Wedding on the water

[PIXI_666]

Hi Guys

Another wedding this weekend and i need more advice just for piece of mind :)

It's on a large ship with big white sails (Poses a problem to start with!), its going to be from 4:30pm - 7:30pm which in Australia at the moment sun is in problematic spots!!!

I have a CP filter to filter out the harsh sun and reflections from the water, but are there any other tips on iso or aperture etc. that i should be considering?

Thanks :)

Del

[bonneyda]

I personally find that regular CP filters don't do justice to skin tones if you are taking photo's of people on this ship. They usually turn out a little too blue for my taste. It's probably too late to get a "warming" CP filter, but that is what I would suggest if you need a CP in the first place.

Use an ISO just fast enough to keep your shutter speeds up in the 90-125 range if the boat is moving or going through waves.

The use of your aperture is your preference depending on what you want the background to look like.

Hope this helps. By the way, are you near Perth?

[CyberPet]

Del, I don't know what to suggests, but it sounds tricky!! If you shoot RAW you can do the warming in the post processing, so it sounds like a good idea to use a CP filter to at least get rid of water reflections if it's bright sun, and also give you some rich and yummy skies!

But just shoot as if the bride would be a ton in size, i.e. with a huge white wedding dress (the sails) and expose according to that. Check your histogram, it will proably peak near the right, but not let it trail off too much on the right, so that the images are over exposed. (It's like shooting in snow, you will risk underexposure since the camera will be fooled to think it needs to make things darker). If you use the flash for fill, it'll help you a bit, and if no flash, use the EV to increase it a step or maybe two (depending on how it looks). The highlight warning could be a good idea to use until you get your bearings.

If it's sunny, you might get harsh shadows, but you also have the sails as a big white reflector, so try to use that to your advantage, i.e. shoot them so that you can "kill" some of the harsh shadows using the sails as the reflector on the shadowy side.

Oh and just for me... if it's possible... I'd like to see a shilouette (spelling?) with them kissing through a sunlit sail... it would be soo cool... well if it looks like anything in my head. The sails might just bee too big. :D

[PIXI_666]

Thanks...and you know that was great advice, i could bounce my flash off the sails to give a softer lighting. I probably wouldn't even need to because the sails will be giving off a big reflector from the sun anyway - i didn't think of it that way!!!

I got a $66 CP Filter, he said it was the best they had, and i used it for the wedding last weekend for some of the photo's but because i only got it the day before i didn't have time to practice so i was a little scared it wouldn't work the way i wanted it too.

So now i forget which ones had the filter and which ones didn't haha, but it's true if i photograph in RAW - the full wedding, at least i can warm up the WB, which is what i did for Troy & Kate's, and it gave a really nice warming effect with the sunset coming down.

I think the full day shots would be good as crisp white and blues, but as for the night sunset shots warming glows might be nicer.

I will use your advice, see how it turns out, and use RAW for sure...

Thanks :)

Del

[CyberPet]

You can even use the sails as a diffuser too... if you have the sun through the sail - gives you a much nicer "shade" than something more solid. :D

I wanna come with!!!

[PIXI_666]

hahaha....good idea!

Ill post when i get them sorted - i still havent fully sorted out last weekend's photo's, ive done post processing on most, but now i want to add effects like some glam blurr etc and soft vignetting etc.

(I just found some great actions for photoshop!!!)

Del

[PIXI_666]

oh and yes im NEAR Perth - im in Merredin (3hrs east)

[Maureen Souza]

Wear sunscreen :)

I agree about the white sails...use them to your advantage. Have fun!!