Semi-pros wedding nightmare

[BLINN]

:confused: Hi all, I have been not been shooting weddings for long however they are picking up.(5 wedding in past 5 months) I do however have a wedding at the end of this month and I am very nervous about it. I live in northern Ontario and it gets dark early, I'm talk like 4:45pm. The clients are getting married at 7pm and the cerimony is to be candle lit only. They don't want many traditional formal shots however they do want some out in the snow. (Yeah and the pitch black) I do not have a studio and said they are very happy only getting candid shots from their reception. Do any of you have techniques to help me shoot in these poor (no light) light conditions. I am shooting with a Canon 300D 420ex flash with bracket and tripod. I will be test shooting at 7pm this weekend to see what kind of results I will get. These clients were very happy with their engagement photos, and are expecting the same quality of photos for their wedding. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[davidfig]

Ouch! will I hope they like complete black for the background, 'cause unless you have about 8 flash units you have no chance of lighting the background. So I would scope out the place at that time of day and see where I can make use of light that may be present. Then rent some big glass, 24-70 2.8, 35/1.8, 50/1.8, 85/1.2 (pic at least 2). I would take a 24-70 and the 35 for the reception.

[itswillist]

Hey Hey .. This is what I would "on top of having a "high powered flash" You should probably sett you ISO all the way up .. im not sure how high yours goes .. mine limits at 1600 .. obviously bring a tripod .. hmm .. try shutter speeds lower than 50 .. now remember if you get to slow then if they move a lil. it will blur the image .. I'm not sure if you use photoshop but if so, it will brighten them up a good bit as well .. good luck, let ne know what you did .

support earthcrawl.com's (http://www.earthcrawl.com)new photography forum ..

[greg4bs]

In low light conditions you could always purchase or loan a Canon 50mm 1.8 or 1.4. I've used them effectively in poor light

[forkball]

I'm sure the reception will have SOME light. I'd recommend you get a 50mm or 85mm fast lens for the reception and make due with the flash and bracket. You can drag your shutter at about 1/15 with these lenses at f/2.0 to get the most of that lighting. The background will still be somewhat darker than the subjects, but at least it will not be black, and you can work with that in PS... although the noise will increase some in the darker areas. The flash will freeze the subjects so you don't get camera shake blur on them.

[Harry Settle]

My opinion, it won't be any worse than shooting the dance. Ceremony itself, except for processional and recessional will be fairly static and shouldn't be any problem. The candle light will add to the ambiance, I'm not even sure if I would correct for white balance.

As far as taking shots outside in the dark, it is what it is. They know they are asking for something that may or may not work. Try taking some shots in a similar situation to see what kind of results and settings.

[tim]

Like you said and has been said, you need to set up some tests and see if you can do it. You HAVE to warn them about the risks - blurry or grainy photos inside and probably nothing much from the processional. The "playing in the snow at night shots" could also be challenging to do well. Test that too, post pics from your tests here, i'm interested to see how it goes.

[Actionphotog]

Blinn First do you have any relfectors and a couple work lights?
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1742198&cp=&kw=work+light&parentPage=search&searchId=10477949793
When I do a location shoot and I don't want to take my strobes with me I use the above type of light to light up underneath or behind my subjects and use my flash to light up the front.
You will need to practice.
If you have a reflector you can bounce the light from one of these lights.
What I did along time ago was to buy fabric that had the same reflective properties as a wedding dress (Don't forget the length for the train) and draped it over a light stand to see how the light works on the "Wedding Dress" for outside shots like the one your doing. This will help you cut a lot of the guess work out.
Mind you if people are walking by when your doing this ....... they will think you nuts.

[DocFrankenstein]

I'd shoot BW film with medium format at ISO 6400

Dunno what else!

[BLINN]

I am doing some test shots this weekend I will post as they come off the camera. Your CC with be a great help.

