Christmas Wedding...almost

Swartzy · December 30, 2008

Boy, it sure gets dark this time of year....like all day even

. So, the church was dark, outside was dark, night was dark....anyone seen my glasses?

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

Thanks for looking :lust

clemensphoto's · December 30, 2008

Very nice photo series

Scott_Quier · December 30, 2008

These are way nice! Over the top even.

I love #10.

What was your technique/thought process in setting this up. I'm guessing on-camera flash, Av mode for longish shutter (1/30 maybe) and FEC to -2/3 or -1? Did I even come close?

Swartzy · December 30, 2008

Scott_Quier wrote:

These are way nice! Over the top even.

I love #10. What was your technique/thought process in setting this up. I'm guessing on-camera flash, Av mode for longish shutter (1/30 maybe) and FEC to -2/3 or -1? Did I even come close?

Heheh...um...nope

Actually, pocket wizard with 580EX II shot through an umbrella camera right. There was a staircase around the corner and was placed to their side about 20 feet away. Camera (and me) were around the other side, across (was on a 2nd level referrence library). Manual mode, 1/60th, f/5.6, ISO 1000 with the 5D. Too bad they were pooped...

. I wanted to do so many more things up there. Thanks for the kind words Scott!

kygarden · December 30, 2008

Love #3 - Natural light? Looks great.

Agnieszka · December 30, 2008

Haha

I have my winter-wedding tomorrow, (

do not ask me what the heck I was thinking, haha, will be my first & last New Years Eve wedding ....) But I did tell them they better wear something warm as I'll drag them into the snow

You got some awesome shots here!!! Wow, especially the photos in the church!!!

Perfect exposure! & #12 is beauuuuutiful!!! - Only wish she wouldn't have bustled her dress ...

The only photo I'm not too crazy about is #4 / just because of the white vignette ... other than that I think it's a really cute photo.

+ I do not even want to know where you were standing while you took #9, haha ... did you climb the organ?

Very cool perspective & nice composition!

Scott_Quier · December 30, 2008

Swartzy wrote:

Heheh...um...nope Actually, pocket wizard with 580EX II shot through an umbrella camera right. There was a staircase around the corner and was placed to their side about 20 feet away. Camera (and me) were around the other side, across (was on a 2nd level referrence library). Manual mode, 1/60th, f/5.6, ISO 1000 with the 5D. Too bad they were pooped.... I wanted to do so many more things up there. Thanks for the kind words Scott!

If you had a 580 CR .... looking at the fold of her gown it appears there was light coming from CL as well as I think I see a shadow to the right of the fold

Not saying you don't know what you had when you took the shot - I'm just confused .... again!

Regardless, the shot is stunning!!

Sam · December 30, 2008

Excellent! The bride, and groom will be very pleased with these.

Sam

Swartzy · December 30, 2008

kygarden wrote:

Love #3 - Natural light? Looks great.

Thanks kygarden. Yes, natural light from balcony using the 70-200..high ISO and all w/slow shutter speed...used the balcony rail as my tripod

Swartzy · December 30, 2008

Thank you Angie! And here I thought the white vinette was really beautiful for that shot...guess it shows my age

Should have done a "70's" style with the circle...

The church interior was really quite beautiful. Was mostly up in the balcony during the entire ceremony (was 2nd shooting this one) and was very difficult to move around up there making compositions a bit tricky. There were 8 musicians there also. The organ was at the bottom in the middle....I was looking for a way to be "Spider Man" and climb higher but didn't bring my grappling hook

It was a fun day but filled with low apertures, high ISO's and slower shutter speeds....even when flashed was used at times I was at ISO 1000. Many times I can drop it to 640. Very overcast day not allowing much light through the stained glass as well. I always wig out about the colors and exposure, let alone focus in these dark venues...am a wreck until they are imported and have a couple days to see that they are ok....geez...no wonder my hair is thinning.

Thanks for the kind words.:D

Shima · December 30, 2008

Great stuff as always, 1, 7 & 11 are my favorites.

Swartzy · December 31, 2008

Scott_Quier wrote:

If you had a 580 CR .... looking at the fold of her gown it appears there was light coming from CL as well as I think I see a shadow to the right of the fold Not saying you don't know what you had when you took the shot - I'm just confused .... again!

