Low Light from Far Away (It's a disaster)

I have a unique photography situation that I run into at least one or more times a year. I am a frequent geek convention attendee and I often get into panels with big name celebrities. I tend to get decently close, but still not as close as I'd like since all I have is a kit lens. I'd say I get 20-30 feet away at the good panels. I almost always have to crop pictures later though. They also tend to be doing a lot of talking, so movement is a thing and these panels are all in low light settings. Overall it's just a really bad combination of things to get a decent shot. They're almost always blurry. It sucks.

First things first, I know I should get a better lens. I know. But assuming I'm not going to be able to afford one before my next convention, what are some tips on reducing the blurriness of my pictures? I tend to only adjust ISO and shutter speed because I'm not well versed in fstop or white balance. I believe this mode on my Canon is called "tv" mode. I'm more than willing to learn though if either of those will help. Most of what I do is trial and error and I'll spend most of the panels adjusting settings until I get something that works. It'd be great to go into it was some advice instead of just winging it.

My next convention is 9 months away so I've got plenty of time to experiment. Since the panel set ups are unique and diverse, though, it's hard to recreate the exact environment. The closest environment I can think of for experimentation is club or bar.

Thanks for any tips for this super duper specific situation lol

I would start by experimenting with ISO settings: find out how high you can push the ISO and get results you find acceptable. That will give a baseline. You might be able to shoot at 1/100-1/125 and get reasonably sharp images if you "lead" you subject, ie, try to anticipate when their motion will be slowest. I wouldn't shoot wide open, but probably at f5.6. I think support of some sort is essential tro reduce the possibility that the blur comes from camera shake.
Here's an example of a shot taken in performance as I described, using a tripod, with a spot providing the lighting. 1/160sec@f/3.5, ISO1600.

John Landolfi wrote: Here's an example of a shot taken in performance as I described, using a tripod, with a spot providing the lighting. 1/160sec@f/3.5, ISO1600.

Where?

You're going to need a decent lens, as from that distance (I'm going to disagree with John here) you can be at 3.5 or 4 and have good DoF. The appropriate aperture really depends upon what you're trying to do (straight on for one person, multiple people in a single shot, etc). if you can't afford a lens, rent one. Your best bet will be a 70-200 f/2.8 (or perhaps the f/4).

+1 on the tripod (the f/2.8 is quite heavy. It will help you at slower shutter speeds (1/60 s or longer) using a longer focal length. You might also need a remote shutter release to minimize camera shake.

+1 on anticipating the moment. This is something you can practice anywhere you find people.

Do your research to learn about the exposure triangle. Go to clubs to take pictures of bands to practice your skills, as this will be one of the most challenging environments you can find. Expect to be less than successful starting out.

Finally, get a copy of Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure and read it.

John is right with step one. ISO. I think the 30D goes up to 1600 plus a High? which would resemble 3200. Shoot some night street scenes on that and see if you can cope with the noise.

The kit lens I know have a max lens opening of 5.6 if you zoom in all the way, which is very bad news. Options: Rent a lens or buy a 2nd hand lens, even if it is fixed (not zoom), but longer than 85mm, and f4 or f2.8. That way you can win an extra shutter speed or two. If you had LOTS of movement I can imagine you were as low as 1/8 or 1/15sec. Then you can go to 1/30 or 1/60sec. which will only blur fast hand or head movements.

Tri-pod a must. for under 1/250sec. Remote shutter release an over the top luxury if you are trying to budget. You might also struggle to find one for your model camera.

Not sure what you are asking, Gary. I am the official photographer for the International Keyboard Institute in NYC, which holds a Festival every year (for the last 15 years) which involves Master classes recitals, and concerts over two weeks. I photograph most concerts, and I have worked out a method for getting a fair percentage of decent images shot in performance. I tried to describe some of the things I do. I shoot from the back of the hall, perhaps 200 ft from the stage, with the camera on a tripod, and covered with a sound reducing case, and I use a cable release. The parameter values I mentioned are guidelines, and need to be evaluated when actually shooting. As you can see, this was shot at f/3.5, because I wanted the 1/160sec. I use a 70-200 f/2.8, I have shot wide open, but the lens is very forgiving at that aperture- a lot of lenses aren't. I don't know if Stephanie's camera has the feature, but I also use Dynamic AF on the D3s, with good results.

John Landolfi wrote: Not sure what you are asking, Gary. I am the official photographer for the International Keyboard Institute in NYC, which holds a Festival every year (for the last 15 years) which involves Master classes recitals, and concerts over two weeks. I photograph most concerts, and I have worked out a method for getting a fair percentage of decent images shot in performance. I tried to describe some of the things I do. I shoot from the back of the hall, perhaps 200 ft from the stage, with the camera on a tripod, and covered with a sound reducing case, and I use a cable release. The parameter values I mentioned are guidelines, and need to be evaluated when actually shooting. As you can see, this was shot at f/3.5, because I wanted the 1/160sec. I use a 70-200 f/2.8, I have shot wide open, but the lens is very forgiving at that aperture- a lot of lenses aren't. I don't know if Stephanie's camera has the feature, but I also use Dynamic AF on the D3s, with good results.

