wedding in the dark!

[dawnrogers]

Have any of you had to do a wedding without any natural light? I have one booked at 4.30pm ...it will be dark here in the UK by 4pm so there will be no natural light at all..

I'm thinking of setting up a couple of studio lights in the church (mind you haven't run that past the vicar yet) ....I wondered if anyone here had encountered this sort of set up? and if so how did it go? do you have any examples you'd like to post?

Thanks in advance

[Alexajlex]

Don't they have normal lights in there (inside the church) or are they turning these off as well :)

I'd say 85 1.8 and ISO 1600-3200 if no flash is allowed.

[fmyers711]

Have shot in dark or candlelit churches on many occasions. If flash is permitted, that makes it easier. Weddings move pretty fast and I am not sure of the usefulness of studio lights,except for the alter shots. I would bounce my flash off of the ceilings, walls or behind me and drag the shutter until you eliminate any ghosting.

Otherwise I agree with Alexajlex, use a fast lenses and high ISO.

Hope this is helpful,

Frank

[TeeJay]

Hi Dawn,

That sounds an "interesting" task. Must say I don't have any booked for this time of the year - at least, not that late in the day!

Just spotted that Stuart, in another thread, has posted that many of his weddings are in "very dark" places.

You might like to take a look at post #3 here, then PM him....

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415425

TJ

[dawnrogers]

Thanks TJ, the girl that is getting married specifically wanted a wedding at that time of day (mad I know) but she's got a theme going on or so she says, her brides maids are in black.....so yes I htink interesting it will be....thnaks for the link I'm off to check out that link......thanks again.

[cdifoto]

Dark is pretty much the norm around here. I haven't yet shot a wedding in Lincoln Financial Field. :lol:

[dawnrogers]

Thanks for your help guys, normally wedding here are late morning to early afternoon, 4.30pm at this time of year is really unusual....I'm happy to use flash and a fast lens...but grateful to hear of any experiences like this that you might of had..

[sapearl]

Hi Dawn - dark churches, halls and other dim venues are always a photographic lighting challenge.

The first thing I usually do is decide just how little light I have. Once that decision is made I decide whether or not I'll need flash, and I'll also choose my ISO. Most of the time I'll use flash though since that's how I've been trained. If things are just dim with some window light and overhead lamps I will usually start at ISO 400. If it’s fairly dim I will go at least ISO 800. I will use flash with both of these settings.

I have a 580ex that I use with the off shoe cord and a Newton Camera Rotator Flash Bracket. It’s a terrific combination and gives a lot of flexibility with excellent results.

Normally I’ll have the flash tilted straight up, or perhaps just a little forward depending upon how dark it is. The little white card will also be extended, or I may even have a larger diffuser like the Lumiquest Pocket Bounce or the 80/20 attached the flash.

Any time I’m in a dim venue I will set the camera on Manual, but run the flash on AUTO-ETTL. Shutter speed will be manually set around 1/30 – 1/50 and aperture manually set from f/5.6 – f/8 depending upon how much I want the ambient light to impact. By “dragging” the shutter slow at 1/30 and thereabouts you allow a lot of nice ambient light to creep in. On AUTO the flash is smarter than I am, and with my manual settings it will "know" just how much more light to throw in. It can usually calculate this better and faster than I can.

If it’s really dark I will have the flash aimed head on, with the clear plastic diffuser clicked into place, at the couples as they come done the aisle during the processional. The same goes for the recessional. If there’s a modest amount of light I will bounce the flash, maybe tilting the head at a 45, or a little steeper, again with the white card extended.

Don’t forget how handy tripods can be. For many years before there was high ISO, IS, auto focus and all the other good stuff, the old tripod made many low light shots very possible. I always take one with me even if I don’t always use it.

As you can see I come from the old “analog” flash school of photography. Certainly if there’s enough light and you have fast lenses with a nice high ISO camera, you can forego using a flash. But I still like to use mine a lot and have been very pleased with the results. Let me know if this helps and I'll be very happy to answer any other questions . - Stu

[dawnrogers]

Stuart,

Thank you so much, you've really put my mind at rest......I'll invest in a flash bracket, used to have on on my old film camera and have been meaning to get one for ages.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me, they have helped me a LOT.

Thanks
Dawn

[sapearl]

You are welcome Dawn - glad it helped out.

The key think about a flash bracket is to make sure the flash stays top center over the lens. Anytime you have the flash to one side or the other, it will throw unpleasant shadows to the opposite side if you are near a background.

[RPCrowe]

"Any time I’m in a dim venue I will set the camera on Manual, but run the flash on AUTO-ETTL. Shutter speed will be manually set around 1/30 – 1/50 and aperture manually set from f/5.6 – f/8 depending upon how much I want the ambient light to impact. By “dragging” the shutter slow at 1/30 and thereabouts you allow a lot of nice ambient light to creep in. On AUTO the flash is smarter than I am, and with my manual settings it will "know" just how much more light to throw in. It can usually calculate this better and faster than I can."

I agree. Additionally, when "dragging" the shutter, the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens comes into its own. The IS will keep the background from being blurred because of camera motion. Of course, this is only applciable to a 1.6x camera.

[sapearl]

I like your quote RP ;)

[urbanbridesmaid]

I had a wedding a couple of months ago in November. The ceremony was at 4pm and pitch black outside. The church was lit fairly well - but it was high ISOs and large apertures. Formal group shots inside at hotel though as they didn't want to see each before (when it was light!)

Used bounce flash for formals and following reception.

