Don't be so damn lazy...

The other night I had an assignment to shoot a couple of guys playing video games. The story was about a couple of guys who are putting together a gaming league in the area. When I spoke to one of them he said they usually play a couple hours a night, mostly Halo 3. So, I set up a time I could be there to get some shots of them playing. Well, the problem I was having was how I would shoot it. Most of the time you sit on a couch and play with the TV being on the other side if the room. When I got there, that's exactly what was going on. The good thing was Jesse, top right, had a big TV, the other good part was they pull the couch closer to the TV when they are gaming. Ok, well that helped. I started out taking a few shots of the guys playing, I hung out for a while waiting for some emotions, they aren't quite like me, 1) they were really good (my Halo skills could use some work), 2) they are pretty even keeled (I have a tendency to wear my heart on my sleeve when I play, ask my wife whom I've woken up a couple times yelling at the TV!).

The other problem was I was having a hard time exposing them and the TV evenly. They play in pretty dark conditions. Now, here's where I had my epiphany. My D3 has allowed me to be pretty lazy, if it is dark I just crank up the ISO, the problem is I tend to forget I have a flash. The TV kind of reminded me of it. I grabbed my flash out of my bag as well as my off camera cords and my mini tripod. Then it was just a matter of exposing right for the TV and popping a little flash on these guys' faces. The ugly tungsten yellow light pretty much disappeared, leaving only the nice light on their faces. After about 20 minutes of laying on the floor shooting up on these guys I had my shot.

As I left I realized my great camera was hindering my shooting somewhat, and I made a promise to myself to not just crank up my ISO when there is a possiblity of making a great picture in another way... sounds like a New Year's Resolution to me.