Which processing for this image

[RockyNH_RIP]

I ended up with these, and a few more. Not truly happy about them, I would have liked to nail the images in the camera, I think it shows, that I didn't.. I really dont hope I'll be spending a lot of time in this room, its such a difficult place






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Mai, I think you are being to hard on yourself... and often we all do... Remember, you have not done that much wedding and in the crowded areas with people etc, it is not an easy task.. I like your images... but most important, what does the client think!!!???

Pat in NH

 

[rocketman122]

when its tight in a room, that is what you have to deal with. you do the best you can under the circumstances. tall ceiling? how high? the last photo looks like you had some space to go back?
do you use slaves/with off camera flash? you captured some great emotions and thats what makes a photo stand out. because im looking at them and smiling. im very emotional in events. specifically the ceremony. I get teary eyed on quite a few of them. I hold myself back and have to force myself to focus. I hope you didnt use the sigma though and used the 35mm and 50mm when you had the chance.

shooting specs on these? lens/aperture/shutter.

 

[wud]

Mai, I think you are being to hard on yourself... and often we all do... Remember, you have not done that much wedding and in the crowded areas with people etc, it is not an easy task.. I like your images... but most important, what does the client think!!!???

Pat in NH

I know The client are happy and we are both satisfied with the rest of the images (family and wedding portraits). And I do know this was a learning experience, and at least now I know some of the stuff I shouldn't be doing in this tiny room.

when its tight in a room, that is what you have to deal with. you do the best you can under the circumstances. tall ceiling? how high? the last photo looks like you had some space to go back?
do you use slaves/with off camera flash? you captured some great emotions and thats what makes a photo stand out. because im looking at them and smiling. im very emotional in events. specifically the ceremony. I get teary eyed on quite a few of them. I hold myself back and have to force myself to focus. I hope you didnt use the sigma though and used the 35mm and 50mm when you had the chance.

shooting specs on these? lens/aperture/shutter.

The room is tiny, no natural light at all. High sealing, awful colors on the walls (sorry, but I really think). Behind me, guests are standing, the room was pretty packed. Besides me, the guy who did the ceremony are standing. Not much I could do - besides using a way better flash with a good softbox, and a higher aperture.

I only used the 35mm for this ceremony. And I LOVE this lens, so my problem where mostly the lack of natural light. Or at least a prober artificial light (which they have not, its pretty dark in there).

Last, but not least, the room are way to hot, so everybody starts to sweat after a few minutes, clearly a bad combination when using flash.


Most images are f/7.1 and this should have been higher. Shutter are around 1/200, which of course are due to the flash I used (SB700 with the small softener you can pull out). I mostly bounced the flash up at the seiling and then in PP, gave a some more light at the bottom of the images (so clearly, not enough power on the flash).

 

[rocketman122]

f/7.1? you mean you should have shot at 8 or smaller? why dont you use the speed of the lens? these nikon primes are razor sharp from one stop down. and 2 stops down its just amazing. in that situation I would shoot at most f/5 and most of the time I would shoot at f/4. shutter never goes higher than 1/160 when im on the dance floor and usually at 1/125 since youre shooting a wide angle lens and movement isnt as pronounced as from 85mm and up. so that setup is more than enough speed and depth of field. the lighting would be much more balanced between flash and ambient light. on the d3, I shoot at 4-5000 iso on the dance floor but in a ceremony, 3200 is no issue if the exposure is good.

do you use slaves for off camera flash? I use 2. commlite G430 which has a ttl pass through hot shoe and will fire the off camera flash in manual. and I have the yongnuo 622n for ttl control but mainly use it for hss flash outdoors when I shoot the BG. with the commlite, I would use my yongnuo 560III on the commlite and use a small flash base/shoe and just place it somewhere in the area im shooting and bounce it at the ceiling. that and the on camera flash and at aperture of up to f/4.5 and it would be a nice soft lighting.

everyone does what they feel is right but I dont think it would be an issue to get pictures with no flash shadows at all in that place.

 

[wud]

I tried without flash, that didn't work. Don't remember which ISO, but high and shutter would then be 1/60 or below..

Yeah, I mean smaller . F/4 if I was to do it over. Love that f/4!

I had the flash on the camera, and there are really not a lot of space, and the room only opens, when everybody are called in, to start this (quick) ceremony.

But I have thought about, how I could get at least 1 more flash in there.


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[wud]

But besides - I was very new to flash, I got it not long before this wedding, so I didn't know so much about using it. I am renting a studio now, which is great, I am learning a lot (using lamps though, which I really like).