Regardless, the shot is stunning!!

So sorry Scott....for some reason I thought you were referring to #12..duh......ok...Manual mode, 1/50th, ISO 1000, flash on camera angled to camera left with little white card (the pull out). Took one shot, then adjusted angle of flash to throw enough light on them. Brought it up a bit in post but that was the set up. Sorry for the confusion

time2smile · January 1, 2009

I'll show my age...I think #4 is one of my favorites.

All are just so good, thanks for sharing...

jeffreaux2 · January 1, 2009

These are great!

Faves are 3,7,and 9.

A beautiful location, eh? How do you feel about the white balance in #9, and what was your approach to that "mixed" light? I captured some balcony shots in a similarly lit church awhile back. I determined at the rehearsal that there was just too much disparity between the incandescent lit altar and the daylight that was dominant in the rest of the building....and after frustrating mysel to nail a good WB for both....shot those balcony shots in AWB.....which actually handled it fairly well.

Just curious of your thought process in that similar situation.

Swartzy · January 1, 2009

jeffreaux2 wrote:

These are great!

Faves are 3,7,and 9.

A beautiful location, eh? How do you feel about the white balance in #9, and what was your approach to that "mixed" light? I captured some balcony shots in a similarly lit church awhile back. I determined at the rehearsal that there was just too much disparity between the incandescent lit altar and the daylight that was dominant in the rest of the building....and after frustrating mysel to nail a good WB for both....shot those balcony shots in AWB.....which actually handled it fairly well.

Just curious of your thought process in that similar situation.

Thanks very much Jeff. Ah yes, the WB.....After messing around with gel, not to gel, take a target WB, customize.....I was fed up...since shooting RAW anyway it made more sense to put it in AWB and forget about it. Anymore, unless in the studio or someplace where I'll be for more than 1/2 hour do I take a custom WB (there are exceptions to this rule of course). This church was so beautiful.....especially with all the Christmas decorations...but....the lighting????? All over the map....

Not only the incandescents but the little lights on the music stands (flourescents)...and oh, there was a couple LED's too up there...haha

I've found that AWB is really close in many situations anyway..then in post one can make adjustments as necessary. Correcting the whites is easliy done or correcting an overall color cast. I don't know of a way to get all those different temps "correct" at the same time...so often it's a matter of what does the overall setting look like...is it good? Is it appealing? Often, I just fly by the seat of the pants and try some different temps to find what's appealing to my eye.

Thanks for the kind words.

Swartzy · January 1, 2009

Shima wrote:

Great stuff as always, 1, 7 & 11 are my favorites.

Hey..thanks Shima! Weddings are fun aren't they? I just wish they weren't so tiring....my body still hurts...

Swartzy · January 1, 2009

time2smile wrote:

I'll show my age...I think #4 is one of my favorites.

All are just so good, thanks for sharing...

Thanks TAT.....Yea, the vinette might be a little cheesey but I thought it looked nice.....we have to remember that most people are not photographers and they will most likely like it

:D:D

Blurmore · January 1, 2009

#12 is my fav of this set...really looks natural and like them...light is great, feathered just enough. The ceremony shot is KILLER WB, like stupid good WB, I'm assuming you shot WB target to get this? #2 doesn't really do much for me, just a little to posey/told them to do it. The shot with the bride in foreground and boys in focus in background isn't really my thing, but I think it may work better in a heavily vignetted B&W maybe with her blurred even more with a tighter crop. Its great coverage though, winterish weddings are a bitch with limited outside time, I'm sure it is even worse in the great white north.

jeffreaux2 · January 1, 2009

Swartzy wrote:

Thanks very much Jeff. Ah yes, the WB.....After messing around with gel, not to gel, take a target WB, customize.....I was fed up...since shooting RAW anyway it made more sense to put it in AWB and forget about it. Anymore, unless in the studio or someplace where I'll be for more than 1/2 hour do I take a custom WB (there are exceptions to this rule of course). This church was so beautiful.....especially with all the Christmas decorations...but....the lighting????? All over the map.... Not only the incandescents but the little lights on the music stands (flourescents)...and oh, there was a couple LED's too up there...haha

I've found that AWB is really close in many situations anyway..then in post one can make adjustments as necessary. Correcting the whites is easliy done or correcting an overall color cast. I don't know of a way to get all those different temps "correct" at the same time...so often it's a matter of what does the overall setting look like...is it good? Is it appealing? Often, I just fly by the seat of the pants and try some different temps to find what's appealing to my eye.

