How Do You Manage Manual Flash at Receptions?

Though it's actually a little OT, I'll say that I never warmed to the idea of using flash in the corners to bring up ambient. I'm always able to gather enough light to get to where I want to (2-3 stops under) with just available light. I like having the subject pop out a little, but well short of them looking like they're standing in a parking lot at night.

I'd like to use off-camera more during the reception, but I really like being very mobile during this portion of the day so I resist it. It obviously does look nicer, and this is why I work with two flashes (main off-camera and fill on) for the important moments. And I'll do some back lighting of the first dance or general dance floor shots. But other than that, it's on camera bounced off the ceiling with a large bounce card.

And soon to be ETTL with spot metering and exposure lock!

You do realize that flash power is adjustable, don't you? Putting them in the corners doesn't mean it looks like Yankee Stadium.

Even if you do light the place brightly, that's no different from shooting in a venue that's well lit on its own.

I've fallen for one flash off camera and another on using the latest Pocketwizards. What I end up with is directional light from the off-camera flash to fill in the people behind with the subjects lit correctly with the on-camera flash. Looks 10 times better than one flash.

cdifoto wrote in post #11222935
You do realize that flash power is adjustable, don't you? Putting them in the corners doesn't mean it looks like Yankee Stadium.

Even if you do light the place brightly, that's no different from shooting in a venue that's well lit on its own.

Understood, of course. But I even like how the colors of the light mix; good light with proper WB on the subject against the warm tones of the darker background. It's intentional (and easier).

I would do this if the place were simply too dark to acheive the balance I'm looking for, but that hasn't happened yet.

jerrybsmith wrote in post #11223495
I've fallen for one flash off camera and another on using the latest Pocketwizards. What I end up with is directional light from the off-camera flash to fill in the people behind with the subjects lit correctly with the on-camera flash. Looks 10 times better than one flash.

This is how I do the bouquet and garter toss; it delivers a fairly even amount of light across a broad area.

form wrote in post #11222736
I don't believe in generating ambient light anymore. I make directional light instead because it's more interesting and less plain, flat, standard, etc.

Generating ambient light? I consider ambient light any light I don't create, which I think is probably pretty accurate.

Do you mean you don't like lighting the whole room? What about for speeches? I used to use ambient for that, but ISO3200 F2.8 1/50th got old real quick, and some receptions are ISO1600 F2.8 1/10th. People can see fine, but the images come out pretty bad.

I think everyone has the same problem reception! reception! reception!

I hate reception!

Especially when reception and ceremony is in the same room grrrrrrrrrrr!

Every venue subdues their light to get the mood effect, but it gives me a heart attack! I am never satisfied with the quality it is acceptable and it looks good but never great to me, I should bring my studio lights for the ceremony at least

Not really. Reception is the easiest part. Ceremony is generally harder.

Armans Photography wrote in post #11470871
=Arman's Photography;11470871]I think everyone has the same problem reception! reception! reception!

I hate reception!

Especially when reception and ceremony is in the same room grrrrrrrrrrr!

Every venue subdues their light to get the mood effect, but it gives me a heart attack! I am never satisfied with the quality it is acceptable and it looks good but never great to me, I should bring my studio lights for the ceremony at least

viet wrote in post #11472196
Not really. Reception is the easiest part. Ceremony is generally harder.

I would tend to agree - far more relaxed, typically more navigation room, more time for setups, a variety of different things going on.... candids, humor, etc. Low light venues are not a problem with judicious use of external flash.

When I am using ettl flash (I tend to use manual a lot at receptions) I found the results to be a little more predictable and stable by changing the flash metering to "average" instead of the default setting of "evaluative".

Manual on-camera flash isn't that hard either. Just like your set to +1 for a white dress and -1 for a black suit, you just add a stop if your subject is a bit further away and take away a stop if they're closer. It's even less sensitive to varying distance when you ceiling bounce off a moderately high surface.

picturecrazy wrote in post #11494943
I found the results to be a little more predictable and stable by changing the flash metering to "average" instead of the default setting of "evaluative".

It's even less sensitive to varying distance when you ceiling bounce off a moderately high surface.

Thanks for those insights, Lloyd. I'm surprised by the first comment; intuitively, I would have guessed the other way, but I'll do some experimenting.

Re: your other comment, I never even really thought about how little distance from camera to subject really change when you're bouncing.

Glad I read through all these comments before I made my own. I was going to say exactly what Lloyd said about setting the metering to 'Average' when shooting an indoor reception. When I have my 5D and 580 EXII set up this way, I shoot with the camera in Manual mode and the flash in ETTL mode. Depending on the amount of ambient light in the room I normally shoot between 1000-1600 ISO. With the metering in Average mode, the flash is doing most of the work (and I always bounce it), giving me plenty of latitude to shoot with. For example, I've found that I can go from f2.8 at 1/40th up tp f2.8 at 1/160th and get almost identical shots. If I want to let in more ambient light I'll stick with the slower shutter speed and if I want to freeze more of the action (cake, garter, etc), I'll go with the faster shutter speeds. In other words, I've found that using Average metering and bounced flash has rarely, if ever, given me an unusable exposure when shooting indoors. I use this exact same setup even if I have an off-camera flash setup elsewhere in the room.