[dawnrogers]

Louisa, have you got any shots from that wedding that you'd like to share? I'd be really interested in seeing them..the wedding I'm doing at 4.30pm on Saturday is in a small fairly dim church..really pretty and the bridesmaids are wearing black....I think the reception is in a a local pub so I don't think there's going to be much opportunity for phots there so I'm looking at having to do it all in the church after the service..... good job I like a challenge LOL...

[urbanbridesmaid]

Hi Dawn,

I will post a few pics when I get home.

Louisa

[urbanbridesmaid]

I will post a few pics when I get home....

Louisa

The church venue was lit by fluorescent lights only. Luckily the walls/ceilings were light!
1.http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z214/urbanbridesmaid/IMG_4269Small.jpg

The ceremony I didn't use flash. Roughly f2.8 1/40 ISO 1600
2.http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z214/urbanbridesmaid/IMG_4378copySmall.jpg

3.http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z214/urbanbridesmaid/IMG_4368copySmall.jpg

These were a couple of shots from the formals. Again fluorescent lighting. The couple had the idea of bringing along some balloons from their reception area which brightened up an otherwise blank area.

f4 1/60 ISO 1600
4.http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z214/urbanbridesmaid/WEBIMG_4429copycopy2.jpg

5.http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z214/urbanbridesmaid/IMG_4556copySmall.jpg

6.http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z214/urbanbridesmaid/20071125_0234Small.jpg

[dawnrogers]

Thanks Louisa....I think you did a great job...its a bit frustrating having to use such a high ISO but needs must, the last one I did I had to use ISO 1250 as no flash was allowed....this time though we are allowed to use it and since it will be totally dark outside the church is fairly dim with ordinary tungsten hanging lights....I think we'll need it...oh and just to help the brides maids dresses are black :-(

[urbanbridesmaid]

Thanks Dawn
I feel your pain! Being able to use flash is helpful though with the venue being so dark.

Good luck for Sat and post some pics!

[sapearl]

Absolutely - with those deadly pools of light you'd get horrible under eye shadows on the bridal party... a real nightmare to try and repair in PS :rolleyes:.

Since I believe you mentioned you might be shooting RAW, before everybody starts coming into the church you may want to shoot a few "reference white/gray cards" at various points in the sanctuary. This way you'll have something you can eyedropper later in ACR or your program of choice for setting WB. I learned the hard way that there are many shades of white bridal gowns.

.....this time though we are allowed to use it and since it will be totally dark outside the church is fairly dim with ordinary tungsten hanging lights....I think we'll need it...oh and just to help the brides maids dresses are black :-(

[dawnrogers]

Hi guys, The wedding went really well, thank you all for your help....really appreciated..
Here's a couple of shots...

[dawnrogers]

There are loads more..so many that she loves that its hard to choose what to show you...any way if you'd like to see more just shout and I'll a a couple more...

Thanks again

[sapearl]

These look very nice so far Dawn - good timing on the shots and nice composition. I find no fault with these.

If the B&G pick any as enlargements or album pix, and here I admit to being picky, you may want to clone out the grooms nose and head glare (minor cosmetic and certainly not a show stopper) and add a little bit of contrast to compensate for the flat lighting. It's obvious though you were on the ball and keeping your eye on the action - they should be very pleased. - Stu

[dawnrogers]

Thank you Stuart...yep there's been no PS work done these (yet) just RAW thought lightroom....then I'll tweak the one that they choose...thank you again

[sapearl]

Well, then these initial captures are even better than I first said since you've only done general adjustments . Keep on shooting :D.

Thank you Stuart...yep there's been no PS work done these (yet) just RAW thought lightroom....then I'll tweak the one that they choose...thank you again

[TeeJay]

Dawn, they are beautiful, well done!

(I thought you were worried 'cos it was going to be dark? :rolleyes:)

TJ

[dawnrogers]

It was dark LOL....thanks TJ.....I used some flash and tried to balance it with the ambient and I think it worked well, here's one more...

[sapearl]

Dawn, did she have a white dress or off white/peachy? This is a very nice relaxed pose here - you could tell she was at ease with you - but I'm guessing the WB color temp is maybe around 5200 - 5600K. You might want to consider backing it down to around 4900 to add a little "blue." The dress looks just a titch underexposed.... no more than about 1/2 stop. Again, I am being picky and the bride would probably be very happy with it as is.

If it looks fine though on your monitor, then pay no attention to what I said - I'm not using my usual calibrated LCD.

[dawnrogers]

Stu, her dress is off white sort of peachy..really nice actaully...I did cool the WB temp down and played around until I think I have it about how it was....

The colours look ok on my calibrated screen...would you mind taking another look when your in front of your calibated monitor just to check..thanks...yes I've done shots with her before, she's very good fun and very relaxed, a bit crazy but really easy to work with.

[sapearl]

That's good to hear Dawn - you've probably set things probably right and this old uncalibrated monitor of mine is the culprit :rolleyes:. I'll take a look later on tonight.

Stu, her dress is off white sort of peachy..really nice actaully...I did cool the WB temp down and played around until I think I have it about how it was....

The colours look ok on my calibrated screen...would you mind taking another look when your in front of your calibated monitor just to check..thanks..........

[sapearl]

Ok, this shot of the bride alone sitting posed, looks MUCH better on my calibrated home screen Dawn. It looks just the way you describe it ;).

It was dark LOL....thanks TJ.....I used some flash and tried to balance it with the ambient and I think it worked well, here's one more...

[dawnrogers]

Thank goodness for that LOL....thanks

[urbanbridesmaid]

Hi Dawn,

You did brillantly! Well done!

[dawnrogers]

Hi Louisa,

Thanks for that....your too kind..