Wedding photography ?? and lens ??

[RebeccaAPhotography]

Hey guys!

So I already know yal will say dont do it but I'm not asking that. One of my bestfriends is getting married in CT and asked me to come out to photograph it for her bc well she just doesn't ahve the $$. I was already planning a trip back home so just changed teh dates. Long story short her little girl was sick her x wont pay child support etc etc and I have no problem doing this as a friend. She has seen my work and I know im not a professional but I have a good understanding and am not affraid of the task at hand except ONE PART!

Another friend had a wedding reception nothing fancy just asked me to take some shots for her She wasn't paying me the lighting was HORRIBLE. I was struggling with a few things but was able to figure most out. One thing was light balance, one was metering with flash ( I struggle in that area) and the last which is the thing that bugs me the most is.....

You know those wedding shots of the couple on the dance floor doing their first dance as a married couple....awesome shot EVERYONE has to get it. I could not get it make my background black like how most are and the couple properly exposed. My first question is, Why? Why couldn't I achieve that affect. more importantly How do I achieve that? What do I need as far as equipment goes to achieve that? My flash was on the camera will buyig the equipment to get it off camera help with this?

I have the canon t2i with the 2 kit lens, the nifty 50 and 430ex ii flash...

My questions are:

How do I properly expose people in poorly lighted rooms but keep the dark dark and now look like HARSH flash?

What lens or equipment should I rent? I'm not rockafella I'm willing to rent some stuff but JEssie does understan what I can and can not do.

Jessie's wedding ceremeony is outside. I'm not worried about getting all the shots you should get the thing that worries me the most bc I'm a perfectionist is the shots in the banquet room. Thats what I need work on and figured Id come here for tips and start practicin!

Thanks guys!

 

[eric1971]

Yes, to have the subject lit, and the background remain or become dark, you need to get the flash off of the camera and very close the the subject. I'm currently working through the assignments on Strobist, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to learn off camera flash.

Strobist: Lighting 102: 1.2 - Position | Distance

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

Thanks thats what I was figuring but I just didn't wanna be "all up in their space" but like I said its one of my bestfriends and we have talked about it.

Thanks I will def work thru those!!

 

[3bayjunkie]

This is the list of what i currently rent because i dont have any pro grade lenses of my own:
Per day

50mm or 85mm f/1.2 - $20
70-200mm f/2.8 -$25
16-35mm f/2.8
100mm f/2.8

 

[manaheim]

Drag your shutter. You can do this with flash on or off cam, I believe. I do it with flash on.

Set it to manual. Point flash at ceiling or wall. Set shutter speed to 1/15th or 1/20th second. Fire. Flash almost completely freezes motion, longer shutter allows background subjects to fill in. For higher ceilings up the ISO. 800 usually works well. 1200 in extreme cases. In dim conditions (such as light from windows in mid to late day/early evening) you don't want to run the shutter that long as your main subject will blur. Experiment a bit with less critical subjects in different situations and you'll get a feel for it.

 

[3bayjunkie]

Drag your shutter. You can do this with flash on or off cam, I believe. I do it with flash on.

Set it to manual. Point flash at ceiling or wall. Set shutter speed to 1/15th or 1/20th second. Fire. Flash almost completely freezes motion, longer shutter allows background subjects to fill in. For higher ceilings up the ISO. 800 usually works well. 1200 in extreme cases. In dim conditions (such as light from windows in mid to late day/early evening) you don't want to run the shutter that long as your main subject will blur. Experiment a bit with less critical subjects in different situations and you'll get a feel for it.

Actually he was wanting to make the background black. You would want to actually use a faster shutter speed in order to get the flash to light only the couple. And be fairly close

 

[manaheim]

Drag your shutter. You can do this with flash on or off cam, I believe. I do it with flash on.

Set it to manual. Point flash at ceiling or wall. Set shutter speed to 1/15th or 1/20th second. Fire. Flash almost completely freezes motion, longer shutter allows background subjects to fill in. For higher ceilings up the ISO. 800 usually works well. 1200 in extreme cases. In dim conditions (such as light from windows in mid to late day/early evening) you don't want to run the shutter that long as your main subject will blur. Experiment a bit with less critical subjects in different situations and you'll get a feel for it.

