Shooting photos at a low lit coffee shop?

[afrikaner07]

Hi Everyone,
I will be attending a little mini-concert type thing in a Coffee shop this evening. I kind of know the people performing. Is it out of place for me to take photos? especially with a flash? And if not, what can I do to limit the flash, while still capturing the moments. I can just imaging how annoying a flash would be if I was performing. Any ideas or help would greatly be appreciated. Oh, and I was planning on asking the guy anyways if I could photograph it some. The coffee shop is low light, so I think I'll have to use a flash. Im kind of stuck gear wise, all I have is a canon powershot s5 is and a tripod, lol, nothing else. I really appreciate your help.
Thanks =D
Johan

[CaptainTom]

No flash. Highest ISO your camera will go to. Wide open lens. Steady hands. Shoot in RAW. Tripod if allowed.

Did I mention,, no flash...

[ngoduyviet]

I've taken shots at coffee shop events before, and don't think it's out of place as long as the owner, organizer is ok with it.

Flash is a big distraction & a mood killer at these types of events though so you might want to consult with them before hand.

I realize it's a bit late, but if you can borrow or rent a decent dSLR, and a low light lens. For candids, I'd recommend the 85 1.8 if you can't get the 85 1.2.

[afrikaner07]

lol, the highest iso i can go with my camera is 200...after that its horribly noisy...i need to get an SLR, lol...but thanks for the advise. ill take my monopod with me. maybe that will help some. =D no luck on renting gear, just one more reason for me to get a better camera and some nice lenses, hahaha =D

[CaptainTom]

there's nothing wrong with noise. It's not the same, but it used to be called "grain".
think Black and White. Go higher ISO and B&W and you have the classic "coffee house" set up. Can you control your exposure on that P&S ? It will want to average everything, so try underexposing a stop or two to capture the atmosphere.

[afrikaner07]

great idea =D I do indeed have exposure control, but not in manual, so Ill switch to Aperture, keep it as open as possible, mess with the exposure, and keep it black and white...does that about sum up what I need to do?

[CaptainTom]

That's the idea. You probably have an exposure compensation capability. that's how you can control the exposure.

Have fun. Just think how easy it will be when you get that DSLR...

[afrikaner07]

hahaha, seriously, oh, one more question, i have heard that I should focus on the eyes, and use center weighted average or spot. will that help make them pop some?

[CaptainTom]

Focus on what you want to be sharp. If it's the person, the eyes might be the target. Maybe the guitar/trumpet/harmonica/bagpipes ? spot metering is your friend, but experiment with over and under exposures.

[afrikaner07]

Tom, your amazing! thank you so much for all your help!

[afrikaner07]

here are some of the shots. My camera couldn't handle high iso with no flash, just looked horrible. i got all the permissions, and used a flash. the band singer was quite happy to have some photos of the band.
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These arent all of them. But I just wanted to show a few. Some of them you can clearly see the shadow cast by the flash. Although for you vets out there you can probably tell that all of these had flash in them.

[Angelo]

Johan, when I read your first post, I said "this guy is asking for a miracle". Well, you got one...
You can probably enhance (lighten them up a bit) and you'll have some nice memories.

[afrikaner07]

thanks Angelo, lol...the cool thing about being ignorant, you don't have boundaries to hold you back, lol at least mentally.

[JohnT]

There's a local coffee house in Colleyville that I just love shooting in. It's low light, but I shoot with a 5D, ISO 3200 or 1600 if I can get by with it, and usually a 50 f/1.4 lens. The images turn out really well. Just something to consider for future reference.

[afrikaner07]

lol, I have been considering a 5D for when I eventually go up to SLR, and a fast lens is definitely on my to by list, thank you for the advise.