bounce off or direct flash?

Indoor situation, church wedding

I have photogenic pl1250 and canon 430ex. I haven't tested the pl1250(just bought it), but wondering bounce off the main light with powerlight and flash with 430ex as I need would be a good combination?

It really depends on the location... but I'm planning put the powerlight in the corner and bounce off the ceiling, so luminate the entire place. Also use the 430 to fill up, if I need.

I also have 60" umbrella as well, so please someone recommend possbile combination with my gears.

Also without ettl, which mode should I shoot with? M or av?

Are you sure you want to use a lot of flash during a church service?

Most use M. Some use AV as long as you understand what can happen to shutter speeds in low light venues. Start here. POTN members. This is in no particular order and there are many more members who have aced this type of lighting that might help in a church environment. Henk asked a good question.

https://photography-on-the.net …light=lighting+​receptions

http://www.nicknphoto.​com/wedding-reception-lighting/

The best laid plans (of pros) often go awry because of ministers that tell the pro "no shots during the ceremony", yet who also ignore the many photos taken by the guests in the pews who don't know how to turn off their flash.
Ergo, no flash, available light shooting only for the pro, who can then innocently shrug to the minister and point to his own camera with no flash mounted.

It seems that I am not the only one worried about "flash during the service". I am not a wedding shooter but remember very much what I was told when my son married and I brought my camera...
It is something that should be discussed with the minister in advance.

Technically: when using non ETTL triggering methods to do the shooting you want to check light levels in advance when you are shooting manual or any other setting. Av can be an option when you have pre-measured the output levels of your strobes at the set level. That way you can vary DOF where required.

Also which body do you have? If you can't use flash there is a good thread on high ISO shooting and image recovery.

Churches usually have high ceilings and bouncing the light off the ceiling is hard. The better option could be a flash bender which will allow you to bounce light towards the subjects but you have to be close 3-4 feet.

The further you are, the more power and harsher the light would become. You can also use sto-fen diffuser and point the light slightly backwards (one notch) to spill light up and forward.

Good luck and let us know how it went.

IMO the flash bender is no better than direct flash. I use abetterbouncecard if I really have to but when the minister says NO flash then do what Bambi Cantrell does, save a spot on the 2nd. pew from the front and sit there and shoot up close. Or get someone to act like a guest and sit as close to the front as possible and have them to shoot available light up front while you are in the back getting wide angle shots.

Please Please Please clear using a flash with the officiant. It is the most common thing I hear from ministers etc. that they hate when the photographer is snapping flash pic after flash pic all ceremony long. I even have a wedding this year that the church sent a letter to me stating the rules for photography during their ceremony (This is 6 months in advance of the wedding)

I'd vote shoot ambient light, and skip the flashes until afterwards then if you're doing formal portraits pull out the 60" umbrella and the "strobe" and use it then.

digital paradise wrote in post #16723771
Also which body do you have? If you can't use flash there is a good thread on high ISO shooting and image recovery.

I forgot to add the thread. These people do outstanding work. Always an inspiration viewing the work.

https://photography-on-the.net …54&highlight=5D​2+high+iso

Shooting wrote in post #16726608
IMO the flash bender is no better than direct flash. I use abetterbouncecard if I really have to but when the minister says NO flash then do what Bambi Cantrell does, save a spot on the 2nd. pew from the front and sit there and shoot up close. Or get someone to act like a guest and sit as close to the front as possible and have them to shoot available light up front while you are in the back getting wide angle shots.

Direct flash on a bracket. I never hesitate to use bare flash when I can bounce. Just crank up the ISO and you are set.

vk2gwk wrote in post #16723352
Are you sure you want to use a lot of flash during a church service?

First of all thanks for all the reponses guys.

Maybe, it might be depends on the minister, but after the ceremony for the group picture might be a good time to set up the lights and test? my settings. I've used my 430ex only when I was in stories tall church building. It quite bounce off the ceiling, but I had mixture of strobe and other light sources (it was yellowis, redish and whitish....)

I do have 5dmkii mainly shoot with tamron 24-70vc, or 135 prime

I'be better practice and test at other places.

In the church, unless its a very specific problem, I rely on bounce from flash on camera and higher ISO setting. If the officiant is dictating restrictive rules, I tell the bride's mom and explain that the officiant's rules are going to limit my ability to cover the ceremony as I normally would.

Monolights in the church are only for formals after the ceremony. PERIOD!

Given high ISO performance from modern cameras its difficult to imagine a situation were bounced speedlite won't be sufficient.

If you go to my wedding site ( www.dmwfotos.com/weddi​ngs/ ) every ceremony shot is either available light or with bounced speedlite. I quit using monolights when PW introduced ControlTL. Now I use Canon 600EX-RT system and rarely put up a light on a stand.

dmward wrote in post #16727782
In the church, unless its a very specific problem, I rely on bounce from flash on camera and higher ISO setting. If the officiant is dictating restrictive rules, I tell the bride's mom and explain that the officiant's rules are going to limit my ability to cover the ceremony as I normally would.

Monolights in the church are only for formals after the ceremony. PERIOD!

Given high ISO performance from modern cameras its difficult to imagine a situation were bounced speedlite won't be sufficient.

If you go to my wedding site ( www.dmwfotos.com/weddi​ngs/ ) every ceremony shot is either available light or with bounced speedlite. I quit using monolights when PW introduced ControlTL. Now I use Canon 600EX-RT system and rarely put up a light on a stand.

Thanks for the input. How did you take the night shot with the flash? Did you use umbrellas or direct?

enuff4life wrote in post #16729612
Thanks for the input. How did you take the night shot with the flash? Did you use umbrellas or direct?

Do you mean the one with the couple in front of the Chicago skyline?
That was on camera flash as fill, camera ambient exposure was set based on the lighting for the city.