Mike

[Croasdail]

There are so many variable here... for instance, I would bounce the flash to soften the lighting - no bride wants harsh shadows - it is most unflattering. If the ceilings are too high, make sure you use a difuser - and use to bracket to get the flash off center from the camera to minimize the red eye. If you don't have a fast 50mm lens, beg, borrow, steal or buy one... Don't flash to fully light everything... just warm up the scene. See if you can shoot the rehersal as well... ... and I have run out of ideas. But do... 1) use a difures or bounce, and 2) power down the flash so that you are filling in the scene - not hyper lighting it... Best of luck with it...

[cmM]

don't you just love shooting in available darkness?
If I were you,
-fastest glass possible (85 f/1.2 and 50 f/1.0, 35 f/1.4 sounds really good now )
-highest ISO (don't worry about noise, some people love that look - heck, sometimes I ADD noise to my ISO 3200 shots)
-If you use flash, bounce if you can. If you have an assistant, take a reflector and make him/her hold it up so you can bounce your flash off of it.
-If there's a videographer, work with him/her. Use the video light, you could get some stunning results.

[dsze]

I've done this wedding before, 2 Novembers ago. This was also a Sunday night wedding out of town (I had to work Monday morning). I got some descent stuff and provided them with about 250 proofs, but here is what I learned, and the best advice I can offer.

1. Back out. Suggest that they get someone with more intensive lighting to do this for them. Be honest; what they want will require heavy-duty lighting and that costs money. So charge them for the lighting that you need to provide the images they want, or sugges that they use someone who already has the lighting.

2. If you do decide to do it, be very open and upfront about how the images will look, get it in writing and get it signed.

Even though, I ended up producing good enough images from my Sunday night darkness wedding, I promised myself that I will never again do a night or a Sunday-out-of-town wedding. ...too much work and not the quality of images that I typically hand to clients. Overall, not a positive experience and if nothing else I need my photography to be a positive experience. ;)

Good luck & let us know what you do!

[CyberPet]

Photography in low light is no fun at all... did just that yesterday, had about 20 min outdoors until the sun set (if Ontario is dark, then come to northern sweden, the sun sets at 1.16 PM - and if it's a clear day you do get some real daylight - did not happen yesterday).

Flash photography is tough, and I don't master it. Using available light requires a tripod or some good support and fast lenses. I used a trigger and either a tripod or some support to be able to take photo's indoors in a church (and there was still *some* light outside - the church was not completely lit).

It's rough, so practice, practice and more practice... you have one chance to get it.

[Dragos Jianu]

This is where a 20D + 35mm f/1.4 + 580EX would really make the difference. Try to rent them. Having 2 bodies would help a lot (One with the prime another one with a f/2.8 zoom). One other thing i'd seriously worry about (that no one mentioned) is AF. Good Luck!

[CyberPet]

Nah, autofocus is nothing to worry about, unless it's dark clothes, dark background, etc. At least I've had no problems focusing in low lights.

[sapearl]

Another approach would be to mount the camera on a tripod for all your shots, decide ahead of time what f-stop you want to be shooting at – nothing smaller than f8, preferably f5.6 – and then “drag” your shutter at a slower speed ( around 1/8 or ¼ sec) to gather what little ambient light is present.

I’ve done this on numerous occasions with my Hasselblad using film and you can get some very usable if not pleasing photos. I’m not sure how this would completely transition into the digital world, but the photographic principles are the same: light, aperture, strobe, film/sensor.

The flash will freeze any movement on the part of the bride, groom and clergy. The slow shutter speed should gather enough ambient light so the groom’s dark tux won’t look like the shot of the proverbial black cat in the coal mine. You will be surprised at the pleasant ambient glow that can be recorded from candles, torches, carriage lights, small outdoor lamps…. you get the picture :D . Hope this helps.

