Gelling backdrops at weddings - practicalities - also reflectors.

I'm expected to use backdrops a lot for my line of work with weddings. Jewish

Weddings stretch right through the winter and here in the UK it is usually

extremely damp/raining as well as pitch black by the time we get to the B&G

portraits.

 

I have a couple of muslins which I use but it has long got past the point where

my work is looking the same throughout weddings as the backdrop is the same.

This makes it very hard to be original when using backdrops.

 

I've gelled backdrops before (grey or black) in a controlled enviroment, i.e. a

studio, where I can control the level of ambient light (switch it off

basically) and fiddle the backdrop light till it looks right.

 

My question is: how practical would it be to gel a backdrop on location where I

might not be able to control the ambient light sufficiently? I use iso 100 at a

1/160 f5.6 when shooting with a backdrop and strobes so as to control the

ratios between my 2 lights without ambient effecting it, will this cut off the

ambient enough to work gelling backdrops? Once you are used to it, i.e. with

practise, is it fast to set up? I usually have plenty time, Orthodox Jewish

weddings stretch from 1pm to midnight and a good hour or two is set aside for

family and B&G photos so taking 5 minutes to set up isn't a problem. Fiddling

and trying it out multiple times is as it looks extremely unprofessional.

 

Secondly, when I've shot in studio I've used a reflector for a softer fill, on

location I almost always use a 2 light setup for maximum control, especially

with full length portraits and knowing what ratio I've dialed in rather than

using the reflector, taking test shots and then deciding to move it closer or

further away. Is there anyone with advise for using reflectors for studio on

location (not to manupulate natural light which is a different kettle of fish)

who has any advice?

 

I'm moving up to a level at present where I'm about to challenge the price

level of photographers working the market at double my price and the quality

and originality of my work has to reflect that to a level where I can compete

based on the 'wow' factor and especially with originality. To that extent I've

started shooting with a 2nd body, shallow DOF (f1.4) and ambient light only as

well as my usual flash heavy work. I have to take my lighting to the next level

too though and although I've done that for certain parts of the wedding, I

really feel I need to improve the studio portraiture side of things, especially

as it's so much expected from my market.

Personally, I find nothing beats good old natural & available light. It helps keep the

natural and real look of the actual environment.

<p>

I'd never think of putting up a backdrop for a wedding. I've always been able to find some

suitable place for formals, whether it's indoors or out. And there's never any worries

about having the same background over and over. People want to remember where they

were. Who wants their photos to look like they got married in a studio. <p>

 

But every client has different tastes. In the rare occasions I've needed to use off camera

strobe, it's only been for the formals in dark situations. For that I have a single Lumedyne

and dial it down to let in as much ambient light as possible, and probably throw a gel on

the light to balance with what's usually tungsten ambient lighting. I also don't have a

problem going up to 400ASA even for the formals.

<p>

In my opinion, simple setups work the best. The less you have to fiddle with lights and

equipment, the more you can focus on the people which is more important from my

experience. An assistant helps also.

Please folks, I know that my requirements are not standard and an anethama to many of you, but then I don't need to hear about it as it doesn't answer my question or help in the slightest!

Lighting is one of those things that you get faster at with experience. I've seen photographers who can plop down a couple of lights and pretty much get the look and exposure nailed right out of the box. The more you do it the better you'll get.

 

With a light backdrop you can make it any tone from white to black depending on how much light you hit it with. You can also gel it to whatever color you want. You do need a pretty fair amount of space between the subjects and the backdrop so that the main lights don't light up the back drop. Also think about grids for a spot of light/color on the backdrop when shooting one or two people.

 

Rather than trying to get a holder and playing with reflectors, I would either get a soft box or a shoot through umbrella for fill. A soft box gives better control, but takes longer to put together. There are some soft boxes that a made like an umbrella and set up faster. A shoot through umbrella lets you set the light much closer to the subject so the light is softer, but there's a lot of spill with an umbrella and if you're gelling the backdrop it will complicate things.

 

One thing that can really speed things up is an assistant. A good old fashioned assistant that lugs gear and knows how to setup lights. As you move up in price having an assistant helps you and makes you look more "high end".

Ben, you can gel if needed. I think the only challenge would be attaching gels for those larger backdrops and larger group photos. Gels are usually reserved for smaller groups where you have enough room between your subject and the background fo a backdrop light with a gel attached.

 

Any background can be gelled. You can even gel without a backdrop. I've used blue gels to add more punch to an image and it simply ads a slight color cast to your background or architectural details. I've attached gels to my Vivitar 285 off camera units, AB strobes, even over recessed cieling lights (twice - not something I'd suggest).

 

You should not need to adjust your normal settings, but you can adjust the settings of the gelled background light for whatever effect you are looking for. If your main or fill lights are overpowering, obviously the gel will show up as a small spot of color on a background. You *may* need to drop your shutter speed to collect more ambient light and reduce the output of your main and fill lights.

