What is your most challenging part of photography?

[CarolineJensen]

Is it ISO, aperture, shutter speed, or perhaps light? What part of photography with Sony challenges you the most? 

[LensBrew]

Lights in venues are a nightmare. Our basketball court has ones the worst lights in college, and to make matters worse, some lights died and the university are not planning to replace them for "development" reasons. 

I wonder if Sony can be developed a sensor solely for such venues, without the need to raise the ISO.

[TrekRover]

I think lighting is always a challenge and the ISO. I am a pixel peeper so noise bothers me lol. I am also too slow to react to fast moving objects/animals. Hope the a1ii will have the pre-capture like the a9iii 🙂

[CarolineJensen]

On 12/10/2023 at 12:39 PM, LensBrew said:

Lights in venues are a nightmare. Our basketball court has ones the worst lights in college, and to make matters worse, some lights died and the university are not planning to replace them for "development" reasons. 

I wonder if Sony can be developed a sensor solely for such venues, without the need to raise the ISO.

Nothing is worse than gym lighting! 

[CarolineJensen]

On 12/13/2023 at 7:03 PM, TrekRover said:

I think lighting is always a challenge and the ISO. I am a pixel peeper so noise bothers me lol. I am also too slow to react to fast moving objects/animals. Hope the a1ii will have the pre-capture like the a9iii 🙂

Pre-capture is a game changer for sure!! 

[ST]

On 12/6/2023 at 9:07 AM, CarolineJensen said:

Is it ISO, aperture, shutter speed, or perhaps light? What part of photography with Sony challenges you the most? 

I'm fortunate to have come to photography when modern cameras can handle the ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and even focusing. I started with the A7 IV last summer and got the A1 in February when I realized how much I enjoyed this new pursuit.
 
With all the technical details handled by the camera, I'm left with finding something to photograph, composition, and, of course, understanding and using light.

I walk outdoors every day, and even in the worst weather, there's usually something to photograph if I keep an open mind. I typically carry two bodies, the A7 IV with the FE 50mm F1.2 GM and the A1 with the FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS. If it's dark and ugly, I'll take the A1 with the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II, and I carry the 2.0X teleconverter in case the light improves.

The biggest challenge right now: 
Every week, I photograph amateur musicians in a community hall. There is no stage lighting, and the musicians are constantly in motion. There can be up to fifteen acts (solos and ensembles, up to five or six) in an evening. There are no dimmers, so the organizers turn off the main room lights and rely on some track lighting at the rear of the room and some outdoor security lights coming through the windows to illuminate the space. 

I recently picked up some small LED lights that the organizers will barely tolerate. They want to maintain the 'ambience'. There are also many obstructions like microphones, microphone stands, and music stands. This makes for all kinds of hotspots and ugly shadows.

In this setting, I use the FE 50mm F1.2 GM and FE PZ 16-35 MM F4 G on the A1. I use Capture One to help with separating the people from the frenetic background.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is, I'm not comfortable photographing people.

I'd be grateful for any comments or suggestions.

Edited December 26, 2023 by ST

[CarolineJensen]

21 hours ago, ST said:

I'm fortunate to have come to photography when modern cameras can handle the ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and even focusing. I started with the A7 IV last summer and got the A1 in February when I realized how much I enjoyed this new pursuit.
 
With all the technical details handled by the camera, I'm left with finding something to photograph, composition, and, of course, understanding and using light.

I walk outdoors every day, and even in the worst weather, there's usually something to photograph if I keep an open mind. I typically carry two bodies, the A7 IV with the FE 50mm F1.2 GM and the A1 with the FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS. If it's dark and ugly, I'll take the A1 with the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II, and I carry the 2.0X teleconverter in case the light improves.

The biggest challenge right now: 
Every week, I photograph amateur musicians in a community hall. There is no stage lighting, and the musicians are constantly in motion. There can be up to fifteen acts (solos and ensembles, up to five or six) in an evening. There are no dimmers, so the organizers turn off the main room lights and rely on some track lighting at the rear of the room and some outdoor security lights coming through the windows to illuminate the space. 

I recently picked up some small LED lights that the organizers will barely tolerate. They want to maintain the 'ambience'. There are also many obstructions like microphones, microphone stands, and music stands. This makes for all kinds of hotspots and ugly shadows.

In this setting, I use the FE 50mm F1.2 GM and FE PZ 16-35 MM F4 G on the A1. I use Capture One to help with separating the people from the frenetic background.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is, I'm not comfortable photographing people.

I'd be grateful for any comments or suggestions.

My in-laws are in their 80s, but they go 'jam' every week with fellow musicians and I hear you about the light! My best tip is to just to look for those still moments, or at least when they are not wildly swaying, and use a slower shutter speed. I think strumming with slow shutter can be really impactful. Seriously though, this is a tough situation. A wedding photographer would just demand to light the scene. 😂 One thing you might try is a long lens. Getting in close can be magical with musicians. You did great here with what you were given!