How I photograph receptions

Thank you everyone for such a lovely thread! As a newbie, it helped me a lot. I will follow this.

this is a great thread, everyone has a lot of great info and unique set ups for sure.

Can I ask what settings do you have the on-camera flash set to when using it for fill? Do you have it up 90 degrees for bounce, 45 degrees for a bit of both, or 100% direct? Also, is there ever a need to have the built-in diffuser on the 580 over the flash head? I've only ever done this when I've had to resort to direct flash.

I will be shooting a couple of receptions soon with a 580 II on camera only. I'm currently in two minds whether to buy a Demb Flip-It or just to try to bounce of walls / ceilings with the built in bounce card for fill and catchlights.

Usually pointed up, white card out, ETTL at 0 or so. If bouncing doesn't work then I go direct, but that's rare, I'll bounce off a black ceiling before I go direct. I don't use any diffuser for my on camera flash, I don't believe they make a significant difference given the way I light things, and they're annoying awkward and expensive.

Thanks Tim - I never know whether to have the built-in diffuser flap over the flash head or not when bouncing - I usually do have it down when bouncing on a low ceiling or a nearby wall, in hope of spreading the light slightly wider.

RichardStevens wrote in post #14761427
Thanks Tim - I never know whether to have the built-in diffuser flap over the flash head or not when bouncing - I usually do have it down when bouncing on a low ceiling or a nearby wall, in hope of spreading the light slightly wider.

I don't, I use the default. Try pointing your camera at the ceiling at the focal length the flash zoom is set to, that's how large your apparent light source will be. Wide angle diffuser is probably just wasting light, battery, and increasing recharge time, unless you can touch the ceiling.

Great info!

Thank you Tim!!!

tim wrote in post #7330963
I have no desire for radio poppers. In this situation having a consistent amount of light means all my shots come out the same brightness, and need exactly the same post processing. Using ETTL they're all going to come out different and would need to be processed individually, by hand. That slows my workflow down a LOT.

Also using ETTL you do occasionally get some weird results. In long grass the other weekend I had 95% good exposures, but 5% were two stops overexposed with the same framing. I have no idea why.

I use manual flash more than I use ETTL now, I just like the consistency. Of course I have an assistant manning the flash when we're doing an interactive session, by myself it'd probably be too time consuming.

Tim,

Thanks for the information. I will practice this and then hopefully be ready for the next wedding or next wedding season. I use radiopoppers as I attended classes with the guys from tri-coast in Texas. They recommended them. I will hopefully be able to purchase the new canon flashes this off season. I have a seminar with Syl Arena and one at PPA so I am working on these things. I have used radiopoppers in portraits but like you said the reception lighting is tricky. My lighting is in ettl and your explanation helped tremendously.

hattrick99 wrote in post #15187464
Tim,

Thanks for the information. I will practice this and then hopefully be ready for the next wedding or next wedding season. I use radiopoppers as I attended classes with the guys from tri-coast in Texas. They recommended them. I will hopefully be able to purchase the new canon flashes this off season. I have a seminar with Syl Arena and one at PPA so I am working on these things. I have used radiopoppers in portraits but like you said the reception lighting is tricky. My lighting is in ettl and your explanation helped tremendously.

Manual off camera lighting is easier for many things IMHO, especially receptions.

^ Gotta agree with you Tim. OCF at a wedding reception is pretty simple. The tricky part is setting it up so no one trips over a light stand and finding the time to set it up .

tim wrote in post #14537244
There's no right and wrong, there's only light that you like.

+∞!

Does anyone use Alien Bees strobes to light reception? How can I get them to play nice with my on-camera flash?

I have a 5D3 and 580EX2, and Yongnuo RF602 Triggers. How do I get everything to play nice with each other?

professorman wrote in post #15704424
Does anyone use Alien Bees strobes to light reception? How can I get them to play nice with my on-camera flash?

I have a 5D3 and 580EX2, and Yongnuo RF602 Triggers. How do I get everything to play nice with each other?

I've put up pics earlier in this thread showing how i incorporate my oc flash with the transmitter. Play nice? Be more specific please.

professorman wrote in post #15704424
Does anyone use Alien Bees strobes to light reception? How can I get them to play nice with my on-camera flash?

I have a 5D3 and 580EX2, and Yongnuo RF602 Triggers. How do I get everything to play nice with each other?

I did when I had the room to set them up. Frankly the liability , weight and size does not make AB a good option. It is one more bag to drag around. AND you need bigger light stands.

If you want to buy a kata bag for AB's,let me know.

I think AB's are a great option if you have the space and time to set them up. Faster recycle times and more power than speedlites, and no need to worry about batteries dying - just make sure they're not in the way of any foot traffic...

With that setup, professorman, you'd want each AB hooked up to an RF602, then have another RF602 mounted on your hot shoe, with your 580EX mounted on top of it. When you press the shutter, all AB's and the 580 will fire, although I believe you lose ETTL functionality with the RF602 in between the camera and the speedlite. I think the Cybersyncs are a better solution for triggering OCF - you can plug the transmitter into the PC sync port on your camera, and you won't have to worry about losing ETTL or the RF602 falling out of the shoe (especially with a speedlite attached - I know they don't have a locking foot). The Cybersyncs are cheaper than Pocketwizards, but they do a great job.