What should I do to prepare for a glass factory visit?

Question

I will soon have the opportunity to visit a glass factory. Since I will likely not go there for a long time, I'd like to make sure I get the most out of my shots.

I hope to take pictures like this and this.

I will bring my EOS 550D with the 18-55mm/3.5-5.6 kit lens with me. Is there a particular set of options I should aim for to capture the glow of fluid glass? I'm concerned that I will rather underexpose the pictures: Glassblowers work quite hectically and my lens is not particularly fast. Will using the flash destroy the natural look of glass? Or will it yield interesting specular highlights?

Another aspect I'm concerned about is that the images will look flat since there will probably be windows letting in light, the rather dark rooms and the glowing ovens with fire in them. Is there a recipe to maximize the details in each of the wildly differently luminated areas applicable in this scenario?

Answer

I would try to expose for the hot bright fire, and manually dial up your flash to fill in the rest. In other words - use your in camera meter in manual mode to get the correct exposure, then just flip up your flash. You can further adjust the flash settings to get the desired effect. Use a higher ISO to freeze the action with your setup - ISO 800 or 1200 would be a good place to start.

You are right in thinking that the flash could potentially destroy some of the mood, but used correctly as in the above suggested technique, you can make great images.

To maximize details - I would shoot sightly stopped down, that is, not at your maximum aperture of f/3.5 or f/4.0. Try f/5.6 or even a bit higher. Also, try to keep the main action at the center of the lens, and finally keep ISO as low as possible while still freezing the action.

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