How much light is enough for....

Okay, I have just been asked to take some portraits at a Church

Christmas party. It will be at the Church of course. The lighting

will be average, probably on the same level as a normal living room.

I want to make a good impression without having to shell out to buy

a pro lighting system. I have a Canon 20D. Will the 580EX be enough

for this assignment? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. ~Will

William:

The 580EX is enough light for direct flash portraits at ISO 100 for subjects at a reasonable distance. Direct flash can be harsh and vertical shots can give you dark shadows to the side of your subject. An add-on diffuser can help. If you can bounce your flash off of a white ceiling (not too high) or a white wall (not too far away), that can help. You may have to bump the ISO up to 400 for the bounced light shots.

Jim

Right now they're asking you to do portraits. Will this escalate to group shots? Will you have enough light in that case? The other question I'd wonder about is the lighting - are you going to be confronted with mixed lighting?

If your flash will be enough it might be worthwhile to buy an off-camera cable to raise it further above the camera and maybe a bracket as well. This makes the camera look a lot bigger - no advantage - but I get a good amount of use from mine.