Paparazzi type shot at night?

[john_rockwell]

Hi i am trying to photograph through tinted glass like the paparazzi do on the

TV,how is this done,all i get is the AF hunting,and end up missing the shot

i have a 30D,a 580ex flashgun,and 3 L series (all 2.8f)lenses

 

i have been asked to photgraph Limos for nightouts,and it makes the punters

feel important to emulate the paparazzi style,at the end of the night the

punters have the option to have the pictures as part of the trip

 

So far,i have the camera set a AV,spot metering,iso at 400,appature at 2.8,and

flash sinced at 250th/sec in custom settings,centre AF on lens.

 

where am i going wrong,as the results are next to useless

 

please help

 

John R

[PuppyDigs]

They use manual focus to shoot through glass. AF will normally lock on the glass. Also, you

have position yourself at an angle such that the flash doesn't reflect directly back to the

camera.

[john_rockwell]

Hi,thanks for the reply,so is the camera set up correct?,now that i know to knock of the AF?if not what would be good settings to start with as a base.camera and Flash

 

again thanks

 

John R

[j_smith6]

If there's enough light use polarizing filter.

[buck_rogers1]

A polarizer can get rid of a lot of the reflections in the glass but at the cost of light (one or two stops).

[KenPapai]

You are trying to shoot at night and using f/8 in Av. You're so much closer to a rookie than a "pro" papparazo total wannabe. Should in 'M' mode. Use fast glass. Try to manual focus too.

[mvw photo]

Hang on, he's saying he's at f/2.8, not f/8, right? Yes, Av mode is wrong, but he's not at f/8, unless I missed that bit!

[chrisjb]

And at 1/250th that flash is going too be too strong, try `M` around 1/80~125 depends how dark the glass is. f4 manual focus and watch angles as PP says. should work better (could you ask for the windows to left open?) :-)

 

have fun

[JeffOwen]

What you need is a soft lens hood that touches the glass. This will ensure that you get no reflections which are the biggest killer for these sort of shots. Whenever I shoot through glass I set the focus manually and get the lens as close to the glass as possible to avoid these reflections.

 

The exposure depends on the optical density of the glass (at least a couple of stops, if using flash then you must use double this exposure as the flash light has to travel twice through the glass. If the car is moving then the problems get worse as you don't want to damage the camera or car by hitting it hard!

[sravan]

Also if you can get a Wireless flash transmitter and keep the flash outside of the window. That and going as close o the window as posssible will surely reduce the reflections fully!

[William Michael]

`Hi i am trying to photograph through tinted glass like the paparazzi do on the TV, how is this done`

 

Well on a TV Drama it is all fake: on a TV Newscast it is more than likely real.

 

The 30D is not ideal, but can be accommodated: you would be best advised to get a light, snub, fast, wide angle lens: Like the Canon 20mm F2.8. Although realistically on a crop body a 15mm lens is ideal. (FF 24mm equivalent).

 

Get a rubber lens hood and get as close to the widow of the car as possible, touching it on one side.

 

Planning and practice is essential.

 

Your viewpoint should be at angle to the glass: 30 to 45 degrees is a good angle anything steeper will cause problems.

 

Assuming you are shooting the passenger side of a LH drive vehicle and the subject is facing forward; this means that the camera left of the lens is furthest away from the glass window. For a safe effect you can shield that side of the lens hood with your left hand.

 

Set the focus to 1 metre (39 inches), and shoot away. Keep the focus at that distance and as the subject exits the vehicle move backwards with your camera above and to the right of your head, your left arm is a shield for others encroaching into your shot.

Run various tests with the flash prior to the gig. Your aperture is between F8 and F11, F11 is good: shoot in RAW and worry about the exposure later: plus or minus 2 stops is fine for this work.

 

If you carry a second (old) body keep it on your left side and ensure that it has a heavy but not expensive lens on it.

 

This camera is used as defence and protection and if you are approached by security this is the camera you submit immediately without resistance and then exit ASAP.

 

Security are expecting resistance from photographers of this ilk, when one gives up their camera easily it confuses them momentarily, enough time to get out of harm`s way.

 

WW

[suman]

Correct me if I am wrong. If someone use flash thru a glass window, everything will be flash burned. I would say, roll down the damn tinted window, since it does serve you any purpose other than obstructing light. Get some good fast lens with IS.

[William Michael]

`Correct me if I am wrong. If someone use flash thru a glass window, everything will be flash burned. `

 

If by `flash burned` you mean overexposed, then yes, you are incorrect.

 

The density of the window will act as a filter reducing both the amount of light hitting the subject from the flash and the resultant amount of light refected from the subject to the sensor or film which forms the image.

 

Over exposure will not be caused simply by using a flash through the glass.

 

In this shooting scenario, overexposure is caused by the same elements of over exposure at other times: ie too much light exposing the sensor or film.

 

Such is a factor of three (main) elements: exposure time; aperture; and ISO / Film sensitivity. (Reciprocity & T factors excluded).

 

WW

[nick_hill3]

I'm confused by this? How effective is a flash through tinted glass and at what distance?

Wouldn't you want to use 2.8 and use no flash when shooting through windows? I can

understand if your standing outside the limo trying to get shots into the car through the

glass, but if your shooting out of one car trying to light whats outside the glass how is using

a flash going to help? Maybe I just didn't understand what your trying to do... Maybe a more

detailed description would benefit everyone....

[david_littleboy]

William's answer has given the best answer thus far.

But here are some more hints:

 

- don't go lower than f/6.3 . idealistically you want f8-f11, and between 1/160 - 1/250, or high speed sync.

you want to blow the image with the flash - don't rely on outside light to light the image.

-shooting with a fast lens, 1.2 or 2.8 doesn't mean it's going to miraculously see through the window - it doesn't. The only way to see into those car's is with fill light or backlit light - so the best is to shoot with a flash going hard, and a f-stop depth of field to pick up as much as possible.

 

- you should also either set you focus to manual - if you can rely on just getting the shot of them up close, and like Will said, set it to 1 metre.

the f/11 will make sure anything within 40centimetres (1ft and a half) will be in focus.

otherwise just shoot auto focus if you want to get the car moving as well.

 

- experiment with setting flash to manual, and between 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, even 1/4.

this is because: try shooting yourself holding the camera in the mirror. the preflash will auto downstep the exposure on auto flash (ETTL).

However, if you set to manual, and 1/32 on a canon speedlite, you'll get a good fill light.

 

 

REMEMBER: take your finger off the button with every shot, refocus and shoot.

no point having 1 shot in focus, and the next 10 out due to them moving closer to you, and you forgot to refocus!

.....

my 2 cents....

 

 

-Robb Bowen