Shooting a Conference Room - Indoors - D40X

JoeNash

JoeNash

Well-known member
Hey all,

So the legal video company I work for wants me to take some pictures of all of our conference rooms, offices, etc..

Was looking for anyone with any tips for doing so. The company owns a Nikon D40x and no lights.

I shot with a 5D for about a year, so I feel the D40x will give me less control than what I'm used too.

Basically the main issue, is some of the conference rooms have glass windows on three sides, and I want to get an even exposure throughout. I would LIKE to expose both inside and outside. I've been told the HDR method won't work too great.

Any tips for shooting indoors on a shoestring budget with D40x would be great! Thanks all.

-Joe
 
oh its the entry level stock lens too. I believe its 18mm-75 ish, somewhere around there.
 
I don't believe you should feel limited by any DSLR unless you are doing specialty stuff which you aren't. HDR is one way to go about it, but you will need a tripod and it will take some time in post. Another way is to bring a light along and fill the inside with a lot of light to get your even exposure. I would probably go with HDR. You will also want a tripod if you plan on stiching photos together.
 
Though I've never used one and depending on the size of the rooms you might want to look at a flash gun with a Gary Fong Lightsphere mounted on the gun. It seems, by all the shots I've seen, to throw a consistent light in all directions. As I said, I've had no experience with it but it looks like it would do the job.
 
The only reason I feel limited is because I'm very familiar with Canon's controls and menu functions, and I just got this job thrown on me today, so I've been perusing through the manual so come the day of the shoot (tommorow), I can switch easily between different settings (i.e. exposure, shutter, spot exposure, wb settings, etc.)


I will have access to a tripod, thank god, since we do use tripods when we shoot depositions.

I'm looking at HDR as the solution, but wish there was a more sure fire way before post. I am pretty fluent in post-digital-photography so i'm not terribly worried, but I would sleep a little better tonight if I had some more concrete workflow.
 
Mino - I will def. look into that.

I feel like a slave flash or something along those lines might help give an even fill throughout

the fill light is what I am most worried about
 
I've used my D40 w/ an SB-400 in decent sized rooms and had good exposure with the kit lens. An SB-400 is about $100 if they don't have one already. It would be a good investment for that combo.
 
just did a little research on the sb400. came across ken rockwells site (of course, his site comes up for everything)...


and the pictures of his baby with the sb400 are fantastic

this might be an avenue I look into, I just worry that since some of these rooms are so large this flash might not be large enough. If I were to bounce it off a diffuser do you think I would have a decent fill on a conference room that can hold up to 20 attorneys?
 
Here is one that I took at Christmas. Since the flash will let you bounce off the ceiling you shouldn't need a diffuser. This room is about 20 feet from me to the back wall. This is also a 14 foot ceiling. I've been impressed with it so far.



Only thing that may be a downside for you is that it can't bounce off the ceiling when you frame horizontally. If you frame this way it will bounce off the wall. I like the look it gives, like in the picture below, but might not be what you are looking for.



More info on these photos via Flickr. If you click on them they will link.
 
Thanks for the posts!!!

Those look great, I'm drooling on my computer wanting this for my own personal photography..

What would you say the difference is between the sb400 and let's say the 580ex speedlight?
 
Thanks man. I think the 580ex is a Canon flash if I remember correctly. It will be heavier, but have a longer throw and swivel for bouncing off the ceiling w/ vertical framing. Remember too that the D40 requires iTTL support for the camera to control it, so the 580ex might work in manual mode but you would need a SB400,600, or 800 for the camera to control it.
 
Gotcha. Yea I'm still in my Canon mind-set

need to start thinking nikon

nikon, nikon, nikon,

Thanks.
 
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