Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling

Kai · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

Should I. This will be my third wedding and I love to bounce flash.

samnz · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

Yeah do it! If you have a slave flash, might even add to the mood.

Eoseni · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

If you are able, try it out before the real wedding. Test different solutions. Pick the one that works for you. I've not done such a venue, but that's what I'd do. Test it.

Toogy · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

This is when I use my lightsphere if I must bounce the flash, usually for the processional I just go direct flash, it sucks, but it gets the job done, and for the rest of the ceremony just use available light.

tim · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

I don't use flash in churches, even bounced (if that's possible) it will leave parts of the church bright and some very dark, but let us know how you get on after you do some test shots.

Kai · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

I am going to test it out later this week. I will let you know what I get. Tim, how can you not use flash at all. My pictures would turn out very blurry and dark.

Eoseni · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

Perhaps high ISO, low shutter speed with IS lenses, and hope that the B&G stay still, which is usually the case during the ceremony.

LightInspire · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

Use flash for processional, available light for ceremony and maybe bounce for reception if it is not too dark and ceilings not too high.

2gDSM · 4th of June 2007 (Mon)

In big churches I've found that bouncing a flash is almost counter-productive. No matter how I do it it seems like light falloff is a problem.

E.g. if the bride is 22 feet in front of the back wall, and the right wall you're bouncing off of is 32 feet away, then the light bounced back will have to go past 12 f-stops of light falloff due to bouncing to the wall and back (sqrt2)^12=64. At the same time, because the bride is 22 feet in front of the back wall then the difference in light from the bride and the back wall will be ~9 f-stops different )sqrt2)^9=22.6.

Don't believe me? Try it.

The best results I've had were when I tried direct flash (or bounced 45*) with the subject to background distance being very small.

Hopefully someone understands what I'm saying.

4th of June 2007 (Mon)	#1
Kai Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Kansas Posts: 1,131 IMAGE EDITING OK	Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling Should I. This will be my third wedding and I love to bounce flash.

4th of June 2007 (Mon)	#2
samnz Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Christchurch Posts: 1,315 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling Yeah do it! If you have a slave flash, might even add to the mood. __________________ SAM Gear

4th of June 2007 (Mon)	#3
Eoseni Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Northeastern USA Posts: 781	Re: Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling If you are able, try it out before the real wedding. Test different solutions. Pick the one that works for you. I've not done such a venue, but that's what I'd do. Test it.

4th of June 2007 (Mon)	#4
Toogy "I like pictures of myself!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 6,244	Re: Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling This is when I use my lightsphere if I must bounce the flash, usually for the processional I just go direct flash, it sucks, but it gets the job done, and for the rest of the ceremony just use available light. __________________ Toogood Studios *Good Light and Shoot to the Right....*

4th of June 2007 (Mon)	#5
tim Light Bringer Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 47,917 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling I don't use flash in churches, even bounced (if that's possible) it will leave parts of the church bright and some very dark, but let us know how you get on after you do some test shots. __________________ NZIPP Qualified Professional wedding photographer. Camera and Lens Reviews ~ Wellington Wedding Photographer Wellington Wedding Photographer (site2) ~ Wellington Wedding Photographer (site3) Read all my FAQs (wedding, printing, lighting, books, etc)

4th of June 2007 (Mon)	#8
LightInspire User is banned from forums Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cross Lanes, WV Posts: 47	Re: Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling Use flash for processional, available light for ceremony and maybe bounce for reception if it is not too dark and ceilings not too high.

4th of June 2007 (Mon)	#9
2gDSM Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: St. Louis Posts: 143 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Bounce flash in old church with wood ceiling In big churches I've found that bouncing a flash is almost counter-productive. No matter how I do it it seems like light falloff is a problem. E.g. if the bride is 22 feet in front of the back wall, and the right wall you're bouncing off of is 32 feet away, then the light bounced back will have to go past 12 f-stops of light falloff due to bouncing to the wall and back (sqrt2)^12=64. At the same time, because the bride is 22 feet in front of the back wall then the difference in light from the bride and the back wall will be ~9 f-stops different )sqrt2)^9=22.6. Don't believe me? Try it. The best results I've had were when I tried direct flash (or bounced 45*) with the subject to background distance being very small. Hopefully someone understands what I'm saying. __________________ Tom XTi/BG-E3 Grip \| 40Dx2 \| Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS \|Canon 50 f/1.8 \| 580EX

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