Which gear for a 15 years birthday party?

[Hjalmarg1]

I just want to get some help from you guys on what lenses and accessories may I need for the celebration of a 15 years birthday party. Photography is a hobbie but a friend that is budget restrained needs my help. I already explained to him I am not a pro.
I currently own a 5D Mark 3 with 3 zooms (24-70mm f4L IS, 16-35mm f4L IS, 70-200mm f2.8L IS II) and 3 primes (15mm f2.8, 50mm f/1.8 STM, 100mm f2.8L IS). I know it is kinda special event and don't want to miss any important moment so, I will be using as backup my travel camera Fujifilm X-T2 with 14mm f2.8, 23mm f1.4, 35mm f2 and 90mm f2 lenses.
I will have a set of 3 Canon 600EX-RT and transmitter (and umbrellas/softboxes) for the Canon and a hotshoe speedlite for my Fuji camera in case I needed.

In this event, there is no such a church ceremony like weedings but a ceremony/party at a medium-lit hall.

After all this story, which gear and set up would you suggest? Thanks in advaces for your suggestions.

 

[ahsanford]

These requests come up occasionally for me -- I'm just an enthusiast and friends ask me to shoot an informal event or take some portraits. I fully appreciate wanting to help a friend out.

If you are not getting paid, try to do your best (of course) but I would not stress about having every eventuality covered. You are doing your friend a huge service and I'm sure he'll be delighted with whatever shots you take for him.

Events can be stressful if you don't shoot them often, so I would advise against renting specialized gear you are not familiar with at a pro bono gig like this. Keep it simple: bring gear you are comfortable working with and shoot in a manner that you are comfortable with.

As far as the specific gear goes, I defer to the great folks in this forum, but your 5D3 with the zooms + a single on-camera speedlite should be fine. Backing up with the Fuji makes perfect sense.

- A

 

[Hillsilly]

I think the right answer comes down to the type of photos you intend to capture. Whether you'll be taking a formal vs informal approach. Whether there will be set photos with relatives etc. This should all be discussed and planned in advance, and the choice of gear naturally follows.

If you were after my general opinion, the X-T2 with the 23/1.4 sounds like a good starting point with the 90mm for more candid shots, speeches etc. You should also be able to use a Canon flash on the Fuji camera if the ambient light is a bit low. (You sound knowledgeable enough to know that bouncing the flash / using OC-E3 cable / radio trigger is generally more pleasing to direct, on-camera flash.)

Throw everything else in the car and take an opportunity to switch gear at some stage. Treat this as a learning event to determine what does work best for you.

 

[Mikehit]

I've done a couple like this and it is daunting but in my experience I have found that the general public cares less about image quality than we as enthusiasts like to imagine (and what we torture ourselves over) and that they want memories, not award-winning shots.
Are you being invited as a guest (you may not want to lug a lot of gear around) or are you attending primarily to record the event?

Given it is a medium-lit hall you may well find that the ISO capacity of the 5D3 is good enough and at ISO 6,400 or 12,000, being able to see every hair on the kids eyebrow will not matter to them. Is it high ceiling or dark wall (bounce difficult)? Will they have low-light teenager disco afterwards?

My first port of call would be to have formals with the 70-200 f2.8 on the Canon and the 35mm on the Fuji. After that put the 24-70 on the Canon, put the 90mm on the Fuji and you don't need to swap lenses and have flashes available for either camera if needed.

 

[SteveM]

Shoot the lot on the 24-70, you probably don't want a large 70-200 in a confined space. Set the ISO to 3200, shutter to 1/160 (manual) and shoot wide open, that should be ok and give an excellent image. Bounce from the ceiling from on camera - be careful about bouncing sideways onto walls as you may fire straight into someone's eyes standing at the side of you. If the ceiling is too high either buy a small softbox (fstoppers do a very nice collapsible one that fits in your pocket) or put a stofen on and angle up a little (some use Gary fong's lightsphere). It's more about the expressions and joy of the occasion than studio quality lighting.
Stick to the one lens, it will allow you to loosen up and therefore get better shots. Shooting from a distance on a 70-200 is difficult as people are always drifting in between you and your target, you need to get in relatively close.

 

[hendrik-sg]

I have done similar events several times.

