Shadows and 550Ex

[dioptic]

Hello,

I'm not ready for this and I know it but I'm in it and the wedding is tomorrow.

Today I took some practice shots at the rehearsal using the 550EX. I was about 25 feet away from the subject and they were at least 15 feet in front of the wall. Look at the shadows! Yikes!

1. Perhaps I shouldn't use a flash.
2. Perhaps I should use my 420EX.

The wedding is tomorrow.

Will some of you guys and gals give me some advice. Feel free to speak slowly and use small words.

Thanks.

dioptic

[mizuno]

How high are the ceilings? If they're not to high, you could bounce the flash off them to eliminate some of that nasty shadowing.

[dioptic]

Thanks Mizuno. The ceilings are pretty high but this flash seems so powerful that maybe they aren't tool high.

dioptic

[Eoseni]

Dioptic, changing the flash makes little difference. You must change the way the light illuminates your subjects - bounce it off the ceiling, side wall etc. Almost never direct. use a white card taped to your flash to make a catch light, with your flash poised upward/sideways to create the bounce light.

You can avoid using flash only if you're very confident ambient light is sufficient. Use high ISO 800, 1600. if need be. Shoot RAW to help you recover bad exposures.
You'll need lots of memory, say 8 Gigs?

[jamiewexler]

Shots like that are why I still use a bracket. If you have an off shoe cord you can hold the flash in your left hand above the lens.

[dioptic]

Thanks Tim Wee for the advice.

Does anyone have a picture of the white bounce card arrangement he is talking about?

Thanks.

dioptic

[Eoseni]

Just tape/rubber band a 3x5" or so white card to your flash head. I'll go search for a pic now for you.

[Eoseni]

Here found this. Hope it helps. It doesn't need to be fancy, as you're already in a RUSH!

http://abetterbouncecard.com/ Or something simple like a card doing the same thing.

[dioptic]

Thanks again Tim.

I've already found this site and the advice there was fantastic.

If pigs start to fly and I get a good image I'll show you.

Thanks.

dioptic

[Eoseni]

Dioptic, Use a tripod for ceremony shots...especially if light is scarce. Since movement is minimal, you may get some really good available light shots at this time. Here's some inspiration for you: http://jeffascough.com/

All the best, and yes, post some pics, and tell others what you learned...the hard way.

[cdifoto]

The 550EX is plenty powerful for bouncing in even large churches. Just don't expect fast recycle times since the flash will most likely be maxed out.

Bounce it straight up (or nearly so) and use that catchlight card. :)

[sapearl]

Dioptic, do you have your flash mounted on a bracket that has it's head to the left of the lens, or did the flash just go to the left when you rotated the camera to portrait mode? That's what I'm guessing since the shadows are falling to the right.

You can get away with direct flash under the proper circumstances, but that's why its important to use a bracket with an off camera cord, to always keep the flash centered and above the lens.

[dioptic]

Thanks to everyone for the great advice.

I've made a bounce card after viewing the video at www.abetterbouncecard.com (http://www.abetterbouncecard.com)


You guys are super.

dioptic

[tim]

Main problem you have in that photo is it's out of focus. People were walking towards you, you focused, then shot. Use AI servo or prefocus on a spot where they'll be.

Personally I haven't used a bracket in a year or so, I shoot portrait and crop.