 

You will find that as clients pay more for your services, you will see fewer boring reception locations.

 

Have fun!

Chris

"My question is: how practical would it be to gel a backdrop on location where I might not be able to control the ambient light sufficiently? I use iso 100 at a 1/160 f5.6 when shooting with a backdrop and strobes so as to control the ratios between my 2 lights without ambient effecting it, will this cut off the ambient enough to work gelling backdrops?"

 

Ben, I don't have a lot of experience with gelling, especially at weddings. But, I can tell you , if you are shooting with the settings you mentioned above, the ambient should not be too much of a concern unless you are outdoors or in a VERY BRIGHT room. Your ambient light reading will be much lower than the above mentioned settings, therefore your strobe lighting will be all that registers on your sensor. You can always try and scout out a darker area, or if you are starting to get too close with your ambient reading, bump up your studio lights to overpower your ambient. Shoot at F8 or F11.

Thanks Chris, the gelling idea was for the B&G portraits not the group photos where having a large enough backdrop plus the needed amount of space would make it an impossibility! I suppose the most important thing would be to keep as much light as possible off the backdrop from the main lights..

Hi Ben,

 

You might well be aware of this (I'm sure), but here's my take:

 

what lights are you using? You say you get 1/160 at f5.6/100ISO, so are these lights controlled manually? whats the max power they put out?

 

usually where I shoot (rather dark riding arenas) 1/160 f5.6 is enough to block out any ambient and just register the flash on the digi (or film), so that would mean that you can gel the backlight (what ratio is it at?) to any color you wish without being impacted by ambient...

 

basically if your strobes are all manual you can go to 1/200 or whatever the X-sync on your cam is without affecting the exposure, as the flash exposure is only controlled by the f stop (flash duration much shorter then the shutter speed anyway)

 

Is there a possibility to get an f8@1/200 or even f11@1/200 or so? that usually is enough to cancel out any ambient even in rather well lit rooms (it sure works for my living room lights)

 

for the reflectors, they will work exactly on location as they do in the studio, meaning give the same flash f stop setting, and the same distance to the subject, they will act predictably... so I would test it out in the studio, remember your distances and go with that... You'll get pretty good at guesstimating this with experience anyway, but to make sure you don't have to fiddle on location just come up with a formula that works and use it (basic I know, but that works for me)

 

of course the above might not work if you are working outside in the blazing sun which goes to f16@1/125, for that scenario you would need bigger flashes... elinchrom makes good portable ones, as do all the major manufactorers (sp?) but then if your flashes are daylight balanced you might let the ambient in without skewing your whitebalance (and you can gel the backdrop one, it will register correctly, but you might need more power for it)

 

kinda long post... my take is try it in the studio, and come up with a robust working scenario, then use that... if your power settings and distances are the same, then your scenario will act predictably, and can be adapted to the ambient settings

 

hope this helps

oh btw on modifiers...

 

umbrellas make soft light, but they can give huge headaches when it comes to gelling the backdrop and avoiding spill... also reflections of the walls due to umbrella spill are hard to avoid) If you use umbrellas use the shoot through types, they can be positioned much closer to the subject, thus giving softer light

 

a softbox is easier to control (and can be flagged more efficiently), but takes time to assemble (and gives rectangle catch lights...)

 

for fill I would use softboxes (flagged if necessary to not spill on the background), for key light grids (honeycomb filters) are very handy (very controlled spill, and still not so hard light as a snoot or spot)

 

again, all this will act predictably on location if you have a working formula, and stick to it (ok, might get boring after a while, but nobody says you need to use the same setup every time, just test it out before in the studio)

I think your settings are enought to cut out most of the ambient unless you are in a very bright location. And you could always go smaller f stop and faster shutter speed if not. I would think that given the right accessories, you'd be able to devise a kit that can be set up and taken down easily. I agree with most above that softboxes would be better for controlling light spilling onto the background. I also agree that gelling would not work too well on larger group shots, and that you would need some space both behind the subjects and between you and the subjects. I would look into the type of softbox that operates on the umbrella-spoke design, or those collapsible ones. I believe Lastolite makes them--called EZ Box? Or Westcott Apollos. And get lots of flags.

I answered a similar question elswhere, and essentially you just need a 3 stop difference at the background from where the subject is. If you can get that with your flash meter, you should have no problem. This is my best recollection of what Ed Pierce taught for in studio and should still apply in any studio setting whether studio or other location.

Ben,

 

I have a suggestion. How about purchasing a collapsible green screen and using digital

backdrops?

 

Go here:

http://www.owens-originals.com/cdrom/originalom.html

 

You can purchase a green screen and use any backdrop you want afterwards.

 

You can still be creative in your posinbg and lighting techniques.

 

Eric