Indoor Team Ceremony Award - Lens?

.Longshanks.

I’ve been asked to attend the award ceremony for a local camogie team tomorrow to take a few team photos after the awards have been handed out and am looking for a few basis tips / setting recommendations.

I have a three lens, of which the most suitable will be the kit 18-55mm and the 50mm 1.4. The 1.4 50mm should give better images, but will it be too narrow meaning I will be too far way for the best shot?

Would you recommend I bring my tripod – so that all shots are framed the same. They ain’t looking for anything artistic.

What would be the best aperture to use? Being a team photo, I obviously don’t want the people in the front row in focus and the back out. But depending on the background, it would be nice if the background was nice and soft – but I have no idea what the venue is like yet. I am planning on having a few test shots first, but it would be great to get a bit of aheads up before trying this sort of thing for the first time


Cheers

af_thefragile

Why not take both and depending on the venue and setting you could then decide which one to use...
If you're gonna be taking pictures from a close distance, i'ld say the kit lens's extra field of view might come handy. Though you might end up getting unwanted people in the background.
If you want a shallow dof to have only the subject in focus in the picture then the 50mm should be fine. Its also a fast lens so you can snap away at some interesting moments. But usually at ceremonies people pose for pictures so i don't think you'ld really need a fast lens.

I guess you could bring a tripod along but i don't think it'ld be necessary. Well, this is probably what i'ld do, i'ld take both lenses with me to check out before what's giving me better results and i wouldn't really bother with the tripod (as you could crop the pictures to look to be framed the same). But then i've got no experience about taking pictures in ceremonies so maybe someone who's got more experience in that field can help you better!!

al_

Just quickly, normally for team photo's, they are not looking for anything artistic, as you said yourself, they usually do want the background in focus, obviously within reason, but usually its the grounds, or goal area or something like that and just be careful that you have enough depth of field to cover all members of the squad front to back if you are doing a full team lineup.
Apart from that I cant be much help, good luck with it, act like you completely know what you're doing and that confidence will come across to the people in the frame and they will be more cooperative.
Best of luck

PCPhoto

open the aperture up (f8 maybe) and use a flash.

if you can - use two flashes (master/slave) or (slave/slave and transmitter).

if you have room shoot it on the 50mm and crop the image (if you think you are too far back)....best of luck !!!

Ricky91t

If you could get them outside would make your life alot easier.Depending on the venue a flash might be good,But if you use one,Shoot raw and bounce it,and point it directly at them and see which look better!

.Longshanks.

Thanks for all the replies guys.
I should have clarified that its a presentation event tomorrow evening at 8pm. So dark (and cold) to go outside. They only want assembled team photos, but i'll be on look out for individual on offs for my own practice.

I also only have the built in flash. I need to get the manual out to look into master/slave flash suggestion by Ricky. My 1000D definitely has a second curtain flash setting hidden in the sub-menus. I'm not totally sure of what this is but i know it has it!