Just bought my first Strobe set up! Do I use it during a Wedding though?

Hey all,
I've been getting into Portraitures and decided to jump the gun on a Paul C Buff setup.

I spent just over 1600 bucks even though I walked away with just one Einstein.

I bought a bunch of modifiers; Beauty Dish, Octabox + Grid, 64" PLM, Reflector+Grid set etc etc, but my question is, I've used 2 -3 speedlites for the past 2 years as my lighting setup during Weddings. So do I use my Einstein @ a wedding, it feels a bit more daunting just for the sake of carrying the extra gear.

That being said, it seems like it could be fun to have for the Head Table, and during the Ceremony. I suppose I would use the PLM mostly in those cases.

What I'm worried about though is having relied on ETTL for too long, and going into strict manual mode for my speedlites could be daunting also.

I bought the Cyber Command set up and purchased an extra CRB for 580 EX II, and while I can command the Strobe from my hotshoe, I cannot change any config on the 580EX II from there.

Do any other Wedding Photographers use Strobes during Ceremony and Reception? Do you mix them with speedlites also or just strobes? I have plans to use it during shots of the Couple and Bridal party, but I feel I should integrate them into the event space also.

btdvox wrote in post #14708233
Do any other Wedding Photographers use Strobes during Ceremony and Reception? Do you mix them with speedlites also or just strobes? I have plans to use it during shots of the Couple and Bridal party, but I feel I should integrate them into the event space also.

this guy is doing it.. and he is good.. check out his stuff

https://photography-on-the.net …hlight=receptio​n+lighting

sure you can do it, just make sure that the bride and groom know ahead of time, and practice it before trying it at a wedding. You can really set yourself apart from other area wedding photographers.
dg

you can do it - but do it before you actually do it at a wedding

That's what I was going to say. When is this wedding and how much time do you have to practice?

I have multiple weddings booked for the next month, but I won't use this set up until the Fall season. I can't without practice.

I guess I should clarify my question,
Are there any Wedding Photogs out there who confidently use Strobes mixed with Speedlites that have no user control from the Camera itself.

I know many who use just strobes and control it just from the Camera, and I know almost all photogs use Speedlites and control it just from the camera.

What I'm not confident in right now is the fact that I'll have limited control over the speedlites during weddings but full control of my strobes.

Hopefully that makes sense!

When I had a 5D I would use monolights to help with the reception lighting.
Now with 5DII and 5DIII the higher ISO performance means I can do everything I want to do with speedlites. The advantage is that the ambient lighting of the venue is still part of the image. I'm not sure about other cities but here there is a lot of mood lighting in the venues. Too much monolight power wipes that out.

I guess its a matter of style, if you look at my wedding port on my website you'll see that I tend to be an ambient light, accented with speedlite shooter.

When I did (do) use a monolight its almost always bounced into a ceiling or wall. Once in a while maybe a white globe (china light).