I wasn't questioning your credentials (as you have clearly demonstrated a very high level of skill in your images on this forum). I was asking where the example picture was. I'm not seeing an image nor a link in your original response.

garyrhook wrote:

John Landolfi wrote: Not sure what you are asking, Gary. I am the official photographer for the International Keyboard Institute in NYC, which holds a Festival every year (for the last 15 years) which involves Master classes recitals, and concerts over two weeks. I photograph most concerts, and I have worked out a method for getting a fair percentage of decent images shot in performance. I tried to describe some of the things I do. I shoot from the back of the hall, perhaps 200 ft from the stage, with the camera on a tripod, and covered with a sound reducing case, and I use a cable release. The parameter values I mentioned are guidelines, and need to be evaluated when actually shooting. As you can see, this was shot at f/3.5, because I wanted the 1/160sec. I use a 70-200 f/2.8, I have shot wide open, but the lens is very forgiving at that aperture- a lot of lenses aren't. I don't know if Stephanie's camera has the feature, but I also use Dynamic AF on the D3s, with good results.

I wasn't questioning your credentials (as you have clearly demonstrated a very high level of skill in your images on this forum). I was asking where the example picture was. I'm not seeing an image nor a link in your original response.

That's what I thought you were asking for. I wasn't giving credentials, BTW, just some background on the kind of photos this one represents, and the shooting conditions. And, as far as skill level...takes one to know one...

Lots and lots of good info here so thank you. I didn't even know equipment rents were an option. Where does one rent equipment? Camera shops? And how much would a lens cost approximately? Does that vary drastically or there a general "range?" I mean I can just Google "camera equipment rentals" but that doesn't always get the best results/prices on things and I'd love to hear personal experience.

Yes, a 30D goes up to 1600. I've shot night scenes of buildings before and had a lot of fun doing it. When I get access to my harddrive again I'll dig up some of my pictures from Miami and post in the architecture forum. Buildings are stationary, though, and I often have the problem of people moving around on stage. I tend to take probably 100+ pictures in an hour long panel and get maybe 10 that are decent but not what I'd consider "good." Some of my pictures from one of the panels I attended last year were stolen from my blog and posted all around Tumblr, though (watermark in the corner cropped off even though I specifically asked people to not to that). On the one hand that's very frustrating, but on the other hand a little bit of a ego boost that they were good enough that people wanted to share them. I lucked out with that panel, though, and got front row seats so I was at most 10 feet away. Usually it's at least double that if not triple or quadruple and those pictures never get stolen because they just aren't good.

Since it's going to be a while before I get to test this I'm basically copying all these stats into a word doc an saving it for reference. It's the exact type of detailed answers I was hoping for so thank you guys very much. I'm hoping to land some press badges for next year (applications submitted, will know in 4-6 weeks!) and if I land those I'll have even more access to things. I'm pretty excited.

borrowlenses.com or lensrental.com are the big players. I think Adorama rents too? We also have a local store with a good selection.

All of the prices tend to be pretty comparable, once shipping is taken into account. Part of the equation is availability. You can also rent camera bodies.

The nice thing about have a good local camera store is that I can be spontaneous if I need to.

And John still didn't post a picture

Ooops! I had copied the link, and forgot to paste it in! And I completely misunderstood your "where?" My apologies!

www.photographytalk.com/photos/58079

John Landolfi wrote: www.photographytalk.com/photos/58079

Those concert shots are quite nice!

Thanks, Gary! My bread-and-butter...

30D... mmm pretty crappy in low light plus it's only 8MP so the resolution isn't great for cropping.

Here's what I would do:

Sell the 30D and buy something newer. Even the low end models will have better high ISO, heck even the 100D would be better.

Buy a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

Well I said in my original post that I'm not going to be able to afford to buy a new lens by the time my next convention comes around, so buying an entirely new camera is also completely out of the equation. I do appreciate the feedback, but I'm having trouble affording to get to this convention in the first place so buying a new camera is absolutely not an option this time around. Perhaps next time around. Renting a lens sounds doable though.

Thanks for those shots John! That's the type of quality I'm aiming for.

I think renting a good 70-200 f/2.8 lens will make it possible. Keep in mind that overexposed highlights are easier to control than plugged up shadows, so check the histogram as you go. If you practice "leading", you can get away with speeds like 1/60, which will help with the shadows. And. thanks!