? about outdoor ceremony

JimmyJaceyMom · May 16, 2007

Okay guys I have my first wedding to do! Its a young couple that didnt have anyone to do them so I offered to try it for them for free. I'm not wedding photographer material yet I know but the only way to get there is practice right?
So. Here's where I need your help. The ceremony is outdoors at 2:00 in the afternoon! Isnt that like the worst time of the day for outdoor shooting? Or am I wrong and there's nothing to worry about? If it is what can I do to help the situation?
Also the bride is 8 months pregnant? Anyone ever have to pose a pregnant bride? Any interesting suggestions for me?
Thanks again - I'm super excited!

Big Mike · May 16, 2007

It can be tough to shoot during mid-day. The high sun will cast dark shadows on everything...including faces.

Fill flash will be your friend...but there's a problem...especially if it's really bright. Flash is only meant to work up to the camera's sync speed. (mine, for example, is 1/250). Now if it's bright and I can only use a shutter speed of 1/250 or slower...to keep from over exposing the shot, the aperture may have to be F16 or smaller (F22). The exposure of the flash is dependent on the aperture...so at F16, the flash has to pump out a massive amount of light, especially if the subject isn't very close.

This means you would need a very powerful flash and/or be rather close to the subjects. Even so, it will chew through batteries and the recycle time may be pretty slow.

Some flashes (Canon 430EX, 580EX) have a feature called high speed sync. This allows the flash to work properly at higher shutter speeds by strobing the flash. However, this really uses up a lot of power...which eats batteries even faster and reduces your working range.

Another option, would be to use a reflector. Something to reflect some light back into people's faces, so that they don't have dark shadows from the high sun.

EOS_JD · May 16, 2007

You could also have someone hold a diffusion panel over their heads to shade the bright sun - or can you find an area of shade?

mysteryscribe · May 16, 2007

Look for the shade.... set your exposure for the face, if you can not use your fill flash effectively (yes it will blow out the background but trust me they would rather see their faces)..... Try to avoid them squinting.... Ignore the bride's preggy status. You can't possibly hide it so just ignore it.

You can shoot a lot of chest low crops but honestly I would just shoot my regular bit which mostly is full length only for the formal family things anyway. You can shoot those as chest cuts but i personally never bothered.

Just my opinion I'm sure there are better ones. And honestly till you get there you won't know what to expect. It might be cloudy.

NJMAN · May 16, 2007

If you have no choice but to shoot in bright sunlight, set your white balance to Daylight, or maybe better yet, shoot RAW and adjust your white balance afterward (currently something that Im working on too). Its probably not as critical in daylight than it is shooting in flourescent or tungsten light though.

Im really excited for you kathi. Go in there and do the best you can and have fun with it!

JimmyJaceyMom · May 16, 2007

Big Mike - you're awesome. Thanks for taking the time always to help people understand that they need to know all the time. That is great! You've helped me from dday 1 on this forum and it does not go unappreciated! I am looking into getting a new flash tomorrow and then I'll have to play with it like crazy to get used to it before Sunday.

EOSJD I was wishing I could go to the site to check out what the area looks like but its kinda far and there are no pictures on the site! grrr. Cause I was thinking that same thing about the shade. Also my sister in law will be there to help me so that diffuser idea may be something to look into. thank you -

mysteryscribe - I haven't seen you in a while! Hope you're doing well. I think the girl knows she;s pregnant and everyone else will too!! LOL So I will just do everything as I would if she weren't. And you know what? You're right - it just might be cloudy I never thought of that!

DUH! Wouldn't that be a little bot of luck for me?!?!?!

and NJMAN - I did consider shooting in RAW, I just have to make sure I'll have enough memory to hold em. I will have two 1 gb cards and two smaller ones I'm borrowing and I'll try to buy one more before that day. If I can gather enough memory then RAW it will be. Otherwise I'll use the daylight WB. Thank you for being excited for me!! You rock!

EOS_JD · May 16, 2007

2.5Gb is not enough memory to shoot a wedding! Can you borrow from anyone? Cards are very cheap at the moment.... Buy a 4Gb card (I can get them for $40 (£20) in the UK.

Regards the diffuser, anything would do to shield the couple from the bright sunlight but a reflector will be a big help.

Regards flash, it's not easy using flash and I think you've cut it too neat. It's taken me a couple of years to get used to using it properly and even now I try not to use it too much. What flash do you plan on buying? Best to look at one that has high speed mode that allows you to shoot with fill at speeds higher than your synch speed.

JD

JimmyJaceyMom · May 16, 2007

I just discussed this very topic with my mom (CherylP on here) And we agreed that is not enough memory. Since I will be spending my money on a new flash she will buy some more memory and I can borrow that.
As far as the flash... I am going to look around tomorrow to see whats available, where and how much. Thank you for the suggestions on what to look for.
I don't really know how I will learn so quick to use a new flash, you're right. But from what everyone says about how important it is I'm afraid I'll be screwed without it!

EOS_JD said:
2.5Gb is not enough memory to shoot a wedding! Can you borrow from anyone? Cards are very cheap at the moment.... Buy a 4Gb card (I can get them for $40 (£20) in the UK.

