Hi Andy: Having just been asked to do the same sort of thing, perhaps my experience may help. My location was a room about 10 metres by 25 metres, with windows along both sides and a high vaulted ceiling, so bounce flash was out of the question. One difference was that the audience was seated facing the speakers, and I could move down only one side of the room, and across the back about two-thirds of the way down. I used the MZ-5 and MZ-S in tandem, with a 35-135 and 18-35 and AF330FTZ flash for the most part. For shots of the speaker alone, the zoom at the long end was normally adequate, but for a few close-ups I switched to a 200mm prime. For the group shots, taken from right at the front and about 1 metre from the first row of chairs, I used the wide-angle zoom, and got everybody in frame (just!). Film was Kodak PJ400, which was fast enough to give me reasonable hand-holding ability, coupled with the flash. I did not attempt to use available light, as I thought it too directional and, inside in the late afternoon, even Australian light is inadequate. For your candid shots, I would tend to use the 19-35 zoom - you can fill the frame with quite large groups from close-up, or pick out smaller parts from the same distance. If you are nervous about being 'in-their-faces', maybe the 28-70 will give you a little more working space. I set the lens to aperture priority, and didn't worry about the ambient light - it was taken care of by both cameras automatically, and I feel sure yours will do the same. Exposures were in all cases spot-on, and everyone who's seen the shots thinks I should now be the group's official photographer!
HTH John Coyle Brisbane, Australia On Wednesday, March 20, 2002 9:47 AM, Andy Phillips [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] wrote: > Hi, > > My workplace (a plant science research centre) is organizing a scientific > meeting in April. The Institute is being shut down in a year's time and our > pro photographer has already left. As a keen amateur (ie. I spend far too > much money on it) I've been asked if I will act as official photographer at > the poster session. This is an informal gathering where some of the > delegates present their work on posters while the others cluster round to > discuss the work. My task is to wander round the delegates taking > semi-candid shots of the delegates in animated discussion. The room in which > the poster session will be held has a high ceiling and lots of windows, and > is fairly cramped. The posters tend to be printed on large white sheets of > paper pinned to display boards. I also have to take a group photo of the > organizers and speakers. The photos will be put on display at the meeting, > and will subsequently be used in internal reports. > > I have Pentax pZ1-p and MZ-5n bodies, 50mm/f1.7 F, 28-70/f4 AL, 40mm > pancake, Cosina 19-35/f3.5, Tamron 100mm/f2.8 macro (MF), Sigma 24mm/f2.8 > (MF), plus AF500FTZ flash. I also have a Nikon Coolpix 950 and an SB28 > flash, should I want to use digital. > > Most of my photography is landscapes and macro shots of flowers and I have > little experience of photographing people, other than holiday snaps of the > family. I considered using a fast film and using available light, but I > can't rely on the light (England in April!). I'm wary of red-eye from the > flashgun, and the high ceiling means that bounce flash may not be possible. > The white posters may also reflect badly and screw up the shots. I'd like > the photos to be semi-candid, but I think there may be little room for > manoever and I may have to use wide-angle rather than short telephoto. > > Any advice would be welcome - for instance, which lens would be best? How > best to set up the flash to balance ambient and flash lighting? > > Thanks, > > Andy > - > This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, > go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to > visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
