Help me plan 7D "candle shot"

G

GavinGear

Active member
Hey all- I'm going to shoot some "stock footage" to use as overlay for video I'm working on.

I want to shoot some candles, with one in focus in the foreground, and several out of focus candles in the background.

I'm going to try and use my milling machine or metal lathe table/carriage as a glide to get a nice slow sideways glide action.

So here's what I have to work with:
- A dark room
- Candles
- 7D
- 18-55mm T1i stock lens, 28-135mm 7D kit lens (wish I had an F1.4 prime for this)!

I'd like any pointers on setting up the shot, and specifically what lens and settings you'd use for the 7D for this shot.

So far I'm thinking to use the 28-135 at max zoom, but that will limit me to F5.6 (slow) and I don't want the ISO to go too high.

My goal for exposure is to have the scene very dark, and the candle flames to be properly exopsed (not too bright).

I'd like to shoot at ISO 100-200 if possible. I'll shoot in 1080p 30 or 24fps, and I'll dial in white balance, etc.

Please help me with my limited equipment! :)
 
My advice, rent a fast lens. For stuff with candles in a dark room you at least need F1.8 in my opinion to avoid noise with higher ISO. I use the Sigma 30mm F1.4 and it works wonderfully.

Most camera shops will rent you a lens for CHEAP. Try it out.

We shot some flame shots this weekend with a F2.0 with BIG flame and it was okay, but candles are going to be much darker than this.
 
I did a test many months ago with the 5D Mark II and a 50mm f/1.4. We were in a living room; it was completely dark; and the only light source was a bunch of tea lights (the really short, small candles). Even at ISO 6400, the light from the candles had very little throw, and the camera couldn't see more than about a foot away from the flames.

Advice: Get lots of big candles and an f/1.2 lens. Maybe also try to rent a 1D Mark IV just for the scene.

Note that Stanley Kubrick had to use specially modified f/0.7 lenses to shoot the candlelit scenes in Barry Lyndon. And film stock doesn't get any faster than ISO 500.
 
Also you can cheat- just because candles are in the shot doesn't mean they have to be your sole source of illumination. Bounce in some very soft light with some orange gels and you'll build up the base level illumination. 250 watt bulb in a china ball or a 500 watt bounced off some showcard or foamcore. Shouldn't cost you more than $20 in materials.

It will still look like the candles are lighting the shot but you'll have much better contrast control and lower grain in your shot because you won't have to shoot wide open. Also candles that aren't the only light in a scene are way less likely to be overexposed if there's more light in the scene to balance them out. Most lenses don't look great at their widest aperture but a few stops closed. I.e. if you can shoot a 1.4 lens at f2.0 it will look that much better...

Noah
 
Thanks for the feedback- sounds like my concerns were warranted regarding the speed of the lens.

I may have to alter the scene, or rent a lens. Perhaps I'll start with the former, and resort to tha latter if the lenses I have can not be made to work.

I think what I'll try is an extreme closeup of the foreground candle to see what I can do with that at F3.5.
 
GavinGear said:
Hey all- I'm going to shoot some "stock footage" to use as overlay for video I'm working on.

I want to shoot some candles, with one in focus in the foreground, and several out of focus candles in the background.

I'm going to try and use my milling machine or metal lathe table/carriage as a glide to get a nice slow sideways glide action.

So here's what I have to work with:
- A dark room
- Candles
- 7D
- 18-55mm T1i stock lens, 28-135mm 7D kit lens (wish I had an F1.4 prime for this)!

I'd like any pointers on setting up the shot, and specifically what lens and settings you'd use for the 7D for this shot.

So far I'm thinking to use the 28-135 at max zoom, but that will limit me to F5.6 (slow) and I don't want the ISO to go too high.

My goal for exposure is to have the scene very dark, and the candle flames to be properly exopsed (not too bright).

I'd like to shoot at ISO 100-200 if possible. I'll shoot in 1080p 30 or 24fps, and I'll dial in white balance, etc.

Please help me with my limited equipment! :)
Click to expand...

While you're at it, Gizmodo is having a candlelight (single candle) shooting contest this week, due sunday.

http://gizmodo.com/5484962/shooting-challenge-by-candlelight

Stills.
 
GavinGear,
I agree with Noah 100% Bounce in some soft light and gel it. This can be very subtle. The candles will still appear to be the source of the light. I'm sure there are other solutions but IMO you'll be spending a lot of time and effort on a technical achievement rather than expressing an artistic vision.
 
Chinaball plus CTO is your friend. You could also use some duvetyne to wrap the chinaball so it doesn't spill everywhere and motivate it with the candlight.
 
OK, I was able to get the shot I needed with my existing equipment!

Here's the video:
http://vimeo.com/9970524

And here are the settings:
18-55mm EFS lens (T1i / T2i kit lens)
55mm - f5.6
ISO 200
1/30 second
Shot 1080p 30fps
No color grading or contrast / brightness

There's definately more that could be done here, but for what I am going to use this for, it's just what I needed. At ISO 200, no noticeable noise at all, very happy with that.
 
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