Outdoor Flash Problem: shooting in giant horse shed

I remember facing the same dilemma years ago when my teen aged daughter was doing dressage and low jumping....winter arrived and everything came indoors - dark arena, faint sunlight coming in thru high windows. No way to stop motion other than flash. I ponied (sorry for that one) up for a more powerful flash, increased the ISO, got as close to the action as was safe and prayed for the best. Limited success, really needed multiple flashes...but the results I got have been well received over the years by viewers. My advice is, if possible, move in reasonably close so as to not spook either the rider or horses and prefocus or focus limit for when the subjects cross a point you have chosen and are certain the flash will properly illuminate. Potentially boring, but you do improve your keeper rate this way. I wouldn't hang my hat on long lenses, as their DOF will be too narrow, maybe 135-150mm max depending on how much you want to capture and your distance from the subjects. Good luck, I'm sure the parents are grateful for your endeavors.

I think SCL has good advice about getting close if you can (although I'd take some higher-ISO and flashless shots at a distance too, unless they look completely hopeless - no harm in variety).

 

I just wanted to call out...

 

I wouldn't hang my hat on long lenses, as their DOF will be too narrow

 

To a good approximation, with the same subject framing, the same relative aperture gives you the same depth of field irrespective of focal length. (This is nonsense if you think about hyperfocal distances, but if the depth of field is small relative to the scene then it's usually valid at normal range - the approximation assumes that the entire depth of field is at roughly the same magnification.) That is, if you fill the frame with someone's head at 50mm and do the same at 200mm (from, obviously, farther away), and both lenses are at f/2.8, you'll have about the same amount of the subject in focus. The concern with a long lens is how "close" you're getting whilst physically being at a distance - you probably wouldn't be standing on a stepladder next to the child on the horse with a wide-angle to see what the depth of field is doing.

 

So perhaps the guidance is "don't shoot at a fast aperture and zoom in very tightly, and still expect much depth of field" - no matter what the actual focal length is. It's just easier to cause a problem accidentally with a longer lens.

 

(Sorry if that sounds pedantic. I hope the distinction is useful.)

Having done exactly this in a large dark area with the same problem it is an easy answer really. First, no the SD400 won't be enough, try for a 600 maybe, better an 800 or 900. You don't need a long lens or a particularly fast one. A 28-75 will be plenty. These horses are always calm, they have to be with these riders. A high strung mount is something you will not find here. As such you will be able to move quietly and calmly to a spot where the horse and rider will be close enough for a lens about this focal length. As for flash, a simple balance setup is easy and effective. Let's assume ISO 200 and you are using a camera with a flash sync speed of 1/250. Bright sun in the background would give you 1/250 at about f/16 . Set your flash up to shoot at f/22 for correct indoor exposure. That will darken the background a stop and keep it from blowing out those highlights. If you can sync at 1/500 do so and adjust aperture. With a digital body you can do a few test shots and adjust as needed. With film we had to just hope we got it right. We didn't always.....

 

Rick H.