Stuart Pearl

:confused: Hi all, I have been not been shooting weddings for long however they are picking up.(5 wedding in past 5 months) I do however have a wedding at the end of this month and I am very nervous about it. I live in northern Ontario and it gets dark early, I'm talk like 4:45pm. The clients are getting married at 7pm and the cerimony is to be candle lit only. They don't want many traditional formal shots however they do want some out in the snow. (Yeah and the pitch black) I do not have a studio and said they are very happy only getting candid shots from their reception. Do any of you have techniques to help me shoot in these poor (no light) light conditions. I am shooting with a Canon 300D 420ex flash with bracket and tripod. I will be test shooting at 7pm this weekend to see what kind of results I will get. These clients were very happy with their engagement photos, and are expecting the same quality of photos for their wedding. Any help would be great. Thanks.

[tim]

Another approach would be to mount the camera on a tripod for all your shots, decide ahead of time what f-stop you want to be shooting at – nothing smaller than f8, preferably f5.6 – and then “drag” your shutter at a slower speed ( around 1/8 or ¼ sec) to gather what little ambient light is present.

I’ve done this on numerous occasions with my Hasselblad using film and you can get some very usable if not pleasing photos. I’m not sure how this would completely transition into the digital world, but the photographic principles are the same: light, aperture, strobe, film/sensor.

The flash will freeze any movement on the part of the bride, groom and clergy. The slow shutter speed should gather enough ambient light so the groom’s dark tux won’t look like the shot of the proverbial black cat in the coal mine. You will be surprised at the pleasant ambient glow that can be recorded from candles, torches, carriage lights, small outdoor lamps…. you get the picture :D . Hope this helps.

Stuart Pearl

Stuart, do you ever get "ghosts" around the outline of the people, from the ambient light falling on them? If you do are the a problem in practice?

[sapearl]

Once in a while I get some very, very slight image ghosting at the edges of some people.... but then again I'm looking for this sort of thing and most clients will not notice it.

This has usually ocurred in reception halls and some churches/synagogues having a substantial amount of ambient light, which does not sound like the case for the upcoming wedding. In practice this is not a problem.

I have actually used the ghosting and "comet-tailing" to some creative advantage though.

Picture a reception dance hall, flashing strobes, rotating colored lenses, swinging laser lights.... now, set the strobe and lens for something like about f8 or so. This will give good adequate depth of field (pre set manual focus is around 10-12 feet) and then manually set the shutter for 1/15 or 1/8 sec. Again, flash will freeze the action, but you can get some really cool ghosting and comet-tailing effects of the colored lights, smoke and lasers; works beautifully with film and can is very simple to accomplish.

Stuart Pearl

Stuart, do you ever get "ghosts" around the outline of the people, from the ambient light falling on them? If you do are the a problem in practice?

[PhotosGuy]

Another approach would be to mount the camera on a tripod for all your shots, decide ahead of time what f-stop you want to be shooting at – nothing smaller than f8, preferably f5.6 – and then “drag” your shutter at a slower speed ( around 1/8 or ¼ sec) to gather what little ambient light is present. That would work. As long as you have time for test shots, you might try something like this (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66358) using a strobe to kick in some light from the side. Depending on what's in the background, it might help to separate them from the background a bit.

[BLINN]

WOW, thank you all for the great support. I did shoot the wedding and thought that I did a good job. (I never think that my photos are great, other people do but I only think that they are OK). When I downloaded the images I was shocked to see many blurry shots that I did not want. Daniel I love your advise, I have one more wedding at the end of this month as well and then that is it. No more winter wedding until I can get some kick ass lighting. I will post original images this weekend and processed images as I get them. I look forward to you CC however keep in mind that the couple had aloted no time for formal photos after the wedding, they are very religious so we shoot the formals in the church. Once again thanks.

[BLINN]

OK people (to be politically correct) here are a few from my firt winter wedding. Please bare in mind that it was too cold for any outside shots. All CC is welcome and please also bare in mind again that these are not post processed. I will try to post those tomorrow. I think that all these shots are bad but I did not have much to deal with except that the couple and families of the couples were very easy to work with. Like I said CC is welcome however if you can wait until I post the post processed images it may save you time when commenting. I thank you all in advance.

