wedding & event photogs that put speedlights in the corners of the room...

Also, be honest, Jim. The first image is from your second shooter and that Is you in the background wearing the technicolored dream coat.

Jim Coleman.. you really inspire me to do better,, thanks

Tim and Nickson have both put out GREAT tutorials on how they light receptions. Here is a copy of nicksons. Highly suggest a read here. The big thing for me is you have to have enough room. Ive been in plenty of tight rooms and have to resort to one light from a corner and one light from camera as fill. I use PW Mini and Flex triggers and find ETTL to be very inconsistent so its all manial for me as well...Any backlighting that the camera picks up will throw the ETTL settings all over the place. Difficult to get shots like this with ETTL. AV mode with manual flash works but you got to watch and listen for a slow shutter. If I get something i like, ive got the 5D3's set to exposure loch on one of my back buttons,, helps a ton

here is Nicksons tutorial

http://www.nicknphoto.​com/wedding-reception-lighting/

Manual shots. I tried this in ETTL before i switched it back to manual. Camera kept picking up this lighting from the back of the room in shot 2

umphotography wrote in post #15975235
Jim Coleman.. you really inspire me to do better,, thanks

Tim and Nickson have both put out GREAT tutorials on how they light receptions. Here is a copy of nicksons. Highly suggest a read here. The big thing for me is you have to have enough room. Ive been in plenty of tight rooms and have to resort to one light from a corner and one light from camera as fill. I use PW Mini and Flex triggers and find ETTL to be very inconsistent so its all manial for me as well...Any backlighting that the camera picks up will throw the ETTL settings all over the place. Difficult to get shots like this with ETTL. AV mode with manual flash works but you got to watch and listen for a slow shutter. If I get something i like, ive got the 5D3's set to exposure loch on one of my back buttons,, helps a ton

here is Nicksons tutorial

http://www.nicknphoto.​com/wedding-reception-lighting/

Manual shots. I tried this in ETTL before i switched it back to manual. Camera kept picking up this lighting from the back of the room in shot 2

Thanks for the link, Mike. I cant believe the soft light he gets from just two lights in those images. I like that he has a seperate umbrella setup by the cake table too. Thats a great idea.

You should see what Cliff mautner does with speedlight on a Rogue flashbender and a Voice activated light stand

Pretty impressive stuff. After attending his workshop, I think the trick it just to get the flash as far away from camera axis as possible and make great contrasting lighting. Its a lot easier with the ISO capabilities on these newer cameras.. 5D3. 1Dx, D4's, D4s... they are girts from the techie gods for sure,,,,,,,one thing is clear.. lots of tricks in the bags for just about anything these days.....cant wait to apply some of this stuff to our 2013 schedule.....really excited on my part. When i can, Im sticking with 2 lights on stands for rim lighting and filling from the camera with the pocketwizards.....But will be shooting a lot with cliffs set ups as well,, learned a lot of really great stuff

Here are two examples from a few weeks back. One speedlight in each corer. I find that if you have the lights high enough, it helps not to blow out the people close to them.

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JakAHearts wrote in post #15975191
Also, be honest, Jim. The first image is from your second shooter and that Is you in the background wearing the technicolored dream coat.

I wish I had the hair that guy has!!

umphotography wrote in post #15975235
The big thing for me is you have to have enough room. Ive been in plenty of tight rooms and have to resort to one light from a corner and one light from camera as fill.

You can do the same technique in a large room as you do in a small room Mike. You'll simply have less room to work with.

This was a really small room but I was still able to put up two or three speed lights.

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jcolman wrote in post #15976252
I wish I had the hair that guy has!!

amen, brother!

although I'd have to pass on the jacket.

Thanks again for the examples and ideas everyone.

I'm over critical of my work sometimes, and maybe a little OCD in providing things that are "just right." As I started this thread, I had in mind keeping the flash out of the picture entirely. After having seen the shots posted, and given it some thought, it's clearly more important to get the shot than worry too much about it being "perfect". Whatever that is.

I put a single speed light on a stand not by the the dj booth or head table but in front of the guest tables. Makes for a much more interesting background to your dance floor photos.

brooksclayton wrote in post #15981214
I put a single speed light on a stand not by the the dj booth or head table but in front of the guest tables. Makes for a much more interesting background to your dance floor photos.

pics please!

These are just a couple examples that were shot in an extremely small reception room but I like the look of the viewers onlooking in place of a dj booth or empty head table.

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