D200 & SB800 Advice needed

[pauljm]

I am in the process of designing an internal business document for one of our clients and

they want to include some informal group shots of their key personnel. I would normally

use a local photographer but the client does not have the budget. They originally were

going to have one of their people take the images on a small compact digital but have

persuaded them that I will take the images as I don't want to compromise the quality of

the final design.

 

I'm not a pro 'people' photographer (mostly landscapes & still life) and therefore needed

some quick advice/tips on how to proceed with the equipment I currently have at my

disposal, a D200 with a 17-55 and 70-200 VR lens, we have also recently acquired a

SB800 flash. My company owns all this excellent equipment as we do quite a lot of pack

shots. I'm quite familiar with the camera & lenses but shooting people with flash is not

something I normally do.

 

Here are just some of the questions I need help with. Do I use the flash with the diffuser

and bounce it of the ceiling/wall want to avoid harsh shadows)? Do I use the camera in

aperture priority, if so what f stop is the norm? Can I use the 70-200 with the flash as I

would like to blur the background (they're going to be in a normal office environment).

Would it be better shooting slightly above or at eye level?

 

Any other suggestions will be gratefully received. I don't want to make a hash of these

images as the client is quite important to us.

 

Best regards

 

Paul

[walterh]

Paul not to ruin your question - but can you go outside to shoot the group? On a slightly overcast day you could get lucky and the perfect shot. Look for a nice background/surrounding and avoid backlight. Try to shoot late morning early afternoon, avoid high sun. Much simpler than using flash if you want pleasing results. Not using flash (especially without flash experience) may be more improvement than using a D200. I predict that a compact (non-trash) digital camera without flash may be doing better than a D200 with a mounted flash in a room. (It would depend a lot on the room too)

 

The choice of lens is dictated by the angle you need unless the room is very deep. Both lenses seem nice. Near 55mm or 70mm seems OK. I would worry near 17mm (distortion) or near 200mm (flash reach, shake). If you need flash I would avoid going back too much to stay within reach. Depth of focus will determine the aperture so take what is safe to get the group in focus and avoid smaller apertures since you want to blurr BG. Do you know how to preview depth of field on your D200?

 

How many people are in the group? To take an image of a large group (20+) a MF camera would be more adequate. In that case perhaps its better to have someone else to blame and get ill^^.

 

If it is as important to you as it sounds take some friends to the same room and practice. Yes it is advisable to use indirect flash but without experience or practise this can be dangerous e.g. in case of colored walls or ceilings. Sorry I am no flash expert and hope you get better advice down the thread. My main point was to see if there is a workaround.

[cappoldt]

Adding to Walter's good advice, I'd take the the 70-200 outside, put it on a tripod at about the subject's chest level, and at about 150mm's distance, do vertical portraits in natural light. Look for an overhang like an awning, porch, or garage door opening, stand them beneath it just before the sunlight, and use a small f-stop, say, around f4 or less, making sure you focus on the eyes. Get them to face their bodies a little bit one way, and turn their heads towards you. Guys can cross their arms, but women should put hands on hips, but relaxed (you won't see the hands or much arm in a headshot, put it'll allow for nice posture - yo udon't want women tucking their chin in).

 

I've used a single, diffused SB-800 for interior office portraits, but the result is pretty flat. You'll have a lot of mixed lighting, too - the window light, the overheads, and the flash...quite the trick with with the white balance. Don't forget to use the correct flash filter if you do decide to do this.

[aaron l]

A flash mounted on your camera pointing straight forward will be only a slight step above a digital snappy. I got the Lightsphere II and it really helped out those run-n-gun sort of shots a lot. If you can shoot outside under a tree with side lighting and use your SB-800 to create a catch light & fill, you'll be much better off.

 

If you're doing individual portraits on your camera, are you doing head, mid or full length shots? That will determine your lens. Use a tripod if you can, you'll be sharper every time. The D200 only has a 1/250 synch speed so you can run into shake problems, though using the FP mode is an option.

 

If they're that important but they don't have the budget, you're in a tough spot. You really need to use better technique than a flashgun on a hotshoe. You'll also get nasty shadows doing portait orientation shots with a flash on the hotshoe.

[pauljm]

Thank you Walter & Christopher for your kind advice. I had already planned to take the

opportunity to shoot outdoors if possible but I have to take into account the unpredictability

of the British weather and the forecast is for rain on the day I plan to shoot. I've also had a

few practice shots within our studio using my colleagues as guinea pigs and indeed the

results have been pretty flat. I think this is going to be a steep but valuable learning curve for

me. Fingers crossed.

[timberwulf]

I do a lot of these for the company I work for (they have me do their event and portrait photos, and in return, buy me camera equipment as part of my bonus each year...SCORE!). I tend to use a lot of windows, and when that won't work happily bounce the flash off the nearest white ceiling. ;)

 

Some of the shots will be a bit flat, but you need to put this in perspective. Can you take shots that, while flat, will still be better than a random person with a crap point and shoot? If so, you've already won. While you want to do the most professional job you can, without studio or multiple lighting equipment, just do your best to get the best poses and lighting you can, and I guarantee the company will be ecstatic with the results.

 

Often, when bouncing flash, I use a synch cord with my SB800, and hand hold the flash back behind me a ways, as with a 50/1.8 the flash being a little close and bounced can leave unsightly shadows in the eyesockets/under the nose. By holding it a bit behind me, it can fill in more details.

 

Good luck! Do the best you can, don't forget to check for blinking (ensure you have at least one decent shot with open eyes before going on to the next person) and funky things sticking out of the subject's heads, and best of all, have fun. This kind of shooting is an excellent way to get in some portrait practice in less than ideal situations.

[lilly_w]

To avoid the dreaded point-n-shoot look of a camera-mounted flash, use the sophisticated flash system afforded by the on-board flash in combination with your SB-800 as a wireless remote. Shoot in Manual metering mode (f2.8-4 to soften b'ground, shutter speed to underexpose by -.7 to -1 stop) and knock the power way down on the on-board, using it primarily (solely?) as the trigger for the SB-800, placed / held about 45 deegrees off-camera axis (making sure sensor eye is aimed toward D200), ideally bounced off white foamcore outdoors, walls/ceiling indoors. Read-up in your manuals...a bit of advanced experimenting will pay handsomely.