LIGHTING FOR WEDDING

[JS4NARO4]

NEED ADVICE FROM EXPERTS I HAVE DIGIT CANON REBEL WITH 550 ON TOP ALSO HAVE TO 2/420 WITH UMBERLLAS IAM NEWBY AND SEEMS LIGHTING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR GOOD PICTURES SO SHOULD I TAKE TO A WEDDING OR WILL IT NOT WORK AND IF YES WHY DONT OTHER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKE THEM PLEASE HELP WANT BEST RESULTS

[Vegas Poboy]

Look @ the following post
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=27455
The one thing about wedding photography is knowing what your doing you only only have one chance to get it right.

[G3]

NEED ADVICE FROM EXPERTS I HAVE DIGIT CANON REBEL WITH 550 ON TOP ALSO HAVE TO 2/420 WITH UMBERLLAS IAM NEWBY AND SEEMS LIGHTING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR GOOD PICTURES SO SHOULD I TAKE TO A WEDDING OR WILL IT NOT WORK AND IF YES WHY DONT OTHER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKE THEM PLEASE HELP WANT BEST RESULTS

It seems there's a lot of these threads in here lately..

One of the most important aspects of Wedding Photography is lighting control. You can't just show up at the place of the wedding on the wedding day, having never photographed there before and expect to know what to do. You have to visit the venue ahead of time and figure out your lighting beforehand. Sometimes I take strobes and umbrellas for the formal portraits, sometimes the available lighting is sufficient. You won't be able to use the strobes/umbrellas for anything other than formals and set-up shots. You just can't move the stands, etc. around and get them set up quickly enough to capture things as they happen. You need to use the 550 for most of the indoor "journalism" shots. Get it off the camera. Use a Stroboframe. Choose your lens carefully, once the action starts you don't have time to make changes in your plan. If you miss one of the agreed-upon shots, it WILL be noticed.

I have one coming up in May that is being done at the Bride's house. This presents even more challenges, and makes the formals almost impossible because there just isn't a suitable background. In that case, I do the formals of the Bride and Groom ahead of time. That brings up the issue of the Groom having to rent a tux either twice, or for a longer time and the Brinde had to have her gown ahead of time. They want outdoor portraits, so then you have to find a suitable place for that. I'm using a Botanical Gardens for that this time. For that, you have to make reservations ahead of time for the Gardens and there is a fee ($250.00 in this case). Outdoor portraits also have their own lighting challenges.

The only real advice I can give is to visit the venue ahead of time and make yourself a plan, and practice, practice, practice.

[JS4NARO4]

yes i have went there and took pre photo and seems
lighting could be better but just have never seen a wedding photo taking strobe umbrellas so didnt wont to look foolish and yes 550 off camera but

one last ? never work to much in this of a open space with the strobe plus umbrellas will they project enough to light or as you said mabye take them to place of wedding and pre photo shots with them

[G3]

yes i have went there and took pre photo and seems
lighting could be better but just have never seen a wedding photo taking strobe umbrellas so didnt wont to look foolish and yes 550 off camera but

one last ? never work to much in this of a open space with the strobe plus umbrellas will they project enough to light or as you said mabye take them to place of wedding and pre photo shots with them

I don't try to use umbrellas/strobes for the PJ type shots and candids. Sometimes I use them for set-up shots and formal portraits. Other times, I just use the off-camera 550EX and a slave 420ex. Still other times, such as for outdoor formals, I use Photoflex reflectors and natural light with fill-flash. Sometimes available light only. It all depends on the situation and the quality of the available light. One hint, though. Don't try to get too fancy with the lighting until you have more experience with it. The more you can use E-TTL and Program mode or AV or TV, the better off you will be. Let the camera do a lot of the thinking for you...it's much faster and more accurate. Pick the mode depending on the effect you want to achieve. For candids, use Program. If you want to blur out the background for a portrait, use Av and a wide-open aperture. If you need to stop action, use Tv and a faster shutter. E-TTL works for all of those. For the Formal portraits, you have a little more time to play with, especially if you do them ahead of time. If you plan to use strobes and umbrellas, get yourself a good hand-held light meter. E-TTL won't work with strobes, so you have to figure trhe exposures yourself. The white dress and black tuxedo can be tricky to meter and expose correctly, practice with white subjects, black subjects and both in the same photo. Bracketing comes in handy, too...

[scottbergerphoto]

G3, I really liked your detailed but concise replies. I found them very helpful. What do you think about the argument that the 550EX is more consistent in Manual Mode as long as you keeep the distance right?
Scott

[G3]

G3, I really liked your detailed but concise replies. I found them very helpful. What do you think about the argument that the 550EX is more consistent in Manual Mode as long as you keeep the distance right?
Scott

Thanks! Sometimes I have a hard time trying to figure out how to explain things.....it takes me a while to compose posts at times.

I think that what you say about the 550EX is probably true, considering that the photographer has some experience and knowledge dealing with flash photography. The E-TTL function is done by a computer. It can't possibly read every situation correctly. An experienced flash photographer is going to be able to more accurately evaluate the situation at hand and knowing the guide numbers/distance/ISO/subject values will be able to handle a higher percentage of them by controlling the flash himself. In situations where the photographer doesn't completely understand the ins-and-outs of flash photography, E-TTL will have the edge in accurately exposing a higher percentage of shots.

[dpanicc1]

If I may jump in here and ask a 550EX flash question--one that I've been unable to get answered directly or read about in other threads: flash head position. With the 550EX mounted off the camera on a bracket with the appropriate cord, in a large hall with high colored ceilings not unlike those used for receptions...

would one use the flash straight ahead to maximize light (as opposed to bounce)? No slave for simplicity's sake

and, would one use an OmniBounce IF the flash were used straight away?

Thanks.

[G3]

For high, colored ceilings, I would not bounce off the ceiling. I only use the ceiling for bounce if it's relatively low, flat and white. I would flash direct. An Omnibounce wouldn't hurt a thing either, to soften the light a little.

[dpanicc1]

Beautiful, thanks for the response G3.