Thanks for the kind words.

I still...usually always set CWB...and in my similar situation did as well.....for the ceremony shots I took from the floor. The balcony shots were something else though and with my CWB that took into account sooo much incandescent would have left those wider agle shots too blue. AWB was a better choice for me for those 3 or 4 shots from up there. FWIW. I had at least made an attempt in post to export two versions of a balcony shot, each with its own wb adjustment....daylight and tungsten....but for the work involved in that mask, and the results, the original AWB shot was just as well.

The receptions are usually better off for me to use a CWB for the ambient and then gel the flash to match. Well, at least it has worked out well for me so far.

Like you I shoot RAW exclusively and fine tune WB in post....to taste.

Thanks for sharing...

Swartzy · January 4, 2009

Blurmore & Jeff (and anyone else interested). I did shoot a target WB when on the floor to begin with. The camera to start was CWB but then went to AWB as I was all over the place. For the shots that were close to the alter, I used the target for "starters" in LR. I've been using the Ed Pierce calibration target..which I really like....just wish it were a bit smaller...bought the medium size..which is great for studio stuff.....on the fly from room to room a smaller version would suffice. I like the idea of the expodisc but don't want to be locked into a particular mm size.

Ed911 · January 4, 2009

Very nice set. I really like the color. Good work. Thanks for showing us how to do it.

heatherfeather · January 4, 2009

I don't know how I missed this thread earlier. I guess just blame it on... whatever you like! Sorry about the belated reply, Steve.

These are lovely. My fav of the set is #12. (Of course) Beautiful lighting and expressions. You do so well on these. Question: did you do a lot of noise reduction in post? Do you usually supply the raws to your primary shooter?

Swartzy · January 4, 2009

Ed911 wrote:

Very nice set. I really like the color. Good work. Thanks for showing us how to do it.

Thanks Ed. Yea, color is tricky at times but I work at it...

.:D

Swartzy · January 4, 2009

heatherfeather wrote:

I don't know how I missed this thread earlier. I guess just blame it on... whatever you like! Sorry about the belated reply, Steve.

These are lovely. My fav of the set is #12. (Of course) Beautiful lighting and expressions. You do so well on these. Question: did you do a lot of noise reduction in post? Do you usually supply the raws to your primary shooter?

Hey Fred..thanx!

I do use Neat Image for noise reduction but oftentimes use it selectively...unless it's a real noisy image (hey, where are the headphones...

). Yes, the RAW files go to the primary as well...typically untouched but I always process mine and put up a private gallery so they can grab what they want for the client. Most photographers like to do their own processing as it fits their style. I put them up so just maybe, if I can save them a bit of work and they like what they see.....they can download them.

One thing I continue to strive for is proper exposure....as you know..not an easy task..especially in dark venues. But...if exposed properly, the noise isn't quite the issue...unless using a noisy camera. These were shot with the 5D and a couple with the 40D. I've been quite pleased with the 40D even at ISO 1600 when exposed correctly. The 5D is a beautiful camera and have no problem shooting higher ISO's with that.

jeffreaux2 · January 4, 2009

Swartzy wrote:

Blurmore & Jeff (and anyone else interested). I did shoot a target WB when on the floor to begin with. The camera to start was CWB but then went to AWB as I was all over the place. For the shots that were close to the alter, I used the target for "starters" in LR. I've been using the Ed Pierce calibration target..which I really like....just wish it were a bit smaller...bought the medium size..which is great for studio stuff.....on the fly from room to room a smaller version would suffice. I like the idea of the expodisc but don't want to be locked into a particular mm size.

Phoxle makes a WB tool similar to expodisk, but I think will fit multiple sized lenses. I have given some thought to buying one....but....like you have methods that suit me.

I use the phoxle flash gels. Great product!

Christmas Wedding...almost

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