Got a paid wedding next weekend.. Few questions

Okay.. So its only $250.. Still a bit nervous though

I am shooting with a 5d2+24-105+85 1.8

I am just wanting to gain some perspective from the pros...

When doing the offical photos after the ceremony.. Do you guys have the sun behind B+G and use a fill-flash on HSS... or pure natural light? Is it better to have B+G in the shade?

LucasCK wrote in post #15774807
Okay.. So its only $250.. Still a bit nervous though

I am shooting with a 5d2+24-105+85 1.8

I am just wanting to gain some perspective from the pros...

When doing the offical photos after the ceremony.. Do you guys have the sun behind B+G and use a fill-flash on HSS... or pure natural light? Is it better to have B+G in the shade?

It really depends. Sometimes finding a nice open shaded area isn't a problem. Sometimes that open shaded area happens to be the sh*ttiest place at the location. You have to be agile.

Yes, it's preferable to have the sun behind the subject's back and use fill flash. If the sun is glaring down, then good luck over powering it with a speedlight though.

You can also shoot in pure natural light provided you, the subject, and the sun form almost a straight line, exactly in that order, and the background is dark-ish.

Open shade. No flash used.

As above, there's more than one way to cook a goose.

The general rule appears to be to look for open shade, but the variables would be weather, time of day, time of year, and mostly what is it that you want to achieve.

As already said, it completely depends on the situation, there are no hard and fast rules on how to shoot this or any other photo, it depends on weather, what backdrops you want to use, whether shade is available, what sort of photo you want to create, where the light is coming from etc.

This is where the skill comes in, deciding how to make best use of the subjects, the surroundings and the environmental conditions, very rarely are they all ideal so you have to know how to get the best out of what you are given.

[I see you asked for answers to specific questions...here are some thought pieces for you.]

Do you have backup equipment?

Maybe a T(x)i body or better "just in case"?
An extra flash?
Lots of batteries for the flash(es)?
Memory cards?
What will you do if your 24-105 goes out of commission? Can you shoot with the 85mm for the rest of the event?

Yes, it's "only" $250, but...

LucasCK wrote in post #15774807
Okay.. So its only $250.. Still a bit nervous though

I am shooting with a 5d2+24-105+85 1.8

I am just wanting to gain some perspective from the pros...

When doing the offical photos after the ceremony.. Do you guys have the sun behind B+G and use a fill-flash on HSS... or pure natural light? Is it better to have B+G in the shade?

Usually I use an off camera radio triggered strobe, but I have once used off camera HSS triggered optically. Optical bites for reliability, radio's good. On camera HSS is fine for your first. Blow the background out a bit if you need to.

See my blog for images, I do heaps of off camera, happy to answer questions about individual images.

I am in southern Arizona and most of my weddings are at outdoor venues - we don't have weather here, it is always sunny. I generally look for open shade for the official formal shots. One thong to watch out for is using trees for your shade. Trees will give nice shade, but often leave a dappled shade pattern under the branches. Be careful, the dappled look is not attractive on a bride. Be prepared to use a flashgun to lift the shadows and provide even light.

rincon wrote in post #15782297
[Snip]
One thong to watch out for ... [Snip]

Watching out for thongs is always a good idea...

Oh, autocorrect!