Need input on how to shoot this...

[crashgirl]

My daughter has a Christmas program coming up for her preschool. It will be in the sanctuary of the church. The lighting will probably be poor. They probably won't care if we use flash, but since I will be some distance away, should I leave the flash on? As you know, I have the Rebel XTi with the kit lens. Any suggestions?

[adam75south]

depending on that distance....50mm f/1.8 for $70.
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=20368

[Peki31]

LOl... I was just coming to post almost the same exact thing. My daughter has a preschool show indoors, where we can use flash. I know the lighting will be bad though. I just got as a gift, the 430EX flash. I also only have the kit lens for now.

[Vich]

You'de be surprised at how powerful that little flash is. However if you're 40 feet away and don't have an external flash, you're probably right that it'll do little good - but it's not worthless.

I'm a little weak in Canon flash, but if you want to read up on it, here's (http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/index1.html) a liink.

Photography with no flash uses all ambient light. If ambient light isn't enough, but the flash can't quite fill everything, then you can still benifit some from using the flash.

Be aware; Av and Tv modes function very differently than Auto modes (like A and P). If you have adequate flash, you can just use "P" mode and probably get the best results. But if it's inadequate, you can use the other modes to achieve some benifit.

To quote:
In Av, night and Tv (shutter speed priority) modes the camera meters for ambient (existing) light and fills in the foreground subject using the flash. It does not assume that the primary light source is the flash, and therefore the shutter speed it sets is the same as it would set if you weren’t using flash at all.

You can also use manual mode with similar effect.

There is a little EV Compensation bar in your display that goes from -2 to 0 to +2. If using Tv, Av, or manual mode, you can see what settings you would need with no flash. Example: f1.8, SS 1/15. Note: Anything below 1/60th will probably be blurry.

EV Comp display is your window into the built-in light meter. It tells you if there's enough ambient light for a "natural lighting" photo. If not and you know it's too far off for a normal flash photo; then you can pop out your flash, go to manual mode. It'll do it's best to fill things in.

I'll stop my advice on flash use here since, as I mentioned, I'm a little weak.

Best to read that link and go try it in your home until you're satisfied you know what to use. Note: If you go purchase an EX 430 flash, your chance of success will be much greater.

The only final advice is to download Neat Image and use ISO 1600 and 3200 if your flash proves fairly worthless - or flashes are not allowed. Neat Image has a free-bee mode that works well.

[some guy]

the camera flash is to me good for one thing - fill flash. Other than that, it just washes out too much of the composition. if you can get close enough the cheap 50 1.8 can do a remarkable job with high ISO.
With a Speedlite, you can do a bit better with bounce or diffusers. This is where the 70-200 f2.8 IS really shine.

[Vich]

the camera flash is to me good for one thing - fill flash. Other than that, it just washes out too much of the composition. if you can get close enough the cheap 50 1.8 can do a remarkable job with high ISO.

Here's a typical internal flash shot where the flash is more than just fill. This shot would have been too slow without the flash, and no eye sparkle. I feel it performed adequately and isn't overly washed out. I would attribute that to the high ISO and wide aperture - thereby using more ambient light. I used Manual mode to limit the flashes output while giving me sufficient shutter speed.
(exif here) (http://flashme.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=111556683)
http://FLASHME.smugmug.com/photos/111556683-M.jpg

With a Speedlite, you can do a bit better with bounce or diffusers. This is where the 70-200 f2.8 IS really shine.Gosh; don't be such an optimist! lol.

Here's a comparison showing how the internal flash did OK (not great, but OK), whereas the one without a flash was blury and lacked sparkle, even though exposed correctly.

With fill flash (I know, Auto color balance seemed to key in on the chair).
(exif here) (http://flashme.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=111556496)
http://FLASHME.smugmug.com/photos/111556496-M.jpg

without fill flash. Taken at half the distance but needed wider aperture due to less light (ergo, girl is OOF due to DOF) note: exposure pushed (adding noise), cropped (adding more noise), and color corrected in PP - this photo will visit Noise Ninja if her mom wants a print. Sorry; I don't have the "before" posted - be happy to post it tonight if requested.
I would have prefered to use f5.6 and have the flash on (ie: narrower, not wider aperture). Alas; the assistant told me "no more flashes" - they had a nice softbox for their paid photos.
(exif here) (http://flashme.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=111556560)
http://FLASHME.smugmug.com/photos/111556560-M.jpg

Note: All photos shot with Canon 35 f1.4L and 30D using internal flash (where flash was used)