Which manual settings to use for indoor pub shots?

Merlot · 13th April 2009

Hi guys,

I'm very new to this photography thing. I find that the flash in my LX3 is very harsh for indoor dim light shots.

Any reccomended manual settings for indoor shots like pubs/restaurants?

TIA!

spEechLeZ · 17th April 2009

Ok, I'm also quite new, but from what I've read and kind of know, best is if you can shoot without flash, coz you'll get the most natural lighting and photos that look the closest to what you see. Try aperture priority mode, set to f/2.0 and up the ISO, but without tripod/steadyhands/a-good-spot-to-put-camera-on-timer, you're still likely to get blurry shots if you want decent exposure.

Flash wise, you can adjust your flash power by adjusting the FEV (flash exposure compensation?). With the flash turned on, press the EV button to cycle from normal EV to exposure bracketting to Flash EV. There you can lower the flash power output. If you don't know about slow synch flash, you should try to use it over the normal flash as it'll give better background exposure, but then the whole hands steady requirement comes in as it'll keep the shutter open longer.

Otherwise you could try doing DIY bounce flash with a piece of white card angled in front of the flash. I've tried this at home and it seems quite effective; it does underexpose the picture though and I'm still trying to find a way to make it stop doing that, so far shooting in manual does seems the best solution.

Any corrections or inputs from the more experienced folks?

(oh yes, another alternative is of course to use an external flash, but that is $$$)

13th April 2009	#1
Merlot New Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 4	Which manual settings to use for indoor pub shots? Hi guys, I'm very new to this photography thing. I find that the flash in my LX3 is very harsh for indoor dim light shots. Any reccomended manual settings for indoor shots like pubs/restaurants? TIA!

17th April 2009	#2
spEechLeZ New Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Singaporean in London Posts: 44	Re: Which manual settings to use for indoor pub shots? Ok, I'm also quite new, but from what I've read and kind of know, best is if you can shoot without flash, coz you'll get the most natural lighting and photos that look the closest to what you see. Try aperture priority mode, set to f/2.0 and up the ISO, but without tripod/steadyhands/a-good-spot-to-put-camera-on-timer, you're still likely to get blurry shots if you want decent exposure. Flash wise, you can adjust your flash power by adjusting the FEV (flash exposure compensation?). With the flash turned on, press the EV button to cycle from normal EV to exposure bracketting to Flash EV. There you can lower the flash power output. If you don't know about slow synch flash, you should try to use it over the normal flash as it'll give better background exposure, but then the whole hands steady requirement comes in as it'll keep the shutter open longer. Otherwise you could try doing DIY bounce flash with a piece of white card angled in front of the flash. I've tried this at home and it seems quite effective; it does underexpose the picture though and I'm still trying to find a way to make it stop doing that, so far shooting in manual does seems the best solution. Any corrections or inputs from the more experienced folks? (oh yes, another alternative is of course to use an external flash, but that is $$$)