What set my pics appart, was that i could shoot ambient light withlighting when nobody else could. so, using the 5d3 up to 12800 iso, and a fast prime (50mm 1.2 in my case) gives pictures nobody else can take.

All the pop up flash and smartphone people get noting usable then, this is spoken for party situation.

My key for success, is to use the flash as focus light, and take the pics without flash, which is possible only in "one shoot" mode. This is not as easy as it sounds like, specially about the shutter speeds required, so maybe it makes sens to try other party as a preparation, why not saturday evening in the local disco, bowling club etc.

as there are unevitably many misses, dont save on card space and batteries

i do not know how the AF of your 50 1.8 stm performs, it's said that the 50 1.2 has the better AF performance, but i do not know this from my own expierience. So, maybe you want to rent this one or a 35 1.4 depending on how much space there is.

 

[Duckman]

I just want to get some help from you guys on what lenses and accessories may I need for the celebration of a 15 years birthday party. Photography is a hobbie but a friend that is budget restrained needs my help. I already explained to him I am not a pro.
I currently own a 5D Mark 3 with 3 zooms (24-70mm f4L IS, 16-35mm f4L IS, 70-200mm f2.8L IS II) and 3 primes (15mm f2.8, 50mm f/1.8 STM, 100mm f2.8L IS). I know it is kinda special event and don't want to miss any important moment so, I will be using as backup my travel camera Fujifilm X-T2 with 14mm f2.8, 23mm f1.4, 35mm f2 and 90mm f2 lenses.
I will have a set of 3 Canon 600EX-RT and transmitter (and umbrellas/softboxes) for the Canon and a hotshoe speedlite for my Fuji camera in case I needed.

In this event, there is no such a church ceremony like weedings but a ceremony/party at a medium-lit hall.

After all this story, which gear and set up would you suggest? Thanks in advaces for your suggestions.

If it were me I'd probably shoot most of the event with the 24-70. Definitely bring the 70-200 2.8, It will likely focus faster and if you have adequate room it will nicely separate your subjects from the background. Try using both lenses that night for different perspective/style shots. I'd bring the other camera but only to use as a backup.
(unless there was a lot of natural window light and flash wasn't needed, Then I'd use both bodies simultaneously)

Flash on camera pointing up bouncing off the ceiling (and for focus assist) or towards a wall if ceiling is black or too high, with the other flashes on stands. You may have to move them throughout the night a few times depending on how it plays out. I'd aim for a key and rim light set-up (lights roughly 180 apart) the on camera will act as a fill (all bare except gels). Blend ambient light as best you can and gel the flashes if all you have is artificial light.
Start at ISO 1600 and shoot wide open. Find a good blend of light but play with slower shutter speed a little later too if get comfortable...It can make for interesting motion shots while people dance.
SHOOT RAW.
Don't forget to change flash power or ISO if you switch from f4 to f2.8. Also you may need to make slight adjustments to ISO and flash power depending how you alter the shutter, Though you may find the exposure still acceptable.

Go early to set -up and get a feel for the layout/take test shots. Bring the umbrella in case you take portraits of the VIP's of the party somewhere. Otherwise just find a spot on the floor where the light looks good and take people there if they want group shots.
Have fun. Dress nice.

 

[mrzero]

Your zoom trio is excellent and will probably be sufficient on the 5DIII. Long lens probably not necessary but that depends on the space, the crowd, and the activities. I would also bring your 50mm in case you want to do a little shallow depth of field or natural light stuff that the f/4 zoom isn't suitable for. You might also consider picking up a faster wide angle prime. I think you have a very cool prime trio, but the 15mm (fisheye?) is a little extreme. Consider a 24 / 28 / 35 to fill in the gap between 15 and 50. Canon has several options between 1.4 and 2.8, and you don't have to newest and best to get excellent low light images.

Good idea to bring the whole lighting kit and make decisions on the fly. You could set up an impromptu portrait spot with umbrellas and grab some posed pics the whole time, or you could plant the flashes around the hall to use as fill if lighting is bad. If you think you will use on-camera flash, consider how you will modify the light -- Rogue flashbender, Sto-Fen, Gary Fong has several options, etc. A bracket is nice but might be overkill.

