I would like to know how many lights and what positions I set them in for this??

Many Thanks

Graduation balls only require nice, simple lighting – they won’t be looking for anything more arty than that.
For that lighting setup I would use the two strobes with umbrellas, one placed camera left, and one placed camera right, pointing to the subjects like: / | \ where | is you.
You may want to do one strobe with a little less power to give a little definition to the faces, otherwise you may end up with very flat and boring lighting.

I hope this helps you.

Here’s the Epson Stylus Pro 3880 for $1,230: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Pro/SeriesStylusPro3880/Overview.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&x=0&ref_=nb_sb_noss&y=0&tag=bestdeals-y-20&field-keywords=d90&url=search-alias%3Delectronics

And here are some good lens choices

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&x=0&ref_=nb_sb_noss&y=0&tag=bestdeals-y-20&field-keywords=nikon%20lens&url=search-alias%3Delectronics

Be aware, however, that this is a very, very difficult field to break into. Unless you have a solid photography background, and can show them a professional-looking portfolio of excellent photos, they’re not going to be interested. Professional photographers can be counted on to get good pictures, at any event, under any lighting conditions. Amateur photographers get a lucky shot once in a while, but pros get them each and every day.

+ I am using my mother’s Nikon D60 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lens

You should not charge.

I cannot imagine why that would seem appropriate in the first place. If they contacted you and asked you to do this, it would be appropriate…but that’s obviously not the case here. They may not necessarily need nor want photos taken, and beyond that, if they did, they would probably have a staff member or professional photographer do the work. Not a random person taking a photography class.

Basically, you want to ask a school who may have no need for photography if you can take photos of their event. You have instigated the contact, and you are the primary beneficiary here. You should shoot for free.

I’ve been asked to join a UK content team at a big Esports event in europe who I have shot an event job for before (this was while i was attending it already so was happy to shoot for a small fee) but this will be a massive weekend long event in europe with big name teams attending so they will be expecting a lot of photos along with uploads to a few different sites they report/commentate for throughout the event.

They have asked how much I would charge as my fee for the 4 nights and 3 days (they are covering all travel and accomodation expenses and have daily food allowance). Having never charged for a job this big i’m a little unsure what to reply with but they are keen on me going since they know me and my work.

I have setup my price for portrait work, so far it is £50 an hour including basic post processing. So was possibly thinking of half day (up to 3 hours) being around £120 and full day (up to 6 hours) being £240. However I will likely be working, due to the nature of these Esport events, up to at least 9, possibly 12 hours a day or more dependinging how long the tournament matches go on for, in which case, £300 or £350.

Does anyone think that sounds reasonable or too much for my first proper event?

Cheers for any advice.

Dave

It is quite reasonable dear.. still you can call few photographers, event management companies, event planners, wedding planners or anybody else who provide photographers & pretend to be a client and get pricing for same kinda services

Abhishek

http://www.eventplanner.in

I run my own event every 3 months, and have currently switched venues and it’s a lot darker inside than the last venue.

I don’t have a flashgun but I was thinking about hiring one out for the weekend of the event. Is this a good start? I don’t really like using a flash because it gives off horrible shines and colours, but I’m not sure what else to do?

I only have two lenses;
18-135mm
and 70-300mm macro

The event has quite a few different coloured lights too.

Example of the kind of lighting will be at this event (a photo I’ve taken before):

Thanks for the tips guys/gals

@Mad Luv
I’m both hehe, but I don’t usually photography indoors, mostly nature and portraits!
@Perki88

Could you possibly point me in the direction of which would be the best dome from the Gary Fong store?

http://www.garyfongestore.com/flash-accessories.html

That would be a great help, I never ever knew these existed so i’m unsure

If you rent a flash, be sure to use some sort of modifier such as a Stofen or Gary Fong dome. Here I have used the Fong dome: http://www.flickr.com/photos/perki88/2538748612/
Practice before the event.

