beach wedding question...

[Julé-Anne]

I'm shooting a wedding on the beach tomorrow and it's suppose to be quite a sunny day here. Does any have any tips on shooting by the ocean, sunny day at around 4 o'clock? Fill flash etc. etc.
Thanks in advance!

[newgenphoto]

hmmm....
I wouldn't really worry about fill flash if you don't have to. Maybe on the 3/4 length shots a little would be okay. I would also suggest shooting M OR Ap if you are comfortable with either. Maybe even Program. I'm guessing at 4:00 on the beach under bright sunlight you are going to be anywhere between 125-250th S @ f16-f22 depending on which ISO your shooting at. Just remember to think of how harsh the sun can be. Try not to shoot into the sun also.

Not sure if that helps you or not but it's just my suggestions.

[picturecrazy]

During BRIGHT sun, I use TONS of flash. Some people would rather not, it's a style preference. But if you want to try it out... this is what I do.

-Pose the sun either at their side or behind them.
-Meter for the sky and under expose it by two stops. Even more if it's still too bright.
-using a pocketwizard of something similar, set the flash at 45 degrees pointing towards the shaded half of their faces. IF the sun is behind them, it's your choice which side you use. note: ettl wireless is useless outside. I couldn't even get reliable triggering 3 metres away with line of sight.
-Set the slave with manual power to properly fill. example, on a REALLY bright day I'm typically using something like F13 1/250 ISO 100 with the flash set to around 1/4 to 1/2 (I use 430EX units as slaves) depending on how close/far the slave is. I could get into formulas and calcuations and stuff but I won't... just play around a bit and you'll find it.
-I have my 580ex on a bracket. I put it on ETTL -2 1/3 and fire it direct. It usually isn't bright enough to light them up, but just enough to bring a little catchlight in the eyes.

Everyone does it differently, and the setting has a lot to do with it. This technique may totally not work in your conditions. Be dynamic and adapt with the environment. (i.e. this was on a white sand beach. dark sand may look too dark with this method)

[newgenphoto]

Good advice PC

[joanakaylene]

Jule-Anne, i just checked out your website and i have got to say that your photos are absolutely gorgeous! i have no advice on the beach wedding but g'luck.

[Julé-Anne]

Thank you so much everyone for your advise. It is a bright sunny day out there! I'll try a few things but they've only allowed a short amount of time for photos. Weddings are a challenge to be sure and I really appreciate this forum. It has helped me a great deal already. Off I go. Good luck to everyone else who is out there shooting today!