[BLINN]

...two more...

[BLINN]

...another two...

[BLINN]

...and another....

[BLINN]

...Daddy's little girl...

[BLINN]

Here are a few of the above post processed....

[BLINN]

...two more...

[BLINN]

...and another...

[tim]

Dude you've got to work on getting your exposures closer to correct in the camera. Also beware of backgrounds, one photo has a tree growing out of the brides head.

[brivett]

Take the heaviest tripod you can... It will hold your camera still and gives people something to position themselves in front of.
Make sure people know that you will use long exposures and that they should be statues
Run at 1600 ISO and buy a copy of Noise Ninja to clean it up
Have fast glass, at least F2.8 but remember depth of field loss.
Shoot more than you need and bracket exposures by 1 and 2 stops
Be carefull trusting auto white balance - Shoot 100% RAW
I suspect your flash shots will not be your finest work... Go out tonight and find some ambient light
Hie a portable studio set ? (at their expense)

Good luck dude !

Baz

[BLINN]

...and another....

[BLINN]

...daddy's little girl....

[BLINN]

Tim thank for the advice. I kinda figured that once I saw the fist image. This was a challange. Camera on tripod with flash and bracket, the flash was hitting the ceiling. The room was only 12x12 with a christmas tree and two sofas and a coffee table. Not a whole lot of room to work with. Like I said this was going to be a challange and it was. I am not a professional and nor calm to be. I tell all my clients that this is not my full time job and that it is more of a hobby. As for the thing growing out of the clients head. I know...there was realy not too much I could do there either. Any angle I tried, I would get something in the way. These were the best I could get. If I could have shot out doors I would have not had 1/2 the trouble. Once again please try to CC the POST on the PRE.

Brivett I did use some long exposures that is why out of 600+ shots I only have 260 some to work with. Average people, (not photographers or models) have no idea how much they move even if they think that they are being still. I did tell the client however that this will be difficult to shot and I have a money back guaranty if they do not like their photos. As for RAW I have not used it yet and this is not the place to start. Plus how many cards do you think it would take to shoot 1000+ images in RAW. I don't charge all that much $1500.00 CAN for the most expensive package and this is my business plan. Good Pictures Low Cost. I do know now why Pro charge as much as $5000.00+ for their services. Please keep this ideas and comments coming I do love here what is wrong with my photos. Really this how I improve.:D :lol:

[sapearl]

You really don’t need a tripod necessarily for this situation unless you’ve decided to go completely flashless (which I would not recommend) or unless you’ve decided to do some soft, natural window light portraiture.

Tripods can actually hinder your mobility in tight places like residences. Their legs and adjustments can even bang into to expensive furniture and really annoy the family. If you didn’t clean the “feet” after your last outdoor shoot you may even leave black marks or dirt on their nice clean carpeting. And if you spend too much time fussing and adjusting it, the bride and her mom can actually become more impatient and irritable on what is typically a stressful period of very limited time. You really do want the easy flexibility of being able to move around anywhere. I am not saying it’s a mistake to use a tripod, only that you really want to evaluate your needs carefully for the situation.

I see there is a relatively low, light colored ceiling. This sort of thing is very good and can work well in your favor. You can get a variety of very nicely lighted “bride preparation” shots either bouncing your strobe off the ceiling, using some sort of diffuser over the flash head like the Lumiquest pocket bounce (they have several with varying degrees of “softening”) Fong’s lumi sphere – not sure exactly of product name – but you get the idea.

Most of your shots will be in the 6’ – 10’ range. I get fantastic results (shooting medium format with a Metz with film, but the photographic principals are still the same) bouncing the flash off the ceiling, film ISO 400, 1/30 second at about f11, or 1/60 at around f8. The light ceiling, walls and bridal gown all work in your favor. You really don’t need ISO higher than 400 for these settings. Higher ISO just tends to add more grain/noise for 8x10 and greater enlargements. If you have darker décor then you will be in the 1/30 f8 range, with a few room lamps adding their soft warm ambience to the mix; works every time.

