Speedlite vs Strobe for wedding - Big Venue

[lennon33x]

Ok, so obviously there are plenty of opinions on this, so I just want to make sure that I'm well prepared for a venue that I will be shooting in two weeks.

I have 4 Yongnuo flashes. I used to use moonlights, but because of their weight, bulk, and AC power requirements, I dumped them about a year ago. I'm going to be shooting a wedding in a giant room, about 80ftx250ft with approximately 50ft ceilings. My second shooter will have a bounce flash, I will have a bounce, and then I'll have my kickers (two YN 560IIIs).

Here's my question. I want to be able to bounce light up during the reception, so I am wondering if the two kickers aimed up plus a bounce on camera will do it, or if I should purchase a strobe (like an AB400) to do it all in one fell swoop. The advantage is that I like having a my kickers for backlighting but it would be extremely difficult to control those lights if I'm running two systems (I know I could always use slaves). Thoughts? Opinions?

 

[tirediron]

Bouncing light off of a 50' ceiling is not going to work. You need a LOT of light to travel 100', and even if you did (and assuming the ceiling was reflective and not dark wood or similar), the beam would be so spread out when it returned as to be useless. IMO, the easiest (and best) way to light in situations like this is use a VAL*; have your assistant equipped with a speedlight on a pole with a small (say 30"x30") Ezybox style softbox. Use radio triggers and simply tell the assistant where you need him.

*Voice Activated Lightstand

 

[lennon33x]

I saw one tutorial where the photographer mounted the lights near the ceiling with c-clamps. Thought that was pretty ingenious.


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[tirediron]

I saw one tutorial where the photographer mounted the lights near the ceiling with c-clamps. Thought that was pretty ingenious.


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Do the math on w/s and beam spread... that's a big room with high ceilings and is going to need a LOT of light. Are the guests really going to enjoy 800 w/s strobes popping off all the time? Ceiling-mounted lights are fine for a smaller venue, or if you have a specific area where you will be taking pictures, but they also require a lot of specialized gear as well.

 

[lennon33x]

I'm not talking 800w/s.

I shot a wedding with a 60w/s speedlight bounced off a 60 ft ceiling. Granted it was about 50x50 ft. But that did fine at 1/2 power and ISO 1600 (higher than I wanted)


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[tirediron]

I'm not talking 800w/s....

Exaggeration for the sake of emphasis... to a point. To shoot at ISO 200 and f5.6 at a distance of 100', you need a GN of 400; thassa lotta light. If you go up to ISO 800, you're down to a GN of 100, but that's a full power. Ideally I wouldn't want to be at any more than 1/2 power, and ideally 1/4 for the sake of recycle time, flash duration, etc. Give the VAL idea a try; with a little practice between you and the assistant, you will get some great light, and there's virtually no effort.

 

[bribrius]

I'm not talking 800w/s....

Exaggeration for the sake of emphasis... to a point. To shoot at ISO 200 and f5.6 at a distance of 100', you need a GN of 400; thassa lotta light. If you go up to ISO 800, you're down to a GN of 100, but that's a full power. Ideally I wouldn't want to be at any more than 1/2 power, and ideally 1/4 for the sake of recycle time, flash duration, etc. Give the VAL idea a try; with a little practice between you and the assistant, you will get some great light, and there's virtually no effort.

dont know much about this. But this does seem like the most commonsense simplest approach..

how would you go about this if you had no second shooter or assistant?

 

[tirediron]

Flash bracket.

...how would you go about this if you had no second shooter or assistant?

Flash bracket.

 

[bribrius]

Flash bracket.

...how would you go about this if you had no second shooter or assistant?

Flash bracket.

you know a lot about this. some day i should find someone that will take me on as a second shooter just so i can learn something of value.

 

[Mike_E]

An eight foot light stand with a small umbrella box and an ankle weight on the bottom for stability. Just carry it around with you during the reception.

For the wedding you might want to learn to shoot one handed so that you can hold the flash in the other along with a diffuser. This actually works pretty well and allows for some creative lighting on the fly. Having the flash on a strap attached to your wrist helps alot to. (think Velcro here)

 

[Big Mike]

What I like to do, is mount one, two or three monolights around the room. If there is a balcony or access to the ceiling etc, then I don't mind mounting one up there, pointed down.

I usually have at least one that is 6-10 feet off the ground. Either mounted with a clamp or on a stand (I duct tape the stands to the ground so nobody knocks it over). The location will completely depend on the layout of the room. Ideally, it's bounced into a corner so that it's not directly flashing anyone in the face.

I also have a camera mounted speedlite.

So as I'm moving around and shooting, the on-camera flash is usually bounced, but I'll fire it directly if the room isn't suitable for bounce. The key is to position myself around my subject and one of the remote strobes. Sometimes the strobes are a back/hair/kicker light, with the flash for fill. Sometimes the strobes are the only light, for a more dramatic light.

Sometimes I move the lights around. For example, I end up getting lots of shots of the speeches, so I like to have a strobe in a position to light the podium and head table. After that part is over, the best photo opportunities usually happen on the dance floor, so I might move the light(s) to a position where they light the dance floor better. Of course, finding an unused power outlet and a 'safe' spot is usually the determining factor.

 

[lennon33x]

It's a square room with a balcony on three sides so I was thinking mounting three flashes on each side pointed up


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[errol]

Take a look at godox witstro ad360 hybrid speedlite/ strobes.
They are quite small, portable and extremely powerful with a guide number of 85 @ iso 100.
Got mine today. Looks great and the build quality is awesome.

 

[lennon33x]

Actually went with three speedlights mounted to the banisters plus an on camera bouncing straight up. Plenty of light.


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[Braineack]

Flash bracket.

...how would you go about this if you had no second shooter or assistant?

Flash bracket.

that's actually a pretty boss bracket for the price. Thanks for the link.