I do have some problems using f/1.4 - f/2, it's to bright even if I turn the lamps all the way down.

And also using faster shutter than 1/200, often I get the black bottom. Should I just move the lamps further away, do you know?




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[rocketman122]

But besides - I was very new to flash, I got it not long before this wedding, so I didn't know so much about using it. I am renting a studio now, which is great, I am learning a lot (using lamps though, which I really like).

I do have some problems using f/1.4 - f/2, it's to bright even if I turn the lamps all the way down.

And also using faster shutter than 1/200, often I get the black bottom. Should I just move the lamps further away, do you know?


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no, dont move the flashes away. the light source will be harsher. you should always want the light source closer to the subject. diffusion panel and distance between the light source to the subject determines how soft the lighting will be. if you dont have neutral density grey gels, take regular a4 paper and tape it on the flash head to diminish its strength. use as much as you need to get the output you need. just be aware it will warm up the head a bit. or even a cotton white shirt. any white fabric that can let light through it will be fine. its not optimal but if you dont have NDgrey filters then thats what you have to work with. make sure to turn the modeling lights of though.duh. but keep the fan on for cooling if it allows.

not sure how many light sources youre using. but imo the 2:1 lighting ratio is nice to start with. for proper proportions always light the short side of the face. add a rim lighting if you want. thats always nice and makes portraits look more professional IMO. +2 stops above your lowest light metered is a good start and work from there. meaning, your main light is lighting the long side of the face is f/2 and the short side is metering at f/2.8, the back should be f/4 or more to get the glow. not trying to be condescending. I just dont know what you know or dont. so dont want to waste endless posts.

keep the umbrella/softbox/beauty dish close to the subject though. just lower the output. not too high though or youll get deeper shadows under the nose and it might now light the eyes well. are you using the 105 for face/ chest torso (not waist) shots? its also better working distance so your subject is more relaxed and it will show in the pics. better isolation from the background which makes them pop out. sticking a lens closer to the subject seems to stress some people. I almost never use the 50 for face shots. its not as aesthetic as an 85mm and up. for half body its nice and full body as well. but the focal length is just meh IMO.

since youre new to the studio session I would suggest you not use the sigma/nikon zooms. learn to use the primes. they will make you a more aware photog. its harder and you have to move much more so but for composition and better control of perspective they are the way to go. theres also a different quality to primes that zooms just cant touch. even the top end 2.8 ones.

cheers and good luck.

 

[wud]

Thank you for your reply. I need a little time thinking

It's different which lens I use but I have only used the primes - 105, 50, 35. Which I really enjoy.

I've been using 2 lamps with big soft boxes, but yesterday I tried using 4, haven't looked properly at the images yet. I still couldn't get the shutter above 1/200, I would like it to be around 1/800 (for kids + dogs pictures, they don't hold still).


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[rocketman122]

Thank you for your reply. I need a little time thinking

It's different which lens I use but I have only used the primes - 105, 50, 35. Which I really enjoy.

I've been using 2 lamps with big soft boxes, but yesterday I tried using 4, haven't looked properly at the images yet. I still couldn't get the shutter above 1/200, I would like it to be around 1/800 (for kids + dogs pictures, they don't hold still).


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Thanks for the likes. I have never came across someone shooting faster than xsync so the only thing I can think of is HSS/FP flash. its much less power but it will work since you'll be at pretty open apertures. and only speedlights will do it. u can mount them to bounce through/in an umbrella or use it in a softbox. but the issue is if they move around and the exposure will change. do you have a flash that can sync at fast than 1/250? youll need a flash on the camera to be a master though. u will need multiple flashes and then were talking about a lot of money. freezing action is quite hard. and its not like a drop of water into a bowl action where you can use a tripod and be done with it. its all over the place erratic movement. pfff thats hard.

primes are the best for learning, but since you say youre shooting moving objects, I will recommend you use the zooms. more so the 70-200. its not easy when things are moving. recomposing by moving and trying to freeze movement is just too hard.

 

[wud]

Oh that was maybe an idea! Using my flash too - it can be used with high shutter speeds. Maybe it can fill in the black part at the bottom. Worth a try!

Or else moving myself further away and then crop the bottom.

I think the primes are excellent using, it's not a problem with the object moving out of the frame, it's blur which cause some otherwise good pictures, going straight to the trash.


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[wud]

And btw, I am using a tricker on camera, a receiver on one of the lamps and the other lamp(s) are triggered by the light, my flash triggers by light as well.


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