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Wedding in Florida
So I have an oppurtunity to take picture on the beach in Florida and would love some advice, suggestions, do's and dont's.
My gear:
Canon 40d w/ vertical grip
Canon 430ex flash with Fong Lightsphere
Sigma 50-500mm
Canon 28-125 -f4 (40D kit lens)
Just purchased Canon 50mm 1.8
2 Alien Bee Strobes with stands
The wedding is at 6pm in the afternoon!
I would love some good advice!!
Thanks in advance!
My gear:
Canon 40d w/ vertical grip
Canon 430ex flash with Fong Lightsphere
Sigma 50-500mm
Canon 28-125 -f4 (40D kit lens)
Just purchased Canon 50mm 1.8
2 Alien Bee Strobes with stands
The wedding is at 6pm in the afternoon!
I would love some good advice!!
Thanks in advance!
0
Comments
The wedding is August 8th so it shoulde be good HOT weather.
Sun location is definately important but Im not sure where it will be.
Off camera flash is something Im not too familiar with using in an outdoor setting. Should I use the 430ex with and umbrelle or use one of my Alien Bees?
Where would you recommend setting it up?
I will be down there the day before and all morning leading up to the wedding.
August....so sun will still be high......You should find out who is setting up the wedding stage (Sanctuary in the Sand) and ask to NOT have the sun directly behind......also when you are shooting get the sun eith to the left or right side.....when i would shoot outdoors (sports teams, portraits, wedding portraits) I always tried to have the sun eith coming overthe right or left shoulder....thios provides some back/sidelighting to go with the fill flash.....you will need a flash incident exposure meter, only hting that matters here is that the meter reads both ambient and flash and give the average of both on readout....some really super cheap models only give the reading of the flash strength(only good in the studio)....I have an older shepard FM100 (now Polaris) and it give great readings....also have a diital Minolta and it work great also for this......you can get a decent meter for right around $100.....You don't have to ahve a Sekonic 758DR at over $500.....also make sure to shoot in RAW format just incase of an exposure error..........when the sun sets then you can have it directly behind the B/G abd wedding party for some FANTASTIC images to be remembered for ever......
Have a great day and enjoy the fact that you are making images for future generations to come to enjoy..........
It is not something I am too familiar with!!
Cheers,
There is so much to shooting a wedding beyond just pointing the camera and shooting; If you have not shot one, you might see if there is a pro who could use an assistant for June and July in exchange for giving you a feel of what it's like. Will there be other people there with cameras so if you miss the shots that can't be repeated there won't be a problem?
Are you related to the couple that you have the opportunity or are you going in as the pro?
If you are going in as the pro, do you have insurance in case someone gets hurt tripping over your bag or lightstands or your memory cards, cameras (yes - you need two in case one has a problem)? Will you have a contract to protect yourself and spell out the terms of shooting/copyright/products being delivered and timing of the event?
Can you shoot into the sun and have the bride and groom in focus and not blown out? Yes, you need to learn to use your flash and get perfect exposures. A light meter may not be required if you can read your histogram? How close to the bride and groom will you be during the ceremony and if you have to stay at the back do you have a long lens - like the 70-200 2.8 to get close shots from far away? Do you have a w-i-d-e lens to get the story of the scenes and the reception? Can you pose people for group shots? You will also want to practice shooting a white dress next to a black tux to make sure you can get the detail of the gown. Do you have about 20-30 mgs of memory and can you shoot in RAW so if you need to do any detail recovery you can?
This is just a starter list...
Flash Frozen Photography, Inc.
http://flashfrozenphotography.com
I am doint the wedding at expense of travel to gain experience. The groom is the cousing of a good friend.
Many of the questions as how close or how far I simply can not answer. I will just have to wing it.
I have the 50-500 that will allow me to be far way and the 50mm should get me close enough.
The Fong Lightsphere so far has done a wonderful job for me!
Posing is not a strong point but definately not a week point.
I do have a little time to practice but I feel pretty confident since its outside.
Any flash suggestions? Common setting? Suggested settings> The Lightsphere bounced is amazing! Outside with the dome does pretty good for a fill flash, however sometimes it can be too strong!
I took this today with my new Canon 50mm 1.8 and the Lightsphere and was happy with the way it turned out. Things look too birght on my 40D but when I bring them to the computer they look perfect.
Your camera's exposure meter is a reflected ambient light meter.....meaning it takes its' reading reflected off an object that you have pointed the camera at.
Handheld incident flash/ambient light meters, use a white dome to gather the light and measure its strength at the subject and this is much more accureate than the reflected meters........so a flash / ambient meter simultaniously measures the ambient light and the flash (when test button is pressed on flash) and gives you a reading that will not over expose your subject....
Thios is the first flash/ambient meter I ever bought....WEIN 500B.....these meters have been around for at least 35yrs....
It worked great for me for over 3 yrs until I left it at a church that was out of town....no one turned it in to lost and found.....Then I bought my Shepard FM1000.....great little meter primarialy a flash meter but will meter reflected light also ( i never used a reflected meter out side of my cameras meter and I do not trust them at all....I do a lot of bracketing)......since th FM1000 is no longer made and also Poalris bought Shepard this meter is a little nicer than mine SHEPARD/POLARIS SPD100.....THIs is a really nice meter to get one started ......I have know several sport team (memory mate companies) shooters that relied on this for their living....inexpensive YES....cheap low quality...NOPE does a fine job.......the main thing I do not like about the WEINS is that they are literaly clunky almost square boxes and take up a lot of camera bag room...but they are very accurate (at least mine was spot on)......using the meters can save a shot when a reflected meter might over expose it.....normally I hand the meter to who ever I am shooting and them to hold it like this (with dome pointing at me and the flash)...then I press the test button and set my camera according to the light meter (camera in manual mode and flsh in ttl)....I cut my teeth on totally manual flashes now I have a problem trying to allow my digital flashes run in any program mode....even if I am shooting in aperture priority I still use my meter and check what the computer in the camera is saying.......
Here is the Wikipedia Explanation on light meters, I would also suggest a trip to a Border or Barnes and Noble book store and pick up a book on exposure Meters...........
HTH
If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to ask them.........