Low budget venues - lighting questions

I will be shooting my first wedding next month and luckily the couple has a fantastic locale booked so all i have to worry about is my own job.

however i am dreading receiving a call from a client who has booked at one of those really cheap banquet halls or just a very ugly venue with horrible lighting and odd colored walls.

what are some of the techniques you use to make the images at these crappy venues look good? shallow DOF? creative processing?

im talking about this kind of ugly:
http://bios.weddingbee​.com/pics/117544/IMG_1​338.JPG
http://prettydaydream.​files.wordpress.com …ttany-wakefield-table.jpg

do you just not take the job? since i am just starting out in this field i feel like i may have to take these and do the best i can.

the worst I had was a registry office all dark oak panelled and pouring with rain outside.
and days of film, so just had to hope and use as much light as we could - had the group shot up the stairs all worked out ok - I always used a tripod - so that helped a little bit too

often I would try and get to know the venues before hand and take a look before they event, the owners/managers where always fine for that

with film i would have 100 and also 400asa available - with the ISO available today and being able to look at the shots - you can at least check the shots as you go

my theory is to overpower any ambient and shoot at high apertures for shallow DOF with tight crops to eliminate any random crap in the Bg

Ooh.... Bingo hall ugly...

Take over (aka overpower) the light with strobes/flash

They chose the venue, you have to show it well, not make it look like a million dollars. You get more challenging situations when you're new, it actually gets easier as you get better, nicer venues, better looking people, etc.

Use my standard off camera lighting suggestions.

No matter the situation, we either work with natural light for as long as possible or flash if we're forced up to or past ISO 6400. Personally, I don't like shooting tight; I prefer context, but if I don't like the background, I just get closer to the subject.

I can always create better light than exists wherever I happen to be shooting, whether at high noon or the dead of night, indoors or outdoors.

Overpower the venue lighting. " like Tim said" Shoot tight shots and try some gels.

If you have no portfolio, this is a start.

Off camera flash, shallow DOF and tight shots.

tim wrote in post #14560519
They chose the venue, you have to show it well, not make it look like a million dollars. You get more challenging situations when you're new, it actually gets easier as you get better, nicer venues, better looking people, etc.

Use my standard off camera lighting suggestions.

scorpio_e wrote in post #14562489
Overpower the venue lighting. " like Tim said" Shoot tight shots and try some gels.

If you have no portfolio, this is a start.

These are good points to follow. As I'm starting with wedding photography myself, I can only book the "budget" weddings being held in venues that look like the ones linked to above. I shoot tight and use flash to overpower ambient.

Good luck JT. Post some images when you shoot the wedding.

I never use gels at weddings.

scorpio_e wrote in post #14564119
Good luck JT. Post some images when you shoot the wedding.

Thanks man - It's in July, but I'll be sure to post about it.

My first 4 weddings were shot for free. Clients knew I was building a portfolio and anyone that hires a "free photographer" is most likely on a tight budget. These are from my very first wedding, got into the business on a whim but I shot this with a T2i, 1-580EX II (on camera and bounced), 24-70L. Venue was probably worse then the first link you posted, it was a church that hasn't been touched since the 70's (also for free for the couple). You have to work with the venue and keep an open mind. Please disregard the sepia tones....... I thought it was a good idea at the time lol. You can still shoot tight and tell the story.

1.

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Now if I had to do it all over again I would follow Tim's lighting post, typically my current set up. 2 OFC flashes and one on camera to over power ambient unless natural light is spectacular. But you can make anything work for you.