I have been very lucky to get access to a beauty pageant.To state the obvious: I will not be there as pro photographer nor am I there to produce photographs for any commercial reason. I will however have extended access to the contestants including rehearsals, behind the scenes and the pageant itself. All with the a formal permit / blessing from the organisers.I am very comfortable shooting people but I have never done anything on the “glamour / fashion” side.I have to my disposal 30d, 12-24 f4 Tokina, 28-75 f2.8 Tamron and the 70-200 f2.8 Sigma. I am also getting the 580ex flash unit with a diffuser and lots of battery power for both the camera and the flash. I have 2 x 2GB sandisk cards and will have the laptop to offload the images as I swap the cards.Any advice would be welcome to allow me to get most keepers. There are 30 contestants to photograph over 3 nights. If you shot catwalks, “green room” or “red carpet” style photos I’d like to hear your suggestions.

Shoot in manual camera mode and dial in some +2/3 FEC. -- Juli http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries Canon FiveDee, Canon 2oD, Canon Gee3, and Canon S7o, Fuji Eff30.

Juli's flash advice is right, for lots of people. For me, my Canon Rebel XT and both my 580EX and 420EX flash units provide perfect exposures without flash exposure compensation.It seems to vary from camera to camera and flash to flash, so run some tests.Next...What's the purpose of your photography?While most of the civilized world has given up on these events, in those locations where older values prevail, it is my understanding that the participants take them very seriously.With that in mind, what is the disturbance factor involved in your photography? Are people going to be busy, and you interrupt them, or are your photos scheduled and expected and welcomed?In regard to candidness. The participants work extraordinarily hard to look theri best -- diet and exercise and facny shampoos and premium makeup and even if outsiders think the fashions are awful, those fashions are not awful in the eyes of judges and contestants. Which leads to the question of just how welcome are you, and how carefgul will you be to show people in the most attractive way possible, and are they going to be happy with whatever distribution of photos takes place.I'd certainly be very unhappy if a shot of me with my hair in curlers (well, not really me cuz I'm a man and don't use curlers nor enter beauty pageants -- but I judged the largest pageant in Canada once ) and no makeup ended up on some internet web site. And if I was in my underwear, we'd be finding out if my lawyer was bigger than your lawyer.But, assuming these things are all taken care of...The easiest, best, way for attractive pictures of women in a fast-moving environment is this.Attach a 580EX to one end of a Canon off camera shoe cord 2, and clamp the cord to a light stand, and connect a small umbrella to the clamp.Because the cord is too short, you need a small umbrella so the cord can reach from the back of the umbrella to the top of the camera.Extend the stand so that the flash is just slightly above your head, so the light washes over the subjects, going down at an angle so whatever shadows there are will be behind their shoulders.Depending on the clothing worn for the shots, you may want toe to tiara, or bottom of ribbon (Ms. Garlic Capital for the lady from Californaia) to top of the hair.So, a good zoom lens is needed.I note you write> I have to my disposal 30d, 12-24 f4 Tokina, 28-75 f2.8 Tamron and the 70-200 f2.8 Sigma.Too wide a lens means too much distortion if you point the camera down to get her feet, so 1/ you need to get used to crouching for some shots, and 2/ a 24mm lens would probably be fine for full length shots.So, for controlled full length shots, you are going to have to take a couple of steps back from ideal, using the 28-75.But for the half body shots and head and shoulder shots, you've got a perfect lens.Any other advice really depends on what you're going to use the pictures for. If I was there, I'd have a little tripod to use with the longer lens.BAK

Why's manual mode better? Isn't it tricky to make sure exposure is always OK in manual mode when shooting people who are moving around?Juli Valleywrote:Shoot in manual camera mode and dial in some +2/3 FEC. -- Juli http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries Canon FiveDee, Canon 2oD, Canon Gee3, and Canon S7o, Fuji Eff30.

I will have to put myself through an extensive flash photography self learning process.As to what I expect from the sessions:1. portraits - from rehearsals and behind the scenes:natural behaviour not false smile on the stage 2. some more formal full body length shotsFor me I should get a good practice in flash photography and dealing with photography in high stakes production environment.I know the venue quite well and there is no space for tripods there (old theatre). The change room area is almost pitch black and very confined space wise. It is also a dangerous space if your eye is glued to the camera as the back and side of the stage are poorly designed. -- Ted SzukalskiPhotographic gallery:http://www.digital-photo.com.au/

I've done a few pageants including the head shots/behind the scene/stage for the Miss San Francisco Pageant. I doubt if flash will be allowed during the actual pageant. For the pageant, I would set the camera to spot exposure, high iso, and use a fast shutter speed of about 1/250 since they will be moving around. Of course, you will need the fastest lens you have. Probably somthing in the f 2.8 range. For shots where they will be standing still, you can lower your iso and shoot at a lower ss.You can probably use flash during rehearsals but it may not be a dress rehearsal. During the rehearsal, get the lighting tech to turn on the lighting that will be used during the pageant so you can get a gray card reading for white balance. They will probably using different color temps throughout the show but at least you can get a baseline for what they will use normally. You also want to be careful posting pictures of the behind the scene shots without a release from each contestant since they do have an expectation of privacy in such a setting. -- http://www.FashionSF.com

Thanks for that.I've already verified that flash photography will be allowed at all times.As for model releases, the organisers have placed a condition on my access not to post any embarrassing or indiscreet photographs, which I am happy to oblige. They also have the right of choice of my photographs, so the photographs will be reviewed before I post anything by the pageant organisers. My access is media type pass, thus apparently that is all I need.

Don't forget Cn 14 to Average.Juli Valleywrote:Shoot in manual camera mode and dial in some +2/3 FEC. -- Juli http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries Canon FiveDee, Canon 2oD, Canon Gee3, and Canon S7o, Fuji Eff30.

Talking about putting camera in manual mode, not the flash. In Av or Tv mode, the camera will expose for ambient lighting and the flash will be in the fill mode, causing the overall exposure to be underexposed. Place the camera in manual mode, set shutter speed to 1/250.Sylvain C.wrote: Why's manual mode better? Isn't it tricky to make sure exposure is always OK in manual mode when shooting people who are moving around?Juli Valleywrote:Shoot in manual camera mode and dial in some +2/3 FEC. -- Juli http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries Canon FiveDee, Canon 2oD, Canon Gee3, and Canon S7o, Fuji Eff30.

I have been shooting the local pageant for a few years. I started with a flash setup, then some flash, some natural light, but this year I took 98% using the stage spots that were on the girls.I caught this one during our last pageant a few weeks ago with a 5d, 70-200l 2.8IS at iso 1600 I believe.Brian

I did read that it is the camera that has to be in manual mode (M). Unless I am missing something, don't you have to manually adjust exposure and aperture in manual mode? If exposure is fixed at 1/250 as you suggest, don't you have to "play" with aperture for every shot (while subjects are moving around)? Or do you just do it once at the beginning of the session given a somewhat stable lighting environment?brianricwrote: Talking about putting camera in manual mode, not the flash. In Av or Tv mode, the camera will expose for ambient lighting and the flash will be in the fill mode, causing the overall exposure to be underexposed. Place the camera in manual mode, set shutter speed to 1/250.Sylvain C.wrote: Why's manual mode better? Isn't it tricky to make sure exposure is always OK in manual mode when shooting people who are moving around?Juli Valleywrote:Shoot in manual camera mode and dial in some +2/3 FEC. -- Juli