1st real wedding

Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
Lee532 said:
Excellent, job well done then.
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donaldjledet said:
Yes Scott job well done.
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Cheers, I learnt alot from this shoot and was happy with most photos but a few I totally F upped on like staggering the bridesmaids and groomsmen and taking a photo at F2.8 so that the centre couple are in focus but the rest aren't. And then topping it off, not realising that Auto ISO does not help when shooting with a SB-910. Lesson learnt and one of the reasons why I did it for free.
 
kevy73

kevy73

Senior Member
Good effort Scott - weddings can be nerve racking things... I actually get off on that thrill! It takes a strange breed of person to do so I am sure.

Keep practicing. I always try to use natural light where possible. Pose the bride / groom in positions where you can work this to your advantage. Don't be scared by jumping out of the box. The other little thing I have done in the past when starting was use some of the great wedding photographers works as inspiration. Memorise a few poses - you will never replicate it exactly, but you can use their idea / concepts to pose and get a great image. I found this invaluable when I started as it got rid of those moments where you seem to be struggling for idea's...

I also ALWAYS use rear flash at reception. It just works for me, and I find it helps stop wiping out all the colours of the room. General settings for receptions are shutter speed 40, F4, Flash on 1/4 power rear sync, ISO 400. I start there and tweak settings as I need.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
kevy73 said:
Good effort Scott - weddings can be nerve racking things... I actually get off on that thrill! It takes a strange breed of person to do so I am sure.

Keep practicing. I always try to use natural light where possible. Pose the bride / groom in positions where you can work this to your advantage. Don't be scared by jumping out of the box. The other little thing I have done in the past when starting was use some of the great wedding photographers works as inspiration. Memorise a few poses - you will never replicate it exactly, but you can use their idea / concepts to pose and get a great image. I found this invaluable when I started as it got rid of those moments where you seem to be struggling for idea's...

I also ALWAYS use rear flash at reception. It just works for me, and I find it helps stop wiping out all the colours of the room. General settings for receptions are shutter speed 40, F4, Flash on 1/4 power rear sync, ISO 400. I start there and tweak settings as I need.
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? 1/40..thats too little. for people? f/4 thats fine, but 1/40 is too slow for people. if you shoot CH you can possibly get a clean shot. but my vibrating the camera and the person im shooting together means blur.
ISO 400 is nothing. U can easily go up to 3200 with FF
 
kevy73

kevy73

Senior Member
Here are just a few links to pics I have taken @ around 1/40 (maybe even lower) with rear sync flash - it freezes the movement. I shoot first dances with those settings too :)

I have a D4, I can go to 12800, I don't want to.

10150777_825525770796433_1833902256_n.jpg


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I am not sure if FB removes exif data, but all of those images were taken with settings very close to or if not exactly what I described...

it sounds scary I know, but it truly works.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
that doesnt sound logical. takea chance with slow shutter speed and blur and have much less useable files or bump up the iso to 6400 (d4 has nothing at this iso) and get nice shutter speeds and great ambient, freeze people..hmm. we use stands and flashes/slaves, not for the extra light but more for the depth the light gives. I gel them sometimes as well. turn my flash off and the floor is completely washed with colors and gives the feeling of a discotheque.

you have a ferrari in your hand and yet youre driving it like a prius...
 
kevy73

kevy73

Senior Member
I disagree, I love the look - I don't do it because I have to, I do it because that is the look I, and more importantly my clients like. There is no chance involved. I rarely get a blurred image this way and I always get the residual ambient light rather than depending on extra off camera flashes.

Learned this technique from amazing photographers who photograph the nightclub scene... I can get more natural ambient light this way and that is what I prefer.

Not sure why I would want to place flashes everywhere when I can get the ambient light naturally with just a single speed light bounced of a ceiling or wall...

Anyhow, I think we have hijacked this gentlemans post enough.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
kevy73 said:
I disagree, I love the look - I don't do it because I have to, I do it because that is the look I, and more importantly my clients like. There is no chance involved. I rarely get a blurred image this way and I always get the residual ambient light rather than depending on extra off camera flashes.

Learned this technique from amazing photographers who photograph the nightclub scene... I can get more natural ambient light this way and that is what I prefer.

Not sure why I would want to place flashes everywhere when I can get the ambient light naturally with just a single speed light bounced of a ceiling or wall...

