What should I have done differently

mpriest13 · July 13, 2011

Beautiful sunny day wedding starting at 2:00 with harsh light. Could I have done anything to prevent the harsh shadows. I suppose I could have used fill light but for the most part I was 15-20 feet away so on camera fill wouldn't have really helped much. I am shooting two more wedding at this location and one of them is starting the same time. Anything I can do different to get better results.

All three pics are SOOC Shot with a D300 and 24-70f2.8 if that matters at all...

1.
<a href="http://www.mpriestmanphotography.com/Other/For-Dgrin/14351068_vhceU#1382909595_wnCKSc4-A-LB" title=""><img src="http://www.mpriestmanphotography.com/photos/i-wnCKSc4/0/L/i-wnCKSc4-L.jpg" title="" alt=""></a>

2.
<a href="http://www.mpriestmanphotography.com/Other/For-Dgrin/14351068_vhceU#1382909621_33xJnB7-A-LB" title=""><img src="http://www.mpriestmanphotography.com/photos/i-33xJnB7/0/L/i-33xJnB7-L.jpg" title="" alt=""></a>

3.
<a href="http://www.mpriestmanphotography.com/Other/For-Dgrin/14351068_vhceU#1382909628_k3KCw8D-A-LB" title=""><img src="http://www.mpriestmanphotography.com/photos/i-k3KCw8D/0/L/i-k3KCw8D-L.jpg" title="" alt=""></a>

mmmatt · July 13, 2011

Without flash or shade, the answer is simple... Nope. That being said, you may get more out of an on-camera flash than you think at that distance. Maximize it's usefulness by setting shutter at 1/200th (or whatever your sync max is before hss kicks in) and under expose in camera a third or 1/2 stop. You could do a remote flash off to the side on a stand. Other than that you have options like praying for clouds and/or tribal rain dances.

Assuming you shot raw, you can try the fill light slider in Adobe acr, or you can try to dodge and burn, though that is tough with harsh light shadows. There are probly many post techniques you can do. I have an action called yin/yang which is fairly subtle and easier to control than dodging and burning. Some cameras have a highlight priority mode that keeps these things somewhat in check, but it lowers dynamic range. The Dynamic range that you did capture in these images are really all that is saving you, so that feature never seemed like a good option to me.

bobcool · July 13, 2011

Did you shoot in RAW? If you put these through Lightroom you can recover quite a bit of blown highlights as well as lifting the shadows. I was able to do this with just your original jpg file:

In the future, shoot on manual, underexpose the ambient by at least a half-stop (this will depend on your taste and your sync speed), and then use your on camera(or on bracket) for a touch of fill light to lift the shadows. If you were only twenty feet away then I'm thinking that your speedlight would have had enough power to lift the shadows, but obviously there's no way to really tell until you test it out yourself! I would encourage you to do that before the next wedding so you can make note of your settings so you're prepared. Hope this helps!

bobcool · July 13, 2011

It looks like mmmatt and I were creating our posts at the same time, and had similar answers,

. One more thing - go rent the 70-200 2.8 VR (I or II) - your shots are too wide. Either that, or just crop some more...

mpriest13 · July 14, 2011

bobcool wrote: »

It looks like mmmatt and I were creating our posts at the same time, and had similar answers, . One more thing - go rent the 70-200 2.8 VR (I or II) - your shots are too wide. Either that, or just crop some more...

yeah, I will crop these to bring them in a little tighter. I have rented that lens numerous time and didn't this time. Felt I could do fine with my 24-70.

I like your edit...did you just play with the recovery, fill sliders etc.?

bobcool · July 14, 2011

mpriest13 wrote: »

yeah, I will crop these to bring them in a little tighter. I have rented that lens numerous time and didn't this time. Felt I could do fine with my 24-70.

I like your edit...did you just play with the recovery, fill sliders etc.?

Yes, slid the recovery and fill light sliders, and slightly straightened it. I suggest also to brighten the eyes if you can and then apply sharpening. That should do it!

Matthew Saville · July 14, 2011

I'm the type of photographer who just rolls with it. Expose carefully so you don't blow anything out, and just let the shadows fall where they lie.

Seriously, any current DSLR in production is capable of recording enough dynamic range in just a 12-bit compressed RAW image to easily retain detail in sunlight and shadow.

=Matt=

tenoverthenose · July 14, 2011

^^^ Great advice!

I would add that if you can shoot straight into the sun or with the sun directly behind your back you will get more flattering shots. Your subjects will be rim lit with less shadow/direct light on their faces.

In this case, move 8 feet to your right and shoot the bride from the other side.

mmmatt · July 14, 2011

I like these responses! Matt S who is a consumate ambient shooter says "What problem? there is no problem!". Ten, the ever optimistic mad scientist, tells you how to turn the glaring light into a benefit. Bob and I, who apparently excel at covering our own butts, tell you how to manipulate the light to make the image more to your liking. THAT is a community chipping in to help! Don't ya just love this place?

Kinkajou · July 14, 2011

mmmatt wrote: »

I like these responses! Matt S who is a consumate ambient shooter says "What problem? there is no problem!". Ten, the ever optimistic mad scientist, tells you how to turn the glaring light into a benefit. Bob and I, who apparently excel at covering our own butts, tell you how to manipulate the light to make the image more to your liking. THAT is a community chipping in to help! Don't ya just love this place?

...and the rest of us learned something as well!

I do love this place

What should I have done differently

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