Wedding Photographer Newbie

[cynthia123]

Hi,

I'm just cutting my teeth as a wedding photographer, having spent some time studying and apprenticing, etc...I'm now beginning to branch out on my own.

One of the areas I'm most confused about is lighting in a dark space (ie a church or dark reception hall).

I've assisted photographers who use pocket wizards, with stands set very high, almost touching the ceiling. Is this the preferable MO? I absolutely hate that "obvious flash" look. I've read setting the meter 2 stops above your camera flash fills nicely, but I'm not sure if this is true.

I can't test the space, because it's in England. Which also presents another issue: I'm a girl, and a small one at that. Is there any sensible solution so that I'm not bogged down by equipment? No assistant at this stage in my career!

So basically, can someone explain the lighting process to me in layman's terms, keeping in mind less is more, both in terms of simple to use, and any equipment mentioned I'd need to be capable of transporting on my own!

Thanks so much!
c

[Bootlegger0173]

Welcome aboard. Let me start out by saying that I am not a wedding photographer. I have shot four that turned out to the brides satisfaction, but do not have either the gear, budget, nor time to specialize in that field. The flashes up near the ceiling were done in an effort to minmize the disruption caused by using flash in a church, while doing the bounce early in the flash's travel arch and naturally falling back down from above to more closely mimic sunlight with less power loss.

Works pretty well, if you know in advance what area will be your primary place to use them, as you won't be able to move them around.

Most people frown on using flash at all in a church, but sometimes (depending on equipment) the only other option is to miss the shot, as people just will not stand still for you.

About half of the Clergy who do weddings are reluctant to allow flash during the ceremony, so this is good to get out in the open up front.

Get the best glass that you can afford, and if it is in your budget, a top of the line camera that works very well at really high ISO. Mine doesn't work as well as I wish it did, but a new 5DII is not within my budget this year, so I work with what I have.

Also, with glass at open aperatures, putting little taped X's on the ground at the rehersal works well so that they know where to at least pause during their wedding. Try to have your lens focussed before they get there, as even if they actually pause, it will just be for a second before they move along, or some other bystander spoils your shot.

Hope this helps some.

KAW.

[craiglee]

if you're not allowed to have a flash you better have a fast lens and a high iso (1600 should be fine). nothing else you can do unless you have some magic aura. research the location the day before, get readings, take test shots and see if you can work with it. shoot raw.

[Alleh]

You need at least a year of experience to pull off decent off camera flash photography during a wedding otherwise you risk making incorrectly exposed images. I would just use a fast lens and high ISO in the darker rooms.

On that note www.strobist.com will get you started with lighting.

[cynthia123]

Thanks so much everyone for your help! I agree with you that flash takes quite a bit of experience. I do play with mine quite often but I don't own any sort of external flash system right now.

The only concern I have with the high ISO solution is noise. I suppose I could chalk this up to "texture" or "mood" but I want the option to take smooth images if at all possible.

Alleh, strobist is so helpful, thank you!!!

c

[Bootlegger0173]

Knock on wood...

So far a slightly noisy but correctly exposed image beats the alternative.

[bric-a-brac]

The only concern I have with the high ISO solution is noise. I suppose I could chalk this up to "texture" or "mood" but I want the option to take smooth images if at all possible.

there's a lot of noise reduction post processing software out there that absolutely kills the standard noise reduction in photoshop and light room. they definitely aren't fix alls, but from what I've seen they help a lot. they must, or people wouldn't invest in them.

the two that I've heard really good reviews about are Noise Ninja and the noise-reduction plug in for Aperture 2. I'm sure there are others out there though.

[cynthia123]

I agree, slight noise beats underexposed images. Thanks for the tip, bric-a-brac, that's definitely something I'll look into!!

[Alleh]

You could also try one of those Gary Fong things... Plenty of wedding photographers use them even if they are kinda funky looking.

[cynthia123]

What thing are you referring to?