shooting a beach wedding, need lens advice
- Thread starter warriormom
- Start date
I think Marcel brings up a very good point about light at the beach. Light at the beach is kind of like light in a snow scene. It is very very bright. The sunny 16 rule calls out a EV of 16 in those situations as opposed to the normal sunlight value of EV 15.
I think I would invest in a set of ND filters and learn them well beforehand. They're fairly cheap.
I think I would invest in a set of ND filters and learn them well beforehand. They're fairly cheap.
warriormom
Senior Member
@Eye-level-- i hate to say this, but what you just said is way over my head:sunny 16 rule calls out a EV of 16 in those situations as opposed to the normal sunlight value of EV 15. Come again? and westmill--slow flash sync? i don't even have a a flash yet, so flash terminology is not even really in my vocab yet. if you guys would splain a little more, i would be eternally grateful. thanks.
warriormom
Senior Member
i guess the reality is, since the wedding planner is my mother in law, that we can really set it up however makes the most sense for me. that's kind of silly, i realize, since that is not how it's going to be generally, and one would need to learn how to shoot in whatever scenario one is thrown into....however, that being said, at this particular beach, if you are standing on the beach facing the ocean, you are facing due south. the wedding will be at sunset, so if one is standing on the beach, looking at the ocean, the sun will be almost exactly to the right (again, looking at the ocean). This means the bride's face will be illuminated, while the groom will fully have his back to the sun. This is going to present a very interesting problem, now that i'm thinking about it. reflectors all the way, huh? gonna have to have at least one on the bride side to get some light back onto the groom...this is gonna take some planning, clearly, and i'm glad i've started now.
Sunny 16 rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Look at the chart of values you'll see they have sunny listed at f16 that is why it is called sunny 16...note what it says about snow sand...f22! That is the one stop from EV 15 to EV 16 that I was talking about...don't confuse EV and fstop. EV is exposure value and through EV is how meters read even the modern one in your D90.
Look at the chart of values you'll see they have sunny listed at f16 that is why it is called sunny 16...note what it says about snow sand...f22! That is the one stop from EV 15 to EV 16 that I was talking about...don't confuse EV and fstop. EV is exposure value and through EV is how meters read even the modern one in your D90.
OK...I'll try to make it simple and sweet. When you try to shoot subjects that are mostly white...eg the snow or at the beach on a bright sunny day...your meter will almost always get fooled. The pictures will be underexposed. The meter is designed to see middle toned subjects. Well in many white on white snaps and sand/desert snaps there are no middle tones so the meter does what it is programmed or whatever the case may be so it provides a shutter speed that makes the scene middle toned thus it underexposes the image. So the simple solution is to use your exposure compensation set to overexpose a stop or so. It doesn't work in all situations. Although this really applies more crucially to white on white snow scenes like Marcel said the beach can be intensely bright also...even in the evening.
Shooting a wedding at a beach presents special challenges!
Shooting a wedding at a beach presents special challenges!
Ruidoso Bill
Senior Member
"luckily i will also arrive on site at least a day, maybe two early and will be able to do some on-site experimenting"
This is the very best thing you can do, make sure you take a bunch of shots at the same time as the event, take some time during the evening to look at the shots (hope you bring a laptop) and you'll have the exposure down with confidence. I also suggest using your flash for fill to reduce the shadows and get a more even exposure, lots easier to PP that one filled with shadows and problems.
This is the very best thing you can do, make sure you take a bunch of shots at the same time as the event, take some time during the evening to look at the shots (hope you bring a laptop) and you'll have the exposure down with confidence. I also suggest using your flash for fill to reduce the shadows and get a more even exposure, lots easier to PP that one filled with shadows and problems.
ohkphoto
Snow White
I would also add this to Bill's suggestion: start working on the lighting as soon as you get your flash. Now that you know how the bride and groom will be positioned relative to the sun, try to duplicate it with a couple of friends in your backyard to get a feel for the fill lighting and reflector use. Then when you get to the actual scene, all you'll have to do is factor in the sand and water.
Slow flash sync allows you to shoot flash using a slow shutter speed. This way... the scenery is recorded perfectly while your subjects are nicely lit by flash. Otherwise your nice scenery could just turn into a black background. Dont worry, all will be explained in the manual when you buy the flash. Also use exposure bracketing ! This should ensure good results for you. Exposures will be tricky and will fool your light meter. Which is why I suggested using centre weighted and AE lock. I would make notes if I were you and sort them out bit by bit. It may all sound complex but its more a case of simplicity being the key here.
warriormom
Senior Member
wow! thanks for all the technical advice, y'all. still very much a newbie. honestly, i wouldn't be doing this wedding at all if they could afford someone better. i am pretty confident though, as i am pretty proud of a lot of photos i have taken in the last 8 months (since i got my camera). i have a lot to learn though, that is very obvious! i am reading the wiki-link you sent me, eye-level and now i'm a little confused. i tend to crank my shutter speed and keep my aperture no more than 5.6 or so (you might notice i do a lot of flowers, faces--bokeh rich things). does this mean i have been doing it wrong by not setting my aperture smaller? oh, i may be about to rethink this whole wedding thing.....
Oh NO NO NO...you are not doing it wrong. The link was just to illustrate the exposure values of shooting in sunny conditions and sand/snow conditions. If it is any consolation to you f5.6 is where I shoot most of my stuff...I might drop to f4 or go up to f8 sometimes but I generally stay in that range.
You can have a bright sunny day and shoot something at ISO 200, f16, and shutter speed of 125 and get a properly exposed picture. You can also shoot it at ISO 200, f5.6, and a shutter speed of 1000 and get a properly exposed picture. The only thing that changes really is the DOF.
You can have a bright sunny day and shoot something at ISO 200, f16, and shutter speed of 125 and get a properly exposed picture. You can also shoot it at ISO 200, f5.6, and a shutter speed of 1000 and get a properly exposed picture. The only thing that changes really is the DOF.
warriormom
Senior Member
i kinda laughed at myself after i posted that. if i had been doing it wrong, it stands to reason my pictures would be awful. i had just never heard of the sunny 16 rule. there is so much i don't know and really, i just shoot, ya know? i am just now starting to experiment with bracketing and features that my camera has that i haven't used, because i am beginning to understand why there is a usefulness for them. i am anxious to get my flash so i can start playing with it. i think it is going to be invaluable when it comes time to shoot. thanks for all your help! i am so thankful to this forum and for being able to get advice from seasoned folks. some photographers are so stingy with their wisdom, but not on here!