Wedding Photos & Flash

[mcoppadge]

I shot my first wedding for a friend on Saturday. Let's just say I consider it nothing more than a little practice for doing it again, as many things didn't go as well as I had hoped (mostly because the wedding was quickly put together and I was asked last minute to do it without much preparation). I suppose the photos are OK considering that it was my first wedding and that I was rather inexperienced with my D300, which I recently purchased.

That said, the one issue I struggled with most was getting shots without shadows. The ceiling of the church was low enough to bounce the light from my Speedlight but I still got offset shadows behind people (mostly while they walked down the isle...the stage photos aren't as bad). How do I eliminate these?

 

[Big Mike]

Can you show us an example?

If you are getting shadows from your flash, I'm guessing that you had the flash off to the side of the camera...as in, you turned the camera to portrait orientation.

One way to eliminate this, would be to have the flash on a bracket that keeps the flash above the camera whether in portrait or landscape orientation.

 

[mcoppadge]

I can post a photo tomorrow...I don't have them with me right now.

Your guess about the portrait orientation of the camera is probably right. Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure those are the only ones with shadows. The rest turned out OK.

I'm guessing that flash bracket would be a good investment if I plan to continue shooting weddings? I have one in the spring and two in the summer (all for friends on a low budget that know I shoot for cheap and produce acceptable photos).

 

[Big Mike]

While brackets can be useful...it's hard to say if they are a good investment. I have one, that I used quite a bit for a year or two, but I don't think I used it much at all last year. I just found that the benefits didn't justify the extra bulk and weight of it. I've heard similar stories from many other photographers.
It's sort of something that you need to try for yourself and see if you like it.

 

[table1349]

Personally this is the only bracket that I have found to be worth using. But the useability comes at a cost.

Custom Brackets: Camera Brackets, Flash Brackets, Camera Accessories

Custom Brackets: Camera Brackets, Flash Brackets, Camera Accessories

Or my choice:

Custom Brackets: Camera Brackets, Flash Brackets, Camera Accessories

 

[Garbz]

Learning to use a flash properly especially at weddings comes with lots of practice.

FlashFlavor.com have a look at some example photos here for some inspiration.