Regards the diffuser, anything would do to shield the couple from the bright sunlight but a reflector will be a big help.

Regards flash, it's not easy using flash and I think you've cut it too neat. It's taken me a couple of years to get used to using it properly and even now I try not to use it too much. What flash do you plan on buying? Best to look at one that has high speed mode that allows you to shoot with fill at speeds higher than your synch speed.

JD

mysteryscribe · May 16, 2007

You have a great big advantage in that you can see something before you leave. It isnt enough to tell what you really have but you will know if you didn't get a shot at all so don't worry you'll do fine. Remember shoot vertical now and then.

NJMAN · May 16, 2007

2.5Gb is not enough memory to shoot a wedding! Can you borrow from anyone? Cards are very cheap at the moment.... Buy a 4Gb card

Agree. I bought a 4 GB card before my wedding practice shoot, and it still wasnt enough. I ended up using a 1 GB backup in addition before the night was over. Regarding flash, I would go for the 580EX if you can. But be prepared to practice a lot with it.

JimmyJaceyMom · May 16, 2007

mysteryscribe said:
You have a great big advantage in that you can see something before you leave. It isnt enough to tell what you really have but you will know if you didn't get a shot at all so don't worry you'll do fine. Remember shoot vertical now and then.

I actually love to shoot vertical. It puts a whole different perspective on things sometimes. :wink:

JimmyJaceyMom · May 16, 2007

NJMAN said:
Agree. I bought a 4 GB card before my wedding practice shoot, and it still wasnt enough. I ended up using a 1 GB backup in addition before the night was over. Regarding flash, I would go for the 580EX if you can. But be prepared to practice a lot with it.

Yeah i think I will end up with a 4GB that my mom will purchase and I will borrow and then my 1GB and hers, then my sister in law has two little ones. I was thinking about how I can take like 150 pictures just messing aropund with a shoot for my friends baby and that is only in like an hour!! I knew then I will need more for sure!! I MAY try to get a couple bucks together to buy another 4 GB if I can - we'll see what specials are at the stores.

EOS_JD · May 17, 2007

What camera/lenses will you be using?

Will you be taking shots inside?

If you buy a flash, learn to use your cameras FEC (flash Exposure Compensation). This reduces the power of the flash output and if outside I'd stop it down to -1 or even -2 so that the flash is only used as fill.

if inside, get a flash that you can rotate and move the head around so you can bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling. This will make a big difference to your shots. Watch out for harsh shadows on backgrounds behind your subject if you can't bounce.

Outside the reflector - white is nice and natural although even gold can look nice and warm.

How long will you be shooting for? 100 images an hour or more is easily possible.

leave yourself some room to crop images. Iif you shoot a close up, when you try to get that nice 10x8 you'll probably not be able to. So shopot with image ratios in mind. i also agree with the shoot vertical..... I do it all the time.

JimmyJaceyMom · May 17, 2007

EOS_JD said:
What camera/lenses will you be using?

At the moment I only have access to 2 canon rebelXT's, a kit lens, a canon 70-300 with lens hood, a cheapy attachment for wide angle and fisheye, no external flash til today. I have a bunch of filters. Thats about it for now. Oh yeah I also have canon 35-80.

Will you be taking shots inside?

The only way there will need to be any shots indoors will be if it rains

If you buy a flash, learn to use your cameras FEC (flash Exposure Compensation). This reduces the power of the flash output and if outside I'd stop it down to -1 or even -2 so that the flash is only used as fill.

That is my main objective is to only use the flash as fill because I'm afraid of the shadows. I hope I can figure out this FEC!
if inside, get a flash that you can rotate and move the head around so you can bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling. This will make a big difference to your shots. Watch out for harsh shadows on backgrounds behind your subject if you can't bounce.
Outside the reflector - white is nice and natural although even gold can look nice and warm.
Yes I am most definately looking for a flash that has a rotating head.
How long will you be shooting for? 100 images an hour or more is easily possible.
I beleive I will only shoot for three to 4 hours. Very small informal wedding and they are only doing about half of the traditional stuff (dances and whatnot)

leave yourself some room to crop images. Iif you shoot a close up, when you try to get that nice 10x8 you'll probably not be able to. So shopot with image ratios in mind. i also agree with the shoot vertical..... I do it all the time.

Would you suggest that I shoot in RAW or no?

Big Mike · May 17, 2007

I absolutely suggest you shoot in RAW....for all of the usually arguments.

Firstly, RAW offers you more leeway with exposure. If your exposure is off, or if you just want to change it in post processing...RAW will give you more flexibly than JPEG.

With RAW, white balance is almost a non issue when shooting. You can change it all you want in P.P.

JPEG, by nature, is a compression format. If high quality is your final goal, doesn't it make sense to start with and use the highest quality you can?

It does take up more memory, but as has been stated...memory is cheap.
It can take more time to process...but the flexibly should be worth it and there are many ways to streamline your workflow. Practice will of course make it easier.

What's your budget for a flash? What camera do you use?
As mentioned, getting flash right can take years of practice and experience...and you are cutting it pretty close :lol: