Off Camera Lighting at Wedding??

I am new to flash photography and I was wondering whether off camera lighting typically ruins the scene set by the bride and groom. I'm trying to imagine bright lights going off with each click of the shutter and it seems a bit intrusive and attention grabbing. Does any have an issue with off camera lighting at a wedding reception or is it pretty much unnoticeable?

Honestly, at most weddings, I have the bride ask me how I'm taking pictures in a dim environment without a flash. They almost don't even notice that I have strobes setup in the reception halls.

I've recently started to add a fill flash on camera to complement the strobes, but I've never had anyone say it's intrusive. Of course, this is just me...others may have different opinions.

If you have lights blasting into people's faces, then yeah it can be annoying. I was a guest at a wedding where this happened. I was practically blind by the end of the night.

But you can also place the lights so it's not obtrusive. I prefer to bounce my off camera lights so it's never firing directly into someone's face. Nobody really notices.

You mean at receptions? I off camera light a lot of the day.

I do reception lighting like this. No-one's ever commented about them being annoying.

iamchanel wrote in post #12515619
I am new to flash photography and I was wondering whether off camera lighting typically ruins the scene set by the bride and groom. I'm trying to imagine bright lights going off with each click of the shutter and it seems a bit intrusive and attention grabbing. Does any have an issue with off camera lighting at a wedding reception or is it pretty much unnoticeable?

The duration of the flash itself is so short its mostly unnoticeable unless you're aware of it and looking for it, especially when the strobes are aimed to light the room as a whole. Off to the sides and to the back, the audience focused on the bride and groom will hardly notice the amount of light coming from a strobe for the most part. Think about large indoor sporting events, those are lit by many super high powered strobes, but most of the fans are completely unaware. If you watch carefully, you can see them go off on TV broadcasts, but until I knew they were they, I never noticed. Now I feel like I'm getting blinded at times during events, but that's only because I know it's happening so it's mostly in my head. The people around me are blissfully unaware.

So for the most part, off camera lighting is less intrusive than on camera flash in my opinion, and ultimately the more pleasing light created by off camera flash is well worth it.

You mean, kinda like the hundreds of other P & S cameras firing off flash? Trust me, unless you have your strobes pointed directly at them, they won't even bat an eye...

What they said.

As for ruining the ambient...my lights look better. Don't make the sconces & chandelier look like they're turned off and they'll think it's fabulous.

I've been doing weddings for over 30 years and since around 1980, for every reception, I've had strobes set up. I've had two complaints and those came from people that had a table a little close to the strobe. (most likely my fault and have since learned where to place the lights). I've always had a fill flash on my camera, so to the subjects, all they see is the flash on the camera. They aren't even aware of the strobes. My strobes don't light up the room like daylight but just give enough light to eliminate the background darkness you'll see from just an on camera flash. My side lights are usually set a stop to a stop and a half lower than the flash on my camera. I never lose the mood intended by the bride.

I try and use natural/ambient when possible, but there are definitely times when the light is ugly or the levels too low. People don't really complain- really, it's all part of the job you're doing.

PMCphotography wrote in post #12519287
I try and use natural/ambient when possible, but there are definitely times when the light is ugly or the levels too low. People don't really complain- really, it's all part of the job you're doing.

That would be "almost every time" around these parts.

I did two wedding receptions during the daylight that had huge FTC windows awhile back though. That made me as giddy as a schoolgirl getting kissed for the first time.

for the main flash itself, I usually bounce it so it's not nailing people in the face. Sometimes I use the reflector card (built in the 580ex) to provide a little light forward at the people.

Thanks everyone for these wonderful responses. I definitely feel more comfortable with the off camera lighting now. As i stated I don't have much experience with it but I don't see how you can really mess it up.

cdifoto wrote in post #12520753
That would be "almost every time" around these parts.

I did two wedding receptions during the daylight that had huge FTC windows awhile back though. That made me as giddy as a schoolgirl getting kissed for the first time.

What's an FTC window?

PMCphotography wrote in post #12526239
What's an FTC window?

Floor to ceiling.

jkim05 wrote in post #12526618
Floor to ceiling.

Gotcha