Sometimes blending is better...

…than making the bride and groom stand really still.

In the past I've done some night shots with the flash on the couple and then a slow shutter speed to bring up the sky and city lights. Then it requires some work to get rid of the unwanted stuff in the background and tone down the foreground to create the mode I'm after.

The last couple of weddings have had the added complication of not very becoming backgrounds but nice tree lines. So, I setup the camera on a tripod, put the couple where I wanted them, fired off a few shots with speedlite on them with fast enough shutter to kill the ambient. Essentially the couple in a pool of light on a black frame. Then they went pack to dancing, I slowed down the shutter and took a couple of shots of the sky, tree line and let the rest of it go where is would.

Then opened them as layers in photoshop, applied a mask to the shot of the couple and blended the tree line and sky into the image.

Great work

Why couldn't this be accomplished in one frame ? Ie., set up the exposure for the appropriate length (bulb if necessary) for the background / ambient; the flash would lock the B+G's image in (obviously NOT rear-curtain !), they could then walk out of the scene while the camera continues sucking ambient. The 2 seconds it takes for them to walk out of the frame won't register if a 2 second shutterspeed photo in the same conditions registers a black frame anyway.

Christopher Steven b wrote in post #16420933
Why couldn't this be accomplished in one frame ? Ie., set up the exposure for the appropriate length (bulb if necessary) for the background / ambient; the flash would lock the B+G's image in (obviously NOT rear-curtain !), they could then walk out of the scene while the camera continues sucking ambient. The 2 seconds it takes for them to walk out of the frame won't register if a 2 second shutterspeed photo in the same conditions registers a black frame anyway.

It can, and I've done it. Not having them walk out of the frame, just stand still. As I mentioned, when doing that, then everything in the grass and trees gets much brighter which is counter productive. Its the sky I want bright not the trees. I've found that doing this and blending is faster than darkening all the stuff I don't want bright by burning in Lightroom or Photoshop.

I use both techniques, it depends on the surroundings.

The following image would be better if the groom leaned back with the bride. Women look better and skinnier when they arch their back a little...

These are all "blended"

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1335612

Christopher Steven b wrote in post #16420933
Why couldn't this be accomplished in one frame ? Ie., set up the exposure for the appropriate length (bulb if necessary) for the background / ambient; the flash would lock the B+G's image in (obviously NOT rear-curtain !), they could then walk out of the scene while the camera continues sucking ambient. The 2 seconds it takes for them to walk out of the frame won't register if a 2 second shutterspeed photo in the same conditions registers a black frame anyway.

I dont think that would work because even in low light over a 2 sec or more exposure, the bride would burn in as a blur in her white dress. The groom would be fine tho.

^in the dark at f/8 and 100 ISO, I'm sure there would be minimal if any ghosting.