Good idea to bring a backup camera. Unfortunate that it is an entirely different system, so I'd probably leave that whole kit in the car unless your main camera goes down. Or use it as an excuse to buy/borrow a Rebel or a 70D, so you don't have to completely switch systems just because of a minor problem. Or you could set up the Fuji in your portrait set-up with the umbrellas so you can just pop in and out of that mode.

The most important part is how you prep beforehand. Make sure you have lots of charged/new spare batteries and empty memory cards. Pack, check, and pack anything you missed. And bring a tripod.

 

[geekpower]

don't plan to change lenses much. it will be inconvenient and it's better to get a bad photo of a good moment than to miss it completely. you probably want the 24-70 for roaming around the party, and the 70-200 if you can set up a portrait area off to the side somewhere. F4 probably wont autofocus very well unless you use the assist beam from your flash. if you want cool motion shots of the dancefloor with a slower shutter, remember to use 2nd curtain sync.

 

[cellomaster27]

I just want to get some help from you guys on what lenses and accessories may I need for the celebration of a 15 years birthday party. Photography is a hobbie but a friend that is budget restrained needs my help. I already explained to him I am not a pro.
I currently own a 5D Mark 3 with 3 zooms (24-70mm f4L IS, 16-35mm f4L IS, 70-200mm f2.8L IS II) and 3 primes (15mm f2.8, 50mm f/1.8 STM, 100mm f2.8L IS). I know it is kinda special event and don't want to miss any important moment so, I will be using as backup my travel camera Fujifilm X-T2 with 14mm f2.8, 23mm f1.4, 35mm f2 and 90mm f2 lenses.
I will have a set of 3 Canon 600EX-RT and transmitter (and umbrellas/softboxes) for the Canon and a hotshoe speedlite for my Fuji camera in case I needed.

In this event, there is no such a church ceremony like weedings but a ceremony/party at a medium-lit hall.

After all this story, which gear and set up would you suggest? Thanks in advaces for your suggestions.

Well, you have all the gear you need for a wedding. haha
I'm going to echo some of the others here.. such as using the 24-70mm and not taking too much gear.
I think your canon trio would suffice and take your 50. It's nice to have a second body with a different focal length to capture moments that doesn't allow time for you to swap lenses. Depends on your style of shooting as well. I like to have a wide and say a 85mm or 70-200 on the other. But have fun and they will be happy with what you come out with, I'm sure. Hope it all turns out well!

 

[Deleted member 7828]

I've partaken in this type of shooting (reception lighting) a couple times and my go-to lens is always the 24-70 2.8 II and 600EX flash. If it's a small space I would stick with the 24-70 range and use flash lighting (bounce off ceiling if possible) as needed. With the 5D3 don't be afraid to raise ISO into the 1600-3200 range with the flash engaged - I find this helps to brighten up the background a bit and makes your photos stand out more compared to pics other people at your event may take with their phones, P&S, etc. which gets down to why your photo expertise was requested in the first place.

 

[Duckman]

With the 5D3 don't be afraid to raise ISO into the 1600-3200 range with the flash engaged -

+1000-This reeeally helps with recycle time/ battery life of the flash.

 

[SteveM]

Batteries for the flash are a very under estimated commodity. Having been embarrassed at an event some years ago, constantly changing batteries, I took up Syl Arena's advice and now use Eneloop re chargeable batteries. I haven't been embarrassed since, these last a long time if you shoot at high ISO (3200) - above that and noise creeps in, but if it is big and dark you may have to. Take a dozen batteries, 4 in the flash and 8 in pockets, if you use all 12 maybe disappear quietly out the back door.
Joking apart, get there early and fire a few test shots. Test with the flash turned off and up the ISO until you get an exposure roughly 3 stops under exposed, this is the baseline to which you add flash. Fire the flash on the ceiling behind you to give more even coverage (inverse square law). Read my earlier post if the ceiling is too high (or too low).
Start the gig at a slow pace, you won't get a lot of action early on so you will conserve battery power.
I really would test the flash now at varying high ISO and see where noise becomes unacceptable to you, 3200 is my limit....but then I can put a 35mm 1.4 on if the going gets tough and my 24-70 is a stop faster than yours (makes a big difference).

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Many thanks to you all!
I will take the 24-70mm lens as my primary lens with the 5D3, along with the 70-200mm lens and the 50mm lens.
I have about 20 AA Eneloop batteries for speelites and as modifiers I will take the flashbender.