Anyhow, I think we have hijacked this gentlemans post enough.
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the thread wasnt active for two weeks till today. Scott wont mind our technical bickering. flashes are unobtrusive. its how Fstoppers shoot and many pros shoot today.

but something else which might answer why there are no gelled spot lights. arent there any lights in those venues? certainly there is no feel of a dance floor. people are dancing but the lighting is very drab. not about your pictures, just curious how the lighting is. we have some crazy venues where its more of a concert and you get some amazing pictures.

ATI4.jpgATI.jpgATI2.JPGATI3.jpg

thats some crazy lighting there. beautiful ambient and feel. thats a dance floor.
 
Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
kevy73 said:
Good effort Scott - weddings can be nerve racking things... I actually get off on that thrill! It takes a strange breed of person to do so I am sure.

Keep practicing. I always try to use natural light where possible. Pose the bride / groom in positions where you can work this to your advantage. Don't be scared by jumping out of the box. The other little thing I have done in the past when starting was use some of the great wedding photographers works as inspiration. Memorise a few poses - you will never replicate it exactly, but you can use their idea / concepts to pose and get a great image. I found this invaluable when I started as it got rid of those moments where you seem to be struggling for idea's...

I also ALWAYS use rear flash at reception. It just works for me, and I find it helps stop wiping out all the colours of the room. General settings for receptions are shutter speed 40, F4, Flash on 1/4 power rear sync, ISO 400. I start there and tweak settings as I need.
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Thanks Kev, I did a lot of research leading up to the wedding. I will be doing another but am not sure I would want to try and make a living out of it.
 
kevy73

kevy73

Senior Member
Great photo's rocketman, but every single one of your spot lights are frozen. Now if they were fixed at the wedding, awesome, but if like 99.9999% of the weddings that I go to, these lights aren't stationary, making the scene a moving, alive, energy full reception, the only way to try and capture that is with a longer exposure... which you can only acheive by lowering your ISO and lowering your shutter speed.

I also disagree that I am not driving it like a ferrari if I don't push the ISO up.... sorry, but that to me is a ludicrous statement. So rather than using sound skills and techniques, I should just max the ISO? I think more along the lines of I have a wonderfully built tool and it is up to me, the photographer to decide how best to use that tool. If I can achieve, what I, and my clients consider to be wonderful, clean images in low light without pushing my ISO up or without introducing new light sources to make my job easier - I ask which is the ferrari driver and which is the automatic prius driver?

Whilst I think we will have to agree to disagree on who is right, wrong or indifferent, you will have to agree, 1/40 isn't too slow and you are able to get sharp, clean images.

Whilst you can achieve the look you are going for, I can also achieve the look I am going for.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
kevy73 said:
Great photo's rocketman, but every single one of your spot lights are frozen. Now if they were fixed at the wedding, awesome, but if like 99.9999% of the weddings that I go to, these lights aren't stationary, making the scene a moving, alive, energy full reception, the only way to try and capture that is with a longer exposure... which you can only acheive by lowering your ISO and lowering your shutter speed.

I also disagree that I am not driving it like a ferrari if I don't push the ISO up.... sorry, but that to me is a ludicrous statement. So rather than using sound skills and techniques, I should just max the ISO? I think more along the lines of I have a wonderfully built tool and it is up to me, the photographer to decide how best to use that tool. If I can achieve, what I, and my clients consider to be wonderful, clean images in low light without pushing my ISO up or without introducing new light sources to make my job easier - I ask which is the ferrari driver and which is the automatic prius driver?

Whilst I think we will have to agree to disagree on who is right, wrong or indifferent, you will have to agree, 1/40 isn't too slow and you are able to get sharp, clean images.

Whilst you can achieve the look you are going for, I can also achieve the look I am going for.
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great kevin. thank you for the technical advice. I will pass your technique to other photographers. iso 400 and shutter speeds up to 1/40. thumbs up.
 
kevy73

kevy73

Senior Member
Scott Murray said:
Thanks Kev, I did a lot of research leading up to the wedding. I will be doing another but am not sure I would want to try and make a living out of it.
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No worries Scott - if you get another request but don't want to do it, let me know, I would love to fly up from Perth to the Territory!! Ha....
 
kevy73

kevy73

Senior Member
Be happy to Rocketcowboy. Happy to travel anywhere. I am being flown up to Broome in July for a wedding this year. I nearly got a gig in Greece this year too. Was super pumped but their Greek wedding planner booked them a Greek wedding photographer without asking if that is what they wanted.... bummer...
 
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