Actually he was wanting to make the background black. You would want to actually use a faster shutter speed in order to get the flash to light only the couple. And be fairly close

Um. Ok, I guess you're right. But that mostly looks like crap.

 

[3bayjunkie]

Um. Ok, I guess you're right. But that mostly looks like crap.

But thats what he wanted. I wouldnt want that either.

 

[greybeard]

Yes, to have the subject lit, and the background remain or become dark, you need to get the flash off of the camera and very close the the subject. I'm currently working through the assignments on Strobist, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to learn off camera flash.

Strobist: Lighting 102: 1.2 - Position | Distance

Let me see if I understand this. You need to take the flash off the camera and I guess put it on some sort of a stand and trigger it from the camera in order to light only the bride and groom and keep the background dark. All this in the middle of the reception?

 

[eric1971]

Yes, to have the subject lit, and the background remain or become dark, you need to get the flash off of the camera and very close the the subject. I'm currently working through the assignments on Strobist, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to learn off camera flash.

Strobist: Lighting 102: 1.2 - Position | Distance

Let me see if I understand this. You need to take the flash off the camera and I guess put it on some sort of a stand and trigger it from the camera in order to light only the bride and groom and keep the background dark. All this in the middle of the reception?

Maybe you could offer a better solution . . .

 

[Ernicus]

I don't know if this will help, but read this, and the thread I posted a day before this one and see if any of the advice given me helps you.

I will say from my personal experience...you're going to struggle. I'm sorry. I know that you want to help your friend out, but if you are not experienced at weddings, you won't be helping her if you come out with bad images. I am not saying you are not good...I'm just saying based on what I personally learned...it's a different world in there...and you will see it quickly shot after shot.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...st-wedding-2nd-shooter-recap.html#post2665066

I hope some of what is in there helps you. The great folks here filled me up with tips and tricks, unfortunately, most didn't sink in until today. lol.

 

[greybeard]

I use a single flash on a rotating bracket. The bracket places the flash about 18" above the taking lens and rotates to keep it there in horizontal or vertical. This keeps most of the shadows directly behind the subject and out of view. The 18" distance between the flash and taking lens also eliminates red eye. I use this with a 8x8 soft box which lights the subject with relatively soft light. If you keep the lens at a small enough f/stop the camera will only record the light from the flash and ignore the room light leaving the background dark.

http://www.amazon.com/Bower-VA344-D...&qid=1343617451&sr=8-5&keywords=flash+bracket

 

[manaheim]

My assessment on this thread is that you need to learn lot more before taking on something like this, and what's more is you need to UNlearn some things first.

I generally don't tell people not to shoot weddings without experience. There are clearly cases where there is a need for it- people have no money and such. However, I sense a very high potential for a very serious disaster in your case.

 

[bratkinson]

Seeing you only have a kit lens and the nifty fifty, if you're outdoors in sunlight, shouldn't be a problem. Inside, the slower kit lens will be a limiting factor. Using the kit lens (18-55?) indoors will absolutely require a flash. With the faster 50, you should be able to do some available light 'mood shots', or simply use the flash across the board. If the ceremony is in a church that doesn't permit flash use, the 50 is your only choice. And even if they do permit flash...don't flash during the 'Do you...I do's. The B&G are nervous enough without having a bright 'poof' go off at that moment.

The 430 EX ii flash should be sufficient for most of your indoor work. My concern is that in a large room, it might not 'be enough' to light up all you want lit. Also be on the lookout for red-eye situations. Although red-eye can be cleaned up in post, it's an extra step that can be largely avoided if you use a flash bracket to move the flash away from the lens a bit. It also does a great job in reducing unwanted shadows.

Good Luck!

 

[Mike_E]

The information is out there but you're going to have to search it out (no, i'm not being a jerk- searching for yourself is a necessary part of the process).

It all boils down to research, read, practice, edit and then rinse and repeat. There are no quick or easy answers that you'd want.