Sparkler Exit - C&C Appreciated

Hi All,

I was asked by a friend to take some photos at their wedding after the main tog had left for the night. The main desire they had was to have some photos of their sparkler send-off. (I had suggested they not choose me for their main tog since we were not local)

I had very little time to prepare, I went out to get some test shots, and as I was out there the B&G decided to leave early, so I was just barely ready for them!

What do you think? I ended up bouncing flash off the building they were coming out of (but down to the right out of view) and also bouncing off the only building across the street which was being constructed still, and only had some framing done. (which didn't return flash too well)

I would love to hear any suggestions on how I could have improved!
Shot with 5d3, 24-70 f2.8 @ 2.8, ISO 6400, 1/160sec (in servo mode- which was awesome!)
1.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/19322772@N07/9​261077235/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/19322772@N07/9​261077435/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/19322772@N07/9​261076863/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/19322772@N07/9​261076589/

That's not bad Joey. I'm sure the couple will love the shots. As for improvement in the future, adding an off-camera backlight with a little fill light from your on-camera flash will do wonders for your shots.

These are fairly good, to my eye. Warm, but in an atmospheric way, and sharp enough at this size certainly (these kinds of images being prone to 'fuzziness'). I'd of course like a little more fill, but that's not a deal breaker.

It's tough to say. For the best light I'd want an umbrella on a monopod, wirelessly, with my assistant 'placing' it well (45 off the couple, shortlighting the bride); but I also like the resourcefulness of bouncing off the buildings as you did.

Thanks JColeman and Christopher!

Christopher: I thought about using my 24x24 softbox on a stand, would that really be much better than a bare speedlight at about 20 feet (7m) away? I am always trying to get really nice soft light, but I haven't experimented enough to know at what distance I lose the soft qualities of an umbrella/softbox.

If I didn't have the buildings, I would have gone with the soft-box for sure...

Joey, trying to manuver a 2' x 2' soft box during a sparkler exit is only going to bring you problems. Unless you have the soft box really close to the subjects, the light won't be much softer than that from a bounce card on your on-camera speedlight. Take a look at the following examples of sparkler exit shots. I used one or two backlights (which makes the biggest difference overall) and on-camera flash fill. You can obviously see the shadows from my on-camera fill, but they are not objectionable. Walking backwards, with an on-camera flash is a heck of lot easier than having someone walking with you, holding a softbox on a stick. Believe me...I've tried it.

IMAGE LINK: http://s182.photobucke​t.com …ing/wedding-1378.jpg.html

IMAGE LINK: http://s182.photobucke​t.com …0maxine/IMG_567​7.jpg.html

IMAGE LINK: http://s182.photobucke​t.com …rityandchris-996.jpg.html

Thanks a bunch for the examples! How much fill are you adding? Are you in ETTL and dialing back your EC on the flash? I was primarily worried about the shadows, but you are right, they are not bad at all!

Back-lighting! Next time that's going to happen! I assume you have those at a manual flash level?

robots4joey wrote in post #16111538
Thanks a bunch for the examples! How much fill are you adding? Are you in ETTL and dialing back your EC on the flash? I was primarily worried about the shadows, but you are right, they are not bad at all!

Back-lighting! Next time that's going to happen! I assume you have those at a manual flash level?

Yes, I'm in ettl mode. I tend to use 1:1 or -1/3 fill for these shots since my on-camera light is the "key" light in this instance.

All my off-camera lights are in manual mode.

Great samples robot. And better execution Jcolman. I'll try this out at the next gig.

I'm surprised by the amount of noise in the opening pictures.

Did you have to significantly raise exposure in post? Did you shoot in JPEG?

nice shots, but i think you went heavy with the facial clarity adjustment on the last one.

also agree with Jcolman (excellent shots btw) off camera flash is a must for a dark environment shot. I use a 2x2 gridded with the YN568 with 622c triggers on manfrotto aluminum stands with a 5lbsandbag. very light and easy to maneuver. its usually aided by a kicker

can post samples if youd like reference though i dont have any sparkler shots. all in all, youve got some great shots regardless. im sure they came out better than the Main's

Mclaren: I thought there was a lot of noise too... it was at 6400, pushed about 1/3 stop, and also cropped to about 2/3 of the original size. No noise reduction beyond digital photo professional defaults. That's one area I need to search for some help on.

vz: I was worried about the work on their faces, I actually did some dodging on the left side of their faces because only one of my flashes triggered that time...

Thanks everyone for the help and critique!