Problems with Church Lighting and Reception

Also, getting another camera will not solve your problems. And an on-camera softbox will not soften the light or reduce shadows, merely diffuse it slightly (very slightly) and the shadows remain. Shadows have more to do with where the flash is in relation to the subject.

Hi Kelly,

 

As you say you've already done a lot of reading and research I'm not sure this is helpful but there's a nice

website with a lot of explanations on getting good results bouncing on-camera flash:

 

http://planetneil.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/

 

He also gives specific examples with settings so it might help give you an idea of what works. As people have

suggested even when using a flash its probably a good idea to work at high iso and use a fast lens. Also, if

you're worried about direct on-camera flash but don't have the power to bounce the flash you can try to go the

strobist way by getting an extra flash or two and some cheap Cactus wireless triggers. You could then set these

up strategically before the wedding to try to get more even lighting. You could control the overall lighting and

the ambiant/flash ratio but just tuning your shutter speed to aperture/iso ratio. Much more info is available on

the strobist website:

 

http://strobist.blogspot.com/

 

I've never tried this myself (it sounds a bit elaborate) so take it with a grain of salt. It might be a cheap

way to get better lighting.

Kelly,

 

Don't throw out the mini bouncer just yet! It can still be useful in some situations. It you are already bouncing off a white ceiling in a normal sized room the min bouncer will add a "catch light" to the eyes. If the ceiling is too high to use bounce they won't put enough light forward to be much use. It's more of an extra item you can switch to when doing formals or other slower paced stuff in one location I have stofen's too, but never use them, they waste a lot of light and don't make the light as diffuse as the soft box, and provide a smaller source area, though I know some photogs who swear by them. The soft box is very good for general purpose use and is very efficient.

 

As far as a camera I'd suggest a used canon 20D. They are on ebay now for around $400 for the body if you are patient. It can be your backup camera once you can afford to get a newer canon down the road. Nikon people can tell you the best deals on pro-ish Nikon bodys. The lenses and flashes are going to be the expensive part. You need FAST glass and the most powerful flashes, and you need backups of everything! I bring $1600 worth of canon branded flashes to every wedding so my 2nd shooter and I both have backups (or so we can use them as wireless slaves on stands or in hand), and thats not including the studio strobes we use sometimes for large groups or to light large halls. Photo gear is expensive, especially pro level stuff. If you are really serious about running a photo business you might want to consider writing up a business plan and trying to get a loan.Your portfolio will grow faster and better the sooner you get the right gear and learn how to use it well.

 

What Nadine said is true, and a lot of it comes down to technique, but it is a lot easier to get the techniques right when you have the right gear. You can't ever shoot at f1.4 or 2.8 unless you have a lens that opens up that far! You'll also find that each camera system takes some getting used to. For instance, Nikon and Canon lenses generally have focusing rings and mounts which turn in opposite directions which is annoying if you switch back and forth. So go to a good store and try to get your hands on some cameras and see what you like and then make the commitment to working on your techniques and learning all you can.

 

It sounds kind of dorky, and is a bit off topic, but sometimes I just sit or stand in my living room with my bracketed camera, flash and all and practice "quick draw" grabbing the camera for a lowered position and focusing, as well as fast rotation on the bracket. I recently switched from a quick filp bracket to a Stroboframe RB4 (they are hard to find now, the closest thing still available new is called the RB Pro or something like that) and I like it a lot more. It is VERY big and it puts the flash nice and high and the focusing and rotation are much nicer and easier to do, despite it weighing a lot more. My 2nd shoot prefers a smaller bracket, but shes pretty small.Everyone's different and the quest for the perfect bracket will never end! I have modified all of the various brackets I've used in some small or large way. I added a cable release to my quick flip so I could fire the shutter with my left hand, and also added a 2nd hot shoe to hold my wireless flash trigger. I created a foam wrist wrest for the RB4 which is what makes is so comfortable. I guess the moral is to try as much as you can and try to figure out what will work best for you. Good Luck!

Hi Kelly,

 

Sorry to post a second time but I read over a few other comments and have a bit more to add. If you want another

camera that has decent high iso performance then from the canon camp I recommend a 450d or a 40d. The 40d will

probably be get price reduction since a 50d seems on the way (or at least more used 40d's will be available).

Nikon has similar offerings that probably allow for better long-term upgrades (D700 or D3) but for now the 40d is

cheaper than a d300.

 

Regarding high iso -- noise is not always bad if it looks like grain. I doubt clients will care that much and

they might even like the effect. Check out Jeff Ascough's site:

 

http://www.jeffascough.com/

 

You'll see many photos with noticeable grain that are still quite nice (especially in BW). From what I understand

he shoots with a canon 1Dm3s + 24-70 f/2.8 and prefers using natural light rather than flash. Of course this

camera is out of your price range but for practical use I think the kit I recommend below will enjoy many of the

same benefits.

 

You could get a 40d + tamron 17-55 f/2.8 + 50 f/1.8 for around $1.5k or maybe less if you get used stuff. This

would get you good performance up to iso 1600 and 6 fps which is also useful. I'd only recommend this if you're

sure your oly cannot satisfy your high-iso needs since you'd be dumping a lot of equipment. For longer range

shots you could eventually get a sigma 50-150 f2.8.

 

If you consider my earlier off-camera flash suggestions I'd recommend getting some cheap vivitar flashes 285HV

($85 a unit) with the cactus V2s receivers ($20-30) from ebay. If you have an assistant that can walk around and

manage the flashes then you really can avoid your flash issues.

 

Once more I've never shot weddings so my advice is mostly theoretical but perhaps other, more experienced people,

can comment on how useful it is.

 

Good luck

Weddings are one area where low noise at high iso is an incredible advantage. If I could afford a D700 I would buy it in a

heartbeat. Currently I shoot my D200 at up to ISO 800 with good results. You are complaining about blur in situations

where the ambient light is very low. The best way to freeze action in those situations is to use a strobe, but simply

using a strobe does not ensure the elimination of motion blur. If you are using strobe and still getting blur then your

shutter speed is too low and there is to much ambient light exposing the picture. In general with low shutter speeds, if

the ambient light is not 2 stops darker than your flash, you will have potential to see a lot of motion blur. If the Ambient

light is darker than that It does not matter what shutter speed you are at because the flash will freeze the motion without

any interference.

 

As for bouncing strobe, it is far less efficient to bounce than it is to shoot direct. The intensity of any light falls off

quickly with distance and when you bounce you are greatly increasing the distance the light has to travel. This also

dramatically increases recycle time and it dramatically reduces battery life. That said, I bounce as often as possible to

create softer more attractive light. With my SB 800 I can bounce and get F 4 @ iso 800 in most banquet halls. If the

ceilings are dark or higher than 20 Ft. then bouncing becomes impractical at ISO 800. In order to make it practical in the

first place, I use a Lumedyne battery pack that recharges a full power discharge in about 2 seconds. When the ceilings

are high I'm sure the TTL system is producing a near full power discharge.

 

Walk downs are tough to freeze. If you are trying to show some ambient light, it is a balancing act. I almost always

shoot the walk downs at ISO 800, F 4, and 1/80th. If the ceilings are low and light toned I bounce. If not, I shoot direct

on camera flash. If your exposures are inconsistent, the main reasons would be that the TTL is fooled by relatively

bright and relatively dark subjects. To correct this you need to dial in exposure compensation appropriate for the

subject.. Another reason could be you are shooting faster than the flash can recycle. To correct this, buy a professional

battery pack and flash system that will recycle fast at full power. As I mentioned, I use a Nikon SB 800 With a

Lumedyne battery pack.

thought i already posted this, but ill try again,

 

thanks to everyone, great ideas, sounds like i have to do some more reading, especially the link info you gave me. My next wedding is in October, hired by a pro photographer because she doesnt like doing family weddings, so the pressure is on.

Kelly, as Nadine said, the use of dragging is not meant to show dragging light/blurred images (though some of that can be pleasing if done well). The technique is employed to bring a greater degree/balance to the ambient while using flash to expose and subsequently freeze the subject(s).

 

So, with that in mind perhaps do this exercise for practice before you get to much further.

 

1) wait for evening time

 

2) emulate the lighting you expect (lamp or two usually does the trick for this) in your home.

 

3) work out what the exposure should be (manual mode) for proper exposure.

 

4) Set your exposure for (aperture stopped down or ISO lowered to get there) about 1 1/3 to 2 stops (this amount will depend on how much you like to include of the ambient) UNDER. Then use your flash in TTL with center weighted metering on cam.

 

Note: Dragging the shutter is a term normally associated with slowing the shutter speed to around 1/30 down to 1/8th. You can play between the SS and the aperture/iso to determine what you like best. Also remember that your SS controls the amount flash needed. For a slow SS you do need to be sure your ambient is not too close to the exposure you set.

 

5) Shoot a teddy bear or if you can get one, a moving/dancing human. Bounce your flash, shoot directly and also use a bounce card.

 

6) Change your settings on camera/flash for different effects (especially important if you can get a moving subject.

 

You will get some familiarity with the idea before the day this way and know somewhat how to proceed when you are presented with your particular lighting scenario.

 

Best, D.

Just a thought Kelly, if you don't use one, try a MonoPod, can buy you an extra two stops without getting the shakes. Once you get used to using one it folds up and down in a trice. I use an old Velbon, but there are lots around, most of the Press boys use them with those massive APO Zooms too, and they don't waste money on what does not work.

 

Jim