wedding reception inquiries

[shingfan]

when i'm shooting in a rather dim wedding reception.....how do i acheive a good exposure in the background....any suggestion?...i have D80 and a SB600...not extra flash unit or assistants

 

[TBaraki]

Dragging the shutter and using a rear-curtain flash will allow you to expose both the subject and background to your liking. The downside being the background will be blurred.

I don't know how the pros would do it, but it's one possible technique.

 

[Big Mike]

It really depends how much light there is to work with. If the ambient light is sufficient...then you can 'drag the shutter'...to help expose the background and then rely on your flash for the subject. The catch is that if the subject gets too much ambient exposure...and either you or they are moving...then you will get ghosting. You can get great actions shots if you know how to do it...just be sure to set your flash to rear or 2nd curtain sync.

I have also seen some wedding pros who set up another flash or two in the room, pointed up or where ever...and wirelessly trigger them.

If it's really dark, then I would just minimize the dark empty space in the photos and get close to your subjects. If you can bounce the flash, or at least use some sort of large diffuser...it will really help to keep the subjects from looking like deer in the headlights.

 

[TBaraki]

Here is a quick example of the technique Big Mike and I described. You can use the car headlights as a reference for the exposure length. The flash freezes the subject without much ghosting. This is a pretty extreme example (you'll probably have more light available --> quicker shutter --> less ghosting) but it may be useful to you.

 

[Big Mike]

Where did you shoot this? I was thinking to myself that it looks like Whyte Ave...then I remembered/noticed that you are from Alberta.

 

[Jeremy Z]

Another idea: If these are your candids where you're on patrol, it won't work. But if they are on-location portraits, you should be able to just use a slower shutter speed, a tripod and tell them to stand still. That is my favorite technique.

If the ceiling is suitable, bounce flash will also help. But taking the candid shots, it is going to be hard to have something set up ahead of time.

 

[TBaraki]

Where did you shoot this? I was thinking to myself that it looks like Whyte Ave...then I remembered/noticed that you are from Alberta.

Good eye. We're just north of the Gateway/Whyte intersection.

 

[Big Mike]

Good eye. We're just north of the Gateway/Whyte intersection.

Looks like you are coming out of 'The Strat'...but I could be mistaken.

Sorry to Hi-jack this thread.

 

[shingfan]

i expect ppl will be moving and i'll be moving as well....so everything is in motion pretty much....

 

[JIP]

There are really only 2 choices in this and they both have been previously stated drag the shutter at the risk of motion blur or an extra flash or strobe on a slave or preferrably radio trigger so everyone in the room is not triggering your slaved flash every 2 seconds.

 

[astrostu]

And use a relatively high ISO. Yeah, I hate the noise that high ISOs give, but if it's a choice between a noisy shot vs. a deer-in-headlights or blackness, I'd choose the noisy shot and explain it to the happy couple.

 

[TBaraki]

And use a relatively high ISO. Yeah, I hate the noise that high ISOs give, but if it's a choice between a noisy shot vs. a deer-in-headlights or blackness, I'd choose the noisy shot and explain it to the happy couple.

Yes, and programs like NeatImage do really well to reduce noise without negative effects on the image details/texture.