Taking random pictures at a school dance

[Boots-]

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Hey, there's a school dance on thursday and I wanted to get some good shots of the lights and people there. Not just snapping a picture and that's it but like something that looks amazing. I'm not sure how to word what I'm trying to get so if you have any suggestions or tips or tricks on how to get some amazing shots, leave them here. I have a fujifilm finepix s1500.

 

[miles01110]

Just take a lot of shots and cross your fingers. If you just want to be casual about it you're probably not going to get a high percentage of your shots to come out well. Bad lighting conditions and lots of movement make for difficult shots, especially with an entry-level P&S.

 

[acearchie]

If your looking for tips on how to get slightly different pictures I would recommend slowing down the shutter speed whilst also keeping the flash open.

If I am picturing your dance correctly then it would be quite dark with some bright "disco" style lights.

By doing this effect you will get some light trails but also get a sharp image of your subject.

Start off with something like 1/2s with the flash on.

Of course the effectiveness of this will vary with every location and camera but this is a setting that has been a good starting point for me in the past!

 

[El Cabong]

Use either Shutter Priority or Manual mode and set your flash to Slow Synchronization mode, which will make it fire right before the shutter closes, which will allow you to be able to capture some of the ambient light (move around the camera for trailing effects) while still making your subjects visible. Play around with different shutter speeds, 1 second and longer, and expect to take a few shots before figuring out what speed is best for the lighting and what you want to do. Aperture should be as wide (low number) as possible; Shutter Priority should keep it that way, but if it doesn't, use Manual.

 

[Boots-]

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Okay so I'll keep in mind all of these suggestions, so I thank you for them. But I have one problem, when I go on manual mode or shutter priority, it won't let me change the flash mode to use, so I can't use slow synchro flash, does anybody know how to turn it on in manual mode?

 

[El Cabong]

does anybody know how to turn it on in manual mode?

I don't have your camera model myself, but sometimes flash mode can't be changed until the flash is raised. Have you tried raising the flash before trying to change the mode?

 

[Boots-]

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Yea I've tried raising the flash, it won't let me change the flash mode though

 

[admwright]

I checked the fuji website and your camera does support this:

Flash modes
Red-eye removal OFF: Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow Synchro.
Red-eye removal ON: Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-eye Reduction & Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Red-eye Reduction & Slow Synchro.

Have you checked the manual for your camera, this appears to be the link for the pdf version:

http://www.fujifilm.com/support/digital_cameras/manuals/pdf/index/s/finepix_s1500_manual_01.pdf

All the best
Andrew W.

 

[El Cabong]

Yea I've tried raising the flash, it won't let me change the flash mode though

What flash mode does it default to in Shutter Priority/Manual Mode? Have you tried changing it in Auto and then switching to another shooting mode to see if it sticks?