Wedding lighting

[pumpercaptain]

Doing some upcoming weddings and still new- Would like to use my studio stobes for the wedding party/famiy shots where everything is pretty much in one place. Was thinking two Alien Bee's on tripods off to the sides, and a on-cam flash (on a bracket) TTL for the "front light"- D-7000 set to shutter pri at 1/125. AB's adjusted accordingly manually on wireless triggers.... however, they are pretty "hot" at their lowest settings... tried this in my basement and looks pretty good... question is should I use any kind of reflector/diffuser on the AB's? If so, which one??? There are several offered for the AB's or just shoot straight flash w/o any umbrellas or diffuser/rings/etc.?

Thanks alot!!

 

[tirediron]

It sounds to me like you really haven't mastered all the tools in your box yet;much more learning is needed grasshopper. WHY would you use an on-camera speedlight for your front [sic] (correctly referred to as the 'key') light when you have two MUCH better lights? NEVER use an on-camera light for portrait work; this produces those gawd-awful pinpoint in the centre of the eye catchlights that screams 'snapshot', and likewise, shooting bare tube is going to make for some very unpleasnat lighting. For small groups (four or less) I'd use one AB with a large (>60") umbrella/octabox/brollybox as the key, and the second AB as fill if required. For larger groups, use both ABs with large modifiers set up for fairly even/flat lighting. BUT... before you do any of this, take a week or two and go through YouTube and watch a minimum of 100 hours of 'lighting' videos (I mean that, seriously!) and spend at least a week practicing in-studio.

 

[pumpercaptain]

Tks Tirediron... yes, I would agree with you as I am not a pro by anymeans... still learning and trying to get all of the "nomenclature" correct. I have watched and read quite a bit on lighting, but I have so many questions at the end, I usually just set up things and practice. Alot of the stuff is creative I guess, and I have 0 creativity. Should I shoot thru or bounce the light on the group? I see what you mean about using the speedlight on the camera bracket... I was just thinking if this was turned down some it may light the faces up more... just me thinkin crazy I guess... ha. could you explain more "For larger groups, use both ABs with large modifiers set up for fairly even/flat lighting." Modifier meaning? Flat/even lighting? I sincerely appreciate your help and suggestions...

 

[tirediron]

What I meant was when shooting larger groups (8+) I tend to avoid trying to get too artistic with groups and set my lighting up so that it's an even spread. I'd go with the two lights evenly spaced on either side, same power, same distance to provide bright, but even and relatively shadowless (or flat) lighting. One thing I would suggest is finding a camera club in your area and taking advantage of the workshops and expertise that many of these clubs have; it's a great way to learn, since you can only get so much from a video clip.

 

[JeremyD]

In all honestly you don't "need" all of this lighting for portraits. It is crucial you have a full frame camera and if the conditions permits you can bounce the flash of ceilings and walls. However if it's a big church with big walls from there I would set up two speedlights on stands bouncing off the walls using pocket wizards and it is a even correction.

For these portraits it is all about having a positive energy to get great posed shots, this is where you "interview" is happening with potential clients with the bridesmaids and groomsmen since they will see how you are as a photographer on the energy level. If you do a great job keeping everyone happy they will consider you with their weddings or their friends.

There are many styles to wedding photography, find one that speaks to you and make it your niche. I would never use on camera direct flash, like tirediron said.. You are there to capture the moments as a professional, using direct flash makes your images look like uncle Joe's images or anyone with a Iphone.

Do lots of research of how to make this a positive time. I LOVE the creative live lessons with Joe Buissick, Scott Lim, Jamie Starr, and many more.. For the small costs of the lessons it is SO worth it to see how they run their business, pose individuals, take photographs on the wedding day, and their style!

It's like having additional mentors in the industry and you can take bits and pieces from each photographer to make your own unique brand.

 

[pumpercaptain]

Great info... I sure appreciate it... I have done a few weddings, and everyone said they were happy with the results... still have lot to learn and I have lots of questions! I understand what both of you mean regarding the on cam light... guess that is saved for the reception when shooting candid stuff... I do have a flash bracket and another forum member suggested using my AB's set up around the room to boost the ambient lighting which I thought was a good idea depening on what I am shooting... so many ways to do things... but thanks very much...

 

[davisphotos]

I would agree with the others that say keep it simple-I want my gear at a wedding to be an extension of myself, the families and couples rarely have the patience for me to fiddle with a bunch of studio lights, so I tend to do just a couple speedlights on stands that I can set up really quickly. As far as reception lightings, I do know people that use studio lights to blast the room, I prefer to keep some of the mood of the room, and just use 2-3 speedlights placed around the room. I find the more weddings I shoot, the simpler I go on gear-some of my first weddings I brought along studio lights, used every lens I owned, and probably missed some great shots because of it.

 

[JeremyD]

Yeah just see what works for you, every wedding you will fine tune how you work and what works best for you.

 

[gsgary]

In your post i think you say you are using shutter priority ? you need to be shooting on manual, your lights need to be set up to a certain shutter speed aperture combination with shutter priority your camera may change the settings so your lighting will be off