Lighting Help with d700 and Sb 900

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Lighting Help with d700 and Sb 900

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hipmom

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So I just announced that I purchased the D700 with the SB 900 Speedlight and the 70-200 f2.8 VRII, I need to shoot in a very low light setting next week- I am a tad bit nervous- because I have never used a speedlight and never used this new equipment that is arriving tomorrow.

Do most of you use a speedlight in very low light or just crank up the ISO?

At what point do you decide to use the flash on the d700?

Does anyone have a link to a chart that might give me some ISO guidelines to use while shoot in Aperture Mode?

Posted 3 years ago #
hipmom

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Sorry I need to proof my posts. That last line is badddd......

Posted 3 years ago #
poster

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It really depends on the quality and type of shot you are trying to achieve.

Tell us what type of shots you are looking for, and what event you are shooting.

Posted 3 years ago #
hipmom

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This is a dinner party birthday celebration, I understand the lighting will be low and lots of christmas lights on trees etc.

I would like high quality images- In the past I would pop on my 50mm 1.4 and crank up the ISO, but this camera and speedlight will be new- I can't afford to experiment too much at this event with the speedlight.

I have never used the speedlight in shooting- and know there is going to be a learning curve-since I almost always shoot natural light in my photojournalism job.

I would say I am hoping to get the same type of candids I would get a wedding dinner. Hope that helps!

Posted 3 years ago #
nau

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try the same conditions at home and see how it will work out ...
50 1.4 is not a perfect solution since if you use it on 1.4 it just give very shallow depth for general use...
one thing for sure try to get little white dome to soften the light...

but in short: try test try

Posted 3 years ago #
AaronFoto

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I'm always a fan of natural light. Typically I would see what kind of shutter speed I could get at f2.8 and the ISO just under 3200 doing spot metering on the faces. 3200 will give you usable pics but not preferable.

If you've got a relatively low ceiling you could aim the flash straight up with the white card that's built into the flash popped up. I don't use my flash much but that's the method that I've found gives the best results.

I did a wedding last week and the ceilings were too high to get any bounce with the flash so I went the with the ISO route mainly when I wasn't using my remote strobes. The 50 1.4 came in handy too.

I've never done it in the past, but I was kind of wishing I brought my monopod too.

Posted 3 years ago #
heartyfisher

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The nikon flash system is a wonder! I would suggest that you should shoot the way you are used to .. Ie available light and high ISO. and use the flash pointed straight up for a say about 30% of the shots. so you are sure to get what you want. Use auto ISO so when you have the flash on ISO goes down. when the flash is off the ISO goes up as required..

Posted 3 years ago #
SquamishPhoto

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I wouldn't be so worried about this considering that you have a d700 and a 1.4 If you just take a reasonable percentage of your shots cranking your ISO up(remember that you can rocket it up past 1600 on a d700 without much impact) and then try your hand at using the flash to fill some of your scenes you'll at least have the stuff made without the flash to fall back on in case the shots with the SB-900 dont work out like you expected them too. Also, I'd make sure to set it to commander mode and position the flash off body to best provide fill and use a soft box if you can put one together before this job.

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I think you'll be fine, hipmom. I like Nau's suggestion to experiment in similar light and see if you like the results. Specifically, test to see at what ISO the noise is acceptable for you. Play with the flash. Bounce it off things (hopefully low, white ceilings) and pull the bounce card out like Aaron said. It's a lot of fun and I think you're going to love it.

BTW, I think one of the main things the D700 has over the 5D/5DII is the included on-camera flash that can be used as commander for the creative lighting system. I only use mine for fill when I'm outside or commander when I want to have fun with that, but I wouldn't like not having one at all.

Posted 3 years ago #
heartyfisher

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I did not suggest comander mode because he may be too new at this so It may be more trouble than he would want to deal with during the event. Not that its hard once you have figured it out. I use it all the time...

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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Stay away from CLS for now since this is your first time with the camera. Are you being paid for this event? If you are then I'd leave the flash on "auto" TTL-BL and just add or remove exposure compensation. Towards the end of the dinner once you have all the shots you need then take the time to "test out" different settings.

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Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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I totally agree that you shouldn't try CLS for this shoot. My second paragraph was just an aside. The first paragraph was my suggestion.

Posted 3 years ago #
warprints

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I would take my older gear and use it, as well as your new gear. At least you'll have gear you are familiar with.

Posted 3 years ago #
AaronFoto

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warprints said:
I would take my older gear and use it, as well as your new gear. At least you'll have gear you are familiar with.

If I remember right, the old gear is a D40. If that's correct I would only bring it as an emergency back up. You won't want use it if you have a D700 and I'm sure the people paying for your services would feel the same.

Good luck with the SB-900. IMO, of all the things related to photography, using a flash to get good results is the most difficult. Get as much practice as possible with it before the event. Also, doesn't the SB-900 like to shut itself down when it gets hot?

Posted 3 years ago #
NikoDoby

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She has (or had) a D40X. Clients could careless what camera you use. They usually can't tell the difference between models, they all look the same to them. As long as their pictures turn out great they don't care. Hopefully this isn't a paid job and just a friends or family event. It's not usually a good idea to take a brand new unfamiliar camera to a paid shoot.

I've never had any problems with the SB900 overheating.

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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NikoDoby said:
I've never had any problems with the SB900 overheating.

Could that be because of all the cold beer in your bag, Niko?

Posted 3 years ago #
smarterchild

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My sb-900 has over heated many times. Its only happened in outside situations where the temp is 70degrees+.

IMO, i would use the sb-900 bouncing off the celing or the wall behind you. ive had alot of luck weven shooting straight up against nothing with the white tab to get a little flash on the subject. You can comfortably use 3200iso and 6400 if you have to on the D700 with flash.

Posted 3 years ago #
shivaswrath

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jonnyapple said:
Could that be because of all the cold beer in your bag, Niko?

I've never had problems either. . .but I also have enelopps powering them too. . . .'

To the OP, like Niko said, keep it on TTL/TTL BL and bounce and fire away. . . exp compensate to -0.3 to -0.7. . .with an ISO anywhere between 200-400.

Good luck!

Posted 3 years ago #
shivaswrath

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Oh and you can also use the A setting as well (will vary strength to aperture setting if you're in Aperture priority). . .I've used all of the above and noticed very subtle differences. . .

regardless, always smart to use a flash when it gets dark unless you intend to have shadows in people's faces, for artistic reasons, etc. . .

Posted 3 years ago #
NSXType-R

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You can try Joe McNally's books. He does flash photography like crazy.

Posted 3 years ago #
AaronFoto

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NikoDoby said:
She has (or had) a D40X. Clients could careless what camera you use. They usually can't tell the difference between models, they all look the same to them. As long as their pictures turn out great they don't care. Hopefully this isn't a paid job and just a friends or family event. It's not usually a good idea to take a brand new unfamiliar camera to a paid shoot.

What I was getting at is that the deliverable will turn out much better with the D700 over the D40x and the client will be very appreciative. Better image quality and will get more good pictures with the ISO capabilities. Of course they don't give a crap what Nikon # you use (as long as it's not a coolpix).

My experience moving up to a D700 from a D80 was that there was no learning curve. It's even easier to use because all the main setting buttons are right where they should be straight out of the box. If you were switching to a new system like Canon or Hasselblad it the switch would probably be more of an issue.

Posted 3 years ago #
kyoshinikon

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The switch here isn't the issue. The high iso's are far superior on the D700 than they are on the D40. Go into a bedroom one day(your house obviously) dim the lights to roughly you think is accurate and run a few tests. That will tell you which range to shoot in, I would try ISO 1600 for good measure...

Posted 3 years ago #