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group shots at a wedding, need some tips
Kevin CTMP
Registered Users Posts: 81 Big grins
It's no secret that the group shots of the bride & groom and their families after a ceremony can be some of the most important shots of the day.
Most of the weddings I've shot, the bride wants the shots in front of the altar at the church, and I'm always looking for better ways to really make them stand out. Many times, the church is quite dark, and I have trouble getting my lighting exactly the way I want it. I've tried flash, both bouncing and straight on (which is usually too bright and shadowy) and also using no flash, but often the wide aperature required to shoot in that low of light gives me too shallow DOF (sometimes up to 30 people per shot) and high ISO makes my images too noisy. Does anyone have any tips on how to really make these images pop? It can be the difference between getting a good referral or not.
-Kevin
www.ctm-photography.net
Most of the weddings I've shot, the bride wants the shots in front of the altar at the church, and I'm always looking for better ways to really make them stand out. Many times, the church is quite dark, and I have trouble getting my lighting exactly the way I want it. I've tried flash, both bouncing and straight on (which is usually too bright and shadowy) and also using no flash, but often the wide aperature required to shoot in that low of light gives me too shallow DOF (sometimes up to 30 people per shot) and high ISO makes my images too noisy. Does anyone have any tips on how to really make these images pop? It can be the difference between getting a good referral or not.
-Kevin
www.ctm-photography.net
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Comments
If I only had 1 flash I would use a "scoop" modifier and place it either on a tallish flash bracket or even use the "flash on a stick" approach. A scoop modifier is more efficient than other bounce devices in that it inverts the ratio of light (compared to bounced light) and has more direct light from the top of the scoop and allows some spill light for additional fill in lower ceilings.
Whenever possible I try to use studio flash for the best opportunity to overpower ambient lights and to put the light where I need it and allow a lower ISO for formals and family.
As an example of a single flash in a church environment:
Details:
Model - Canon EOS-1D Mark II
ExposureTime - 1/125 seconds
FNumber - 4
ExposureProgram - Manual control
ISOSpeedRatings - 800
Flash - Flash fired, Compulsory flash mode
FocalLength - 28 mm
Sigma EF 500 DG Super flash on a Stroboframe flash bracket with off-camera cord and scoop modifier.
Nothing beats full studio flash:
Details:
Model - Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ExposureTime - 1/125 seconds
FNumber - 4
ExposureProgram - Manual control
ISOSpeedRatings - 800
FocalLength - 52 mm
2 - studio strobes, Flashpoint II Model 1820A, both used as bounce, also a single Sunpak 383 Super flash used in manual mode, lowest power, as a fill light. All lights set high on stands, the monolights pointed backward and flanking, directed into the domed ceiling. All flashes fired from radio slaves.
In this case the background is fairly shiny so any direct flash from a key light would be disastrous. The background sheen you see is primarily from the fill light which was used at low power but direct.
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Those look amazing....that is exactly the kind of shot i would like to get, maybe I'll try a scoop modifer, I have a standard diffuser now, but that doesn't seem to help much, I don't have and nice studio lights. Just generic tungsten continuous lighting with umbrellas. but I do have 2 580exII and 1 480exII flashes.....are there any good setups you could recoommend by possible slaving some together in lieu of purchasing more studio lights?
thanks.
Kevin
www.ctm-photography.net
You can use the 580EX Speedlites in manual mode so they would work fine with simple radio slaves and bounced into umbrellas. If you use some dual flash umbrella brackets you can get some real power from the battery powered lights. Vivitar 285HV flashes also work pretty well and they're pretty cheap.
For dark churches or ceilings that won't work for any reason I use a 60" and a 45" umbrella, set in a "wall of light" configuration for groups, but sometimes the lights have different output to give a little differentiation. Part of the trick is getting the lights high enough to cast appropriate shadows. The higher your subjects, the higher the lights need to be.
If you use a scoop modifier for group shots you will need to have the light fairly close to the subjects, which means relatively short focal length lenses (not always desirable). For groups of any large number you really need more light, which you can get from more flashes.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums