Photography in indoor sports hall

[blueblood]

I was taking some pictures of a dance event yesterday.

I took the pictures in manual mode without the built in flash, and they turned out to be yellowish, think due to the spot lights. The WB was in auto mode. I then popped up the flash but was too bright on the people.

What could I do to improve on the pictures.
1. Should I select the WB on sodium vapor lamps, and without flash?
2. Or switch on the built in flash? What should I select on the settings?
3. Or to get an external flash light? But to tilt the light upwards to prevent direct lighting on the people?
3. Any other pointers?

Thanks for the guidance. My first time in the in-door stadium.

 

[catchlights]

I was taking some pictures of a dance event yesterday.

I took the pictures in manual mode without the built in flash, and they turned out to be yellowish, think due to the spot lights. The WB was in auto mode. I then popped up the flash but was too bright on the people.

What could I do to improve on the pictures.

wrong WB setting, since is constantly one light source, you will be better of stick to custom WB, or using kevin

1. Should I select the WB on sodium vapor lamps, and without flash?

if the ambient light is bright enough for high enough shutter speed, and the lighting effect is usable. than go ahead using it without flash.

2. Or switch on the built in flash? What should I select on the settings?

read books about basic photography.

3. Or to get an external flash light? But to tilt the light upwards to prevent direct lighting on the people?

so you want to light the ceiling of indoor stadium?

3. Any other pointers?

refer to reply on point #2

Thanks for the guidance. My first time in the in-door stadium.

 

[Shizuma]

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/arti...asics-please-contribute-also.html#post8175016

custom white balance (if your camera supports)

 

[bonrya]

you need a camera with good iso sensitivity (better if up to 6400), and you need a better lens i.e. 70-200 f2.8 that has the right focal length and speed for the job. :bsmilie:

try not to use auto wb when at a concert unless you know how to handle the post processing etc. also, don't use flash if you don't know how to control the light yet. it'll be a nightmare for you during the shoot.

good luck!

 

[Shizuma]

shoot RAW if in doubt. or else your goose is cooked. (please, treat me to some of the cooked goose. meow !)

 

[blueblood]

Thanks for all your valuable feedback. My camera can support to ISO 6400, so will try to shoot without flash.

The custom WB is new to me, will try it out with a white card to calibrate the white colour.

Step by step for me, raw is not for me at this moment till I have more confident with my new camera first.

 

[bonrya]

Thanks for all your valuable feedback. My camera can support to ISO 6400, so will try to shoot without flash.

The custom WB is new to me, will try it out with a white card to calibrate the white colour.

Step by step for me, raw is not for me at this moment till I have more confident with my new camera first.

Have to clarify first. The ability to shoot at 6400 and having useable images at 6400 are two entirely different things. :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

Either way, you have to poison yourself to BBB more gear. :devil: :bsmilie:

 

[Octarine]

Why do you think about flash? It has limited reach and the spot lights there are much more powerful, there is little to nothing you can achieve. The only side effect could be that your camera changes exposure settings due to flash (key words: high speed sync / fill flash vs. flash as main light). Secondly: flash has a different colour temperature than ambient light. There's no way you can balance both since ambient lights are also changing.
I have my doubts about custom WB with any grey card. The changing lights don't provide any reference. For such cases, put use the Kelvin scale, put it into some neutral slightly warmer position and shoot RAW. This way you can adjust it later. With such conditions, you have to seriously ponder about RAW workflow. It's not rocket science and the software that came with your cam can handle this. Just also read up about monitor calibration to make sure that what you see on screen is exactly what the camera got.

 

[snowc]

You don't have to be a pro or be familiar with your camera to shoot RAW. Imho RAW is actually more suitable in your situation as it allow a greater deal of control over your final image as compared to JPEG.

 

[Shizuma]

Step by step for me, raw is not for me at this moment till I have more confident with my new camera first.

RAW is actually the most versatile loss less editable format . . . friendly for those who have no confidence in shooting high keep rate straight out of camera

 

[blueblood]

Sorry for digging out this old thread of mine. I had tried out the custom WB under yellowish lighting, things are improving to get better whitish colours.

If I were to use Kevin, what setting or figures should I input? I would like to try this to see if it will further improve the whitish. I think the default setting is 5000, what should I start with? This would be a better / easier way, as don't need to calibrate with a white card.

Thirdly, how do I delect the pre WB in d1 - d4? Is overwriting the only way? I'm using D600.

Lastly, seems that custom WB can only be shot in RAW, is that right? So for post processing of RAW, would you guys recommend LR4 or CS6 for Nikon cameras in your opinion?

 

[catchlights]

Sorry for digging out this old thread of mine. I had tried out the custom WB under yellowish lighting, things are improving to get better whitish colours.

If I were to use Kevin, what setting or figures should I input? I would like to try this to see if it will further improve the whitish. I think the default setting is 5000, what should I start with? This would be a better / easier way, as don't need to calibrate with a white card.

different lighting have different color temperature, ranging from 2800 to 4500, and the temperature do change with the bulbs ageing, so is more like experiences plus trial and error.

Thirdly, how do I delect the pre WB in d1 - d4? Is overwriting the only way? I'm using D600.

the d1 to d4 is for you to save FOUR pre preset manual white balance, if you no longer need anyone of the setting, can overwrite it with new setting.

Lastly, seems that custom WB can only be shot in RAW, is that right? So for post processing of RAW, would you guys recommend LR4 or CS6 for Nikon cameras in your opinion?

NO, custom WB is to get the white balance close to what you want to record in the camera. be it shot in RAW or JPG or TIFF.

but when shooting in RAW, you can ignore setting the white balance when capturing the images, you can set the white balance at post.

LR4 or CS6 are both work fine, just personal preference.

 

[Octarine]

So for post processing of RAW, would you guys recommend LR4 or CS6 for Nikon cameras in your opinion?

That's like asking whether you recommend Shell or Esso for Honda cars ...
Adobe as vendor of both software products is independent, not related to any camera maker. On the contrary, whenever any camera makers releases a new camera, the RAW format got some new 'features' and Adobe needs to reverse engineer how to handle this (or maybe they buy a license?) so that RAW files of that camera can be opened with PS or LR.
It's up to you and your budget what you use. The cheapest way of course is to use the software that came with your camera.