Doing a shoot for anniversary

[roadkill]

I'm going to do a shoot Saturday for a couple of friends for their anniversary. It's my first and it's for free. I'm shooting outside in the afternoon at Peidmont park in the city. Lots of trees, lake, gazebos and stuff. I figured I'd do it in the afternoon when the lights nice. The gear I have is what's listed below. I know I can get some great shots with what I've got, but would anyone recommend renting anything else?

 

[BTilson]

If you want a little extra fill flash for SUPER cheap, pick up a couple of Quantaray MS-1's. They don't have any controls besides an on/off switch, but they're reasonably bright, and only cost $20 a piece. They're optical slaves. They don't work very well in bright sunlight, but I've had no trouble out of them otherwise, and they're a blast to work with. They definitely wouldn't even come CLOSE to comparing to even slightly higher grade equipment, but for the price tag, you can't beat them imho!

 

[usayit]

I think you have everything you require to do your first shoot. I'd go outside in strong high noon sun in an area of shade (lots of trees) and practice with fill before the event. Deep shade and strong sun can be difficult to expose properly without fill.

With a little money, you can also purchase some sort of flash bracket and off-shoe cord. This will afford you a little better results from flash as well as get you a little more comfort. The idea is to get the flash off of the camera as comfortably as possible No need to go overboard and purchase a stroboframe. There are lots of inexpensive options out there. As for the off-shoe cord, I'm not sure how much the nikon one costs but you'll most likely want a compatible cord that maintains iTTL compatibility.

oh yeh... scout the area ahead of time and visualize where are ideal spots to shoot. Perhaps you'll want to bring along some nice looking folding chairs to be used in front of the lake or in the gazebo. Have the wife sitting on the chair and the husband standing behind and to the left.

 

[zen_and_ink]

Good tripod.
Fill cards, poterboard, two pieces, paint one side of one gold, one side of the other silver, and the other side of the silver one flat black. This way if it comes down to it you can use silver and white together, or gold and black together. Usually when you're trying to do simply push some more light into shadows you want a neutral card (silver or white) while on the other hand when you're pushing light around for more mood, warmth etc. you might be more prone to want to do some subtractive lighting.

I live right down the road! In Commerce.
Good luck, and have fun, enjoy the free food!

 

[SilverGlow]

Here's my advise, and sorry it is so scattered:

For late afternoon with good golden light, I would not bring a tripod. It can inhibit you, and handholding often means more creativity. I'm not against tripods in general, but having shot weddings for years I rarely use one. The flash goes a long ways to mitigate your hand held movements and your subject's in most cases, and of course a fast enough shutter speeds does that even more. Start with ISO 100 and make faster as required, but I suspect 100 or 200 will be enough.

For all your compositions I would strongly suggest fill flash. All of them. Nothing worse then a great comp, great background with under exposed faces. Fill means you are better able to balance background light with the light reflecting off the subject's faces.

I would strongly advise against a non-Nikon flash, or make sure the non-Nikon flash plays ball with your camera's iTTL logic. If you use a recent Nikon flash, it will use the camera's TTL logic to get you the exact fill power you need, so don't stress how to set up fill....let your Nikon body and flash worry about that.

Shoot in Av mode, and try not to get the backgrounds too sharp as that could distract the viewers eyes too much. Go for the creamy background bokeh, and of course their eyes should be very sharp.

For under $30 get a flash frame. It will be VERY helpful.

Shoot raw only. Go with auto-WB knowing you'll have to dial in the first picture of a given set during raw conversion. Optionally you could dial in the WB with the first shot of a set by using a white or gray card...make sure the monitor you'll use to post process is calibrated!

Convert in the raw images in the biggest color space you have, and at 16 bit color depth. Why 16 bits if your raw is just 12 or 14? 16 makes room for math rounding; the math your post processing program does when you post process. Doing so minimizes blocking, combing and other digital artifacts.

NEVER add sharpening to the entire image, and never add sharpening until the last step before you publish/print the image. Apply USM as the last step and ONLY on the subject's eyes, teeth and other areas that really need it and NEVER on the bokeh. The application of sharpening via the use of a layer and mask means you can apply it surgically.

Have fun and keep it light, because the subjects will often mirror your mood. Get them to laugh.

Try not to frame every single comp square...meaning, try tilting the frame but make sure it looks "intended" and not sloppy. Go on the internet and print out dozens of engagement poses and bring those with you if your memory is not the best.

Ask the subjects to try to stay clear of solid bright colors. Bring a friend to help you carry stuff and set up the shots.

And remember you are not just the photographer. You are also the director, so do direct, give direction, and of course stay open to their requests too.

Report back and show us your handiwork!

Good luck

 

[Alleh Lindquist]

maybe a mono pod to stick your SB-600 on then use your on camera flash to fire it off from the side. www.strobist.com will fill you in on the details. Check out lighting 101

 

[roadkill]

You guys rock. Thank you for your time. I'm doing it for free but I'm putting my balls out there so I want to get it right. This helps tremendously.

 

[JerryPH]

I'm putting my balls out there so...

Is that socially acceptable? I mean... your balls... really???

 

[roadkill]

Well... it is Piedmont park

 

[PatrickHMS]

I'm going to do a shoot Saturday for a couple of friends for their anniversary. It's my first and it's for free. I'm shooting outside in the afternoon at Peidmont park in the city. Lots of trees, lake, gazebos and stuff. I figured I'd do it in the afternoon when the lights nice. The gear I have is what's listed below. I know I can get some great shots with what I've got, but would anyone recommend renting anything else?

Piedmont Park can be nice this time of year, if it isn't too cold, windy or rainy, but there are plenty of hideaways you can shoot.

I also like to photograph at Stone mountain, do it at least once a week.

Have a GREAT time doing your shoot!

 

[roadkill]

Yeah, the leaves are great right now. I'm a little worried about keeping people out of my way.