But I like your efforts – you’ve obviously put thought into these and are definitely trying to please the client. Your technique will become more proficient and polished with time. The more you shoot the better you will become. The brides will vote with their wallets. Their mothers will provide plenty of editorial comment about your quality or the lack thereof.

Always be honest. Always deliver more than you promise. Don’t be the “center of attention prima dona” the day of the wedding; it’s their day, not yours. You are there to do a thorough job, facilitate things when possible and NOT add to the stress of the situation. The best compliment they can pay you is: “Wow, these are great looking pictures and I don’t even remember you being there!”

Don’t make a big deal about your mistakes in front of the bride but certainly don’t lie about them – own up to your screwups if they become an issue and make efforts to make amends…. either in refunds, retakes or additional service. Negative referrals are ALWAYS more destructive to your future business possibilities than any glossy magazine ads or a slick website.

I hope my rambles have helped. Good look and keep at it!

Take the heaviest tripod you can... It will hold your camera still and gives people something to position themselves in front of.
Make sure people know that you will use long exposures and that they should be statues
Run at 1600 ISO and buy a copy of Noise Ninja to clean it up
Have fast glass, at least F2.8 but remember depth of field loss.Baz

[BLINN]

Sapearl, thank you for all your advice. You made some great points especially with the tripod comment and bring dirt or leaving marks on a nice clean floor/carpet. That never even crossed my mind. As for using the tripod the family was laid back so it made the shoot more relaxing for me. Your point is well taken and I will use off pod shoots when I can.

As for the ceilings they were very low about 71/2 feet and since I stand 6'2" with my camera flash bracket and flash on it I only had about 6" distance to the ceiling. I could not even use my Lumiquest pocket bounce. Plus there was a bulkhead that I could not get around. I am thinking that I should have had all the furniture move to one side. Can a photographer be so bold to ask the client to move all your furnishings out of a room to shoot photo's. Keep in mind that the room was about 14' x 14' with a bulk head in the middle of it. I am wondering if an omni diffuser might have worked better.

Thank you for your honesty with regards to my efforts I am as honest as I can be with all my clients and I try to be as unnoticeable as possible when shooting an event. Once again thank you for you comment and ideas these will all be considered in the future.

[sapearl]

Hi Michael - glad I could help out in some small way. No point in you making some of the mistakes I made when I did my first jobs back in the mid '70's.:lol:

Ouch - low ceiling and tall photog; kind of like taking a long walk off a short pier. But yes, as long as you are respectful, perceptive, diplomatic and caring, the photographer is allowed to become a part-time furniture mover.

It is expected that you will be doing a thorough, professional job that day. They are giving you sacks of money to do this - hopefully unmarked 20's in plain brown bags. Along with that is the understanding that you may have to "modify" the environment, a little bit, within reason to get optimum results. If you act like an arrogant, pushy SOB, then nobody will be inclined to be agreeable to your requests, or to want to help you out. But if you ask: "May I please slide this coffee table over a little, or can I move this chair a bit...." I have never had anybody refuse a courteous request.

Sometimes, big burly groomsmen have jumped to move the furniture themselves! This is terrific for my 54 year old back. It's not necessary to remodel the entire family room - the sawdust gets into the viewfinder anyway. You'll be surprised how much room you can open up just by moving one or two items. And you do need to be careful about antiques, frail looking furniture and other fragile items.

I can tell by the tone of your questions that you are making an effort to be sensitive to the mood of the client. This is VERY GOOD; eyes and ears open, mouth closed.... always listen to what they are saying. Body language will often tell you more. We photographers are actually psychologists and sociologists in disguise, lulling them into candid complacency with our cameras.... and then FLASH! Part of the album.

You have any more questions, I'll try to help out best I can - take care Mike.

Stuart Pearl
Cleveland, Ohio - Just South of your border.


As for the ceilings they were very low about 71/2 feet and since I stand 6'2" with my camera flash bracket and flash on it I only had about 6" distance to the ceiling. I could not even use my Lumiquest pocket bounce. Plus there was a bulkhead that I could not get around. I am thinking that I should have had all the furniture move to one side. Can a photographer be so bold to ask the client to move all your furnishings out of a room to shoot photo's. Keep in mind that the room was about 14' x 14' with a bulk head in the middle of it. I am wondering if an omni diffuser might have worked better.

Thank you for your honesty with regards to my efforts I am as honest as I can be with all my clients and I try to be as unnoticeable as possible when shooting an event. Once again thank you for you comment and ideas these will all be considered in the future.

[Wazza]

The edited shots are very nice, but as Tim said, we can see the underexposed shots from original, and the quality of shots would be better if it was possible to shoot a bit brighter at the time. One thing you may find with brightening these up, noise will become apparent.

Anyway, I hope they like the final edits too. :)

[justchris]

What an attractive family.

[Merle]

Explain to the couple that at 7-8 PM there is no light and that if they want those shots you are happy to do them, but they will need to meet you at the location at least one hour before sundown. ;) :) :D

Good Shooting to ya,
Merle

[S230]

When I did low light (or no light) shots at the beach, there's really little choice except to stand closer or use a slave flash to help and bounce the flash off a reflector disc. Definitely hire an assistance and you will realize the wonders... Don't try to save a little $$ because hiring someone (with some experience) will generally help your process go smoother. :)

I hate to say this but Nik*n tends to have the upperhand with their flash system. This is why I use both system in weddings.


http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1404.jpg


http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1384.jpg



http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1404.jpg

http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1384.jpg

[sapearl]

Were you using a slower shutter speed in conjunction with the flash to "accumulate" a litte more ambient light?

Also, here's one of those little tricks I use to get closer to a large group that's linearly strung out like that. Match the guys up with their lady parteners having each groomsman kneel down on one knee in in front of their bridesmaid, but not exactly in front of them. This won't cut the entire line quite in half, but it will sure reduce it's overall length. You can then move in closer to fill the whole finder with the shorter line. You get more flash and larger faces - works everytime.

Of course the guys will get a little sand on their pants, but hey, you're the boss and you know what you're doing. If they whine, tell them to buck up and act like men. The threat of humiliation in front of attractive females is always effective.;)

When I did low light (or no light) shots at the beach, there's really little choice except to stand closer or use a slave flash to help and bounce the flash off a reflector disc. Definitely hire an assistance and you will realize the wonders... Don't try to save a little $$ because hiring someone (with some experience) will generally help your process go smoother. :)

I hate to say this but Nik*n tends to have the upperhand with their flash system. This is why I use both system in weddings.


http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1404.jpg


http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1384.jpg



http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1404.jpg

http://www.creativeonephotography.com/images/gallery/laura_tim_wedding/slides/m-DSC_1384.jpg

[S230]

The threat of humiliation in front of attractive females is always effective.;)
lol... thanks for the advice... never thought of it that way... :)

[BLINN]

s230 thank you for your insite. If you are still using the Nikon get rid of it. I went to your site to look at other photos, your comp is nice but all of the outside shots of laura and tim are over exposed. Your eye is drawn to the bright white sky. The above night shots are nice too but there are still shadows in the eye sockets and it even looks like there is red eye in the brides eyes. Are these pre or post processed. I have the same trouble you have, I know what I am talking about but when it comes to doing it, well thats an other story. Keep up with the photography and I am sure well will hear from each other again. Oh yeah, don't knock Canon until you have perfect photos. Both system are great and in my mind it is all personal perf. on which one you choose. I like Canon so I shoot canon. Photography is not about having the best systems. It is about producing the best photos. I know two pros who still use Point and Shoot to keep there photography skill sharp. Any Camera can take a beautiful Photo, it is just how you use it to get that great shot.

[S230]

s230 thank you for your insite. If you are still using the Nikon get rid of it. I went to your site to look at other photos, your comp is nice but all of the outside shots of laura and tim are over exposed. Your eye is drawn to the bright white sky. The above night shots are nice too but there are still shadows in the eye sockets and it even looks like there is red eye in the brides eyes. Are these pre or post processed. I have the same trouble you have, I know what I am talking about but when it comes to doing it, well thats an other story. Keep up with the photography and I am sure well will hear from each other again. Oh yeah, don't knock Canon until you have perfect photos. Both system are great and in my mind it is all personal perf. on which one you choose. I like Canon so I shoot canon. Photography is not about having the best systems. It is about producing the best photos. I know two pros who still use Point and Shoot to keep there photography skill sharp. Any Camera can take a beautiful Photo, it is just how you use it to get that great shot.At that wedding, we had both systems Canon and Nik*n.
2 Nik*n D70, Nik*n F80, Canon 20D, Canon DRebel 300D, even the Elph S230. Lots and Lots of lens... The photos posted are not processed. The washed out photos were unfortunately from the Canon system. :(

[BLINN]

Like I said, I don't think that it was the system rather then the setting. Watch the ISO and Av and Tv setting. You can't blame the systems for those shots.

[sapearl]

I would tend to agree with Mike. Those were not "ideal" shooting conditions, but certainly not so horrendous that tweaking of various settings couldn't have surmounted the problems up front.

This is something that comes with practice, patience and experience. And when you are under the pressure of a wedding day and/or time is short, it's easy to overlook some of basics if the situation is new. :wink:

Like I said, I don't think that it was the system rather then the setting. Watch the ISO and Av and Tv setting. You can't blame the systems for those shots.

[S230]

What I do plan to do as experiment in the future is using slave flash and bounce off reflectors. Wonder how that would turn out.

[supplier]

My 2 c. What I would try to offer to Michael. Be honest of your limitations, do not offer to buy whole more lighting -- you might be having not enough time to practice... Just offer two shoot locations outside. And few shots from each location, B&G, PPB$GPP, and groups in whole. Get a spay paint (I like red); on each shoot location outside make a small mark underneath of a tripod with an arrow pointing toward the object (lens direction). Use fixed tripod length and level the head.

All this crap just to come back the very next day before sunset and make a background shot, while it's not totally dark. The next is a Photoshop hard work to combine two images. It can be done with a great success!, I think to make you work even easier you need use faster shutter speed to make background totally dark -- it will easier to combine two images in PS.

I'd like to stress that you cannot totally rely on this technique, do the most you can do during original shots to bring out the background along with deferent shots with black background. From experience of other people you need to take 5 shots for each pose.

And you need to find tutorials on PH combining two images and practice before hand.

The bottom line it's much easier to give advice to someone, than to take a right decision on a spot. I have my first wedding booked for end of Feb. and I’m very nervous myself.

By the way, I understand as a Nikon user I might be out of place in here, but it is such good forum -- so please accept me too:D

I posted some questions about in camera raw setting for wedding and other stuff here: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=132674 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=132674)

All of them are simple and I might know the answers myself, but I need reassurance, so please put your 2c too:lol:

[CyberPet]

It's hard to shoot in dark enviroments! This shot was taken with ISO 800 a flash and I dragged the shutter to get some of the background light into the shot as well.

http://petrahall.se/brudpar/helena_emil/images/IMG_6930.jpg

I can't say I master flash photography, but the more I learn the more fun I find it.

[sapearl]

Very nice job Petra - I like the textural detail on her gown and the soft background glow of the sanctuary. She's a real beauty too - he seems a little stiff, needs to relax a little, but that certainly is not your fault. Keep up the good work!