Do you think the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 or the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 would do the job?
Sorry, I guess that’s quite important! I have a Nikon D50 and will, hopefully, be getting a D90 next month.

If you’re getting paid for this, FIND THE MONEY for that 18-200 lens. It may be the only one you need for newspaper and event photography, provided that weddings are not included in the events.

Sigma and others make similar lenses, although I do not know about prices or quality. Read some reviews. Be sure to get an "OS" (optically stablized) version that is similar to Nikon’s "VR" system. Sigma 18-200 OS for $369, which is a very reasonable price: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/485229-REG/Sigma_888_306_18_200mm_f_3_5_6_3_DC_OS.html

B&H shows "Buy used: $519 + $529" here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/408518/Nikon_2159_AF_Zoom_Nikkor_18_200mm.html One is rated in 9+ condition.

With the new VR-II version coming onto the market, there will be some people who just "gotta have it" who will probably sell their "old" VR lenses on eBay for a good price, even though nothing is wrong with them.

Here are some samples of images made with the 18-200 lens on various Nikon DSLRs that have been published in a newspaper: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=7189769@N04&q=18200+AND+published&m=tags It’s quite versatile and a great lens to load when you don’t know quite what to expect.

Then again, here’s my set from the 17-55 lens, which means you could do all this with the 18-55 that you already own. Maybe you’d be limited in some low light settings but it’s still a good general purpose lens. http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=7189769@N04&q=1755+AND+published&m=tags

I’ve been using a Nikon D50 for years and next month am getting a D90. It’s pretty much necessary to have higher resolution images now that I’m doing newspaper work and also it seems like it’ll cope with low-light situations well.

I really hate using flash so I want to get a lens that will work well enough with the D90 in low-light to (mostly) eliminate the need for flash. At the moment I only really use the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and love it to bits but for newspaper photography it just doesn’t have the focal range. I also have the 18-55mm kit lens and a Sigma 105 f/2.8.

I’m considering the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8. I know I’d lose one (?) f-stop but the D90 works well at high ISOs and the focal range is pretty important.

I could also just get a fairly cheap speedlight just for any situation where it was absolutely necessary. Perhaps the SB-400?

I know press photography normally needs something more like an 18-200mm but I don’t have the budget and a lens like that would also be pretty awful in low-light. Plus I’m going to be doing candid wedding photography too so would like my kit to work well for that.

So would a Nikon D90, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 and small speedlight for emergencies be a good combination?

Sorry for the very long-winded question! Any help will really be appreciated.
Well I’ll be doing wedding work as a second/assistant photographer so I’ve got room to screw up! I’m still learning.

Since you are just getting the D90, I imagine you will have it for a while. You might want something wider than 24mm on a DX body. I use the 17-55 F/2.8 on the D300 and this combination does well for events where I have access (ie: can walk right up to the stage) and in low light. The D90 is comparable to the D300 for low light, so you would be fine with f/2.8 if you use some higher ISOs. I wouldn’t do it at a wedding, but you can easily go to ISO 2000 for the newspaper work.

There are some third party 17-55 or 17-50 f/2.8 lenses that review well. This Tamron, for instance, for $460: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/550954-REG/Tamron_AF016NII_700_17_50mm_f_2_8_XR_Di_II.html

This drops out the long end, though, so decide which you need. Maybe a Nikon 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0? You only lose one stop. There are probably plenty of used copies of this lens available as it’s been around a long time.

A flash is a requirement for weddings – not for emergency only. I would suggest that you buy an SB-900 or find a used/reconditioned SB-800 and skip the SB-400. It doesn’t have the range you need for some event work and it does not have the versatility you will need for weddings. I’m not recommending it, but at a minimum, you will want the SB-600. If you are not going to be the primary shooter, okay maybe you can use the SB-400 for fill.

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ADD’L
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My friend below makes an excellent point about NOT using an excessively high ISO. Yes, you can get the shot, but by the time you crop and enlarge, the noise can become a problem – even with the excellent low light performance of the D90. For weddings, you want the flash!