Need Advice on upcoming wedding

So I've been in the wedding realm for 3 years now working with another photog. I know what I'm doing for the most part Lol... but ill be in a different situation this weekend. The wedding is still fairly large with about 150 guests, but the couple wants me for basic shots. 4-5 h all together.

I'll be heading to his location first then hers, and then the venue where the ceremony will take place. It's a tent based wedding in Botanical gardens..

Any advice on what I should be focusing on and what are the dangers of outdoors in a tent environment?

I'm use to grand Italian weddings with over the top venues, this is a 1st for me and want to make sure I don't get stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Thanks in advance!

Open tents can present a huge issue depending on the setup. You can end up with shots that are powerfully back lit. You can o ercome that with fill flash but its tricky

gonzogolf wrote in post #17556667
Open tents can present a huge issue depending on the setup. You can end up with shots that are powerfully back lit. You can o ercome that with fill flash but its tricky

As per gonzogolf, backlighting can give you nightmares depending on the tent and the light outside. BUT, if the tent is white and it's sunny, it can also act like a giant diffuser and give you beautiful light inside.

If it's a dark tent and bright outside you're potentially going to need LOTS of flash batteries so get plenty of spares.

If there's any chance you can go there the day before (or even early on the morning of) that would be a huge advantage.

Also, I often (nearly always) do a similar program to you - groom, bride, ceremony location. I always try and get myself to the ceremony half an hour before the bride is getting there to check the light and do a few real quick test shots on the ceremony location.

This maybe something you already know, but my D600 has user modes which I can pre-set. If I have a location where the light varies wildly between inside and outside, I can set those user modes in advance to cater (broadly) for each situation, and then just switch between U1 and U2 when I move between the environments (tweaking as necessary). Might be a help depending on your gear.

Sorry if this is obvious stuff you already know/do. Cheers

Hope the tent is white. Most of them are. If it is, depending on the size of the tent and your strobe or flash setup, you can light that whole sucker up like it's daylight if you want to.

Thanks for the input guys... I have 2 YN600s that I was thinking of using.. one of them off camera somewhere where I can bounce from the ceiling. and the other fill in on camera.

also have 2 bowens 400rx strobes as well if the flash is not enough..

But I won't be there for long. I'm just capturing the ceremony and family after... the rest is their resposibility

So I should be done around 1800. hope the sun helps me out a little and doesn't rain

elrey2375 wrote in post #17556740
Hope the tent is white. Most of them are. If it is, depending on the size of the tent and your strobe or flash setup, you can light that whole sucker up like it's daylight if you want to.

I did a wedd7ng a coupke of years ago in a semi permsnent tent (the venue doesnt get assessed extea for a temporary structure) and the bridal table was against the open side, but the ceiling was black and the interior canopy was done in a wave design so bouncing was impossible. Total nightmare.

gonzogolf wrote in post #17556807
I did a wedd7ng a coupke of years ago in a semi permsnent tent (the venue doesnt get assessed extea for a temporary structure) and the bridal table was against the open side, but the ceiling was black and the interior canopy was done in a wave design so bouncing was impossible. Total nightmare.

Nightmare

My worst one like that was in a sailing club, with super high ceilings and the bridal party lined up in front of huge glass windows ...

hahahaha! thanks for that... im really excited now

may want to use this opportunity to add some c-clamps, clips, Manfrotto 244 Variable Friction Arms so that you can mount flashes where ever you need to

likely a strobe / flash or two, mounted out of the way on one of the tent support poles, one bounced and one for fill is a likely potential setup

i have one coming up in June like this, right on a beach, i'm going armed with as many ways possible (c-clamps, duct tape, friction arms - whatever is required) to make sure the tanned guy in the black suit doesn't look like a black hole

Yikes. Black ceilings are the worst. White ceilings, even if they're a little high, can be worked with.

I'm sure you'll do fine. If bouncing isn't an option, you might want a demb flip it or gary fong has some nice attachments for flashes, that will throw the light around a bit better and avoid the harsh shadows under eyes. etc.

I use those Gary Fong's when needed. Work well.

yeah, they definitely help when bouncing is not really an option.

To update, the ceremony was under a solid white tent so i wasnt lucky enough to get the light peneteating through... I ended up using flashed on both my bodies... did not turn out as great as I hoped for but it could have been worse...

As for the after shots, oh god that's another story. Disastrous!

I'll need to pull out the rabbit out of my ass on this one. No time for anything and dealing with 4 other weddings in the same area was not something I was prepared for. Oh well... live and learn lol

Thanks for the input everyone!