melisa Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Hello, just curious what your approach is to the little things and details of a wedding? Most of my detail work has so far been with my 50mm and a slow 80-200mm in available light, however, recently when I was practicing with the flowers in the yard with my new 85mm and flash--I botched some. Haven't done much macro and I do not have a macro lens--was just wondering if you could point me in the right direction? How do you shoot the little things--boutonniere, rings, arrangements, etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliff_henry Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Melisa, Great question! I have trouble w/these shots also. I've been shooting them w/my 28-80 f2.8-4L lens, which will focus very close, 540EZ flash w/softbox. I just tilt flash head down, set to about f16, 1/60, manual mode, and -1 flash compensation. I always check flash couple range before shooting. Results are O.K. but I'm not happy with just O.K. and have been testing different ways to do these shots. My test so far have been with a 100 f2.8 Macro lens with and without flash. Best results so far were: flower, ring, glass on white cloth, camera on tripod, remote release, flash w/Lumiquest 20/80 ProMax using white insert and diffuser. Evalutive meter, camera +1 compensation, flash +1 compensation. All my shots are on film. I still have more testing to do. In the mean time I just keep shooting the same old way at weddings - there just is never enough time to show down and take time for a good Macro setup. I hope some more experienced shooters will chime in here and help us both. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill.akstens Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 85mm prime with an inexpensive set of close-up filters (maybe $50 for a set +1/+2/+4) will work well. I use available light only on a tripod. Takes some time to set up each shot with this setup but the results are good. I photograph the flowers/invitation/rings while the bride is dressing. There are more expensive 2-element close-up filters available but I haven't tried them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 The Canon 2 element filters are quite good. They work better than close up tubes because you don't lose any light with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Keep using the 85mm but get a set of good quality close-up filters for it like an above poster recommended. Always try to use open shade or diffused lighting outside--avoid direct sunlight unless it is diffused, which might add sparkle to a set of rings. Outdoors or in, if you need more light, use a flash but never directly. Use bounced light off a ceiling (no white card fill) or a white bounce card or am Omnibounce at the very least. If I can't bounce off the ceiling, I use a white card in the "clamshell" position.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asimh Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 as far as the close up diopters, based on what i have read, the nikon 5t and 6t are considerably cheaper than the canon optics. however, they come in different diameters so you might have to use a step-down ring. just something to keep in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_ Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 A AF 50mm f1.4D or a AF 35mm f2D Nikkor lens has enough 'close-focus' ability for a wedding. If you use the Nikon type speedlight, just pull out the wide-angle diffuser plate and set the lens to 18mm (or 20mm) and pull the flash-head down one notch. This will give you enough 'macro' coverage for hands, flowers, marriage licenses, etc. (If you go to close-up rings, it is sometimes not good for rapid work at a wedding, as you have to take time out to put the rings on, then to remove the rings.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_p7 Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 I was going to post this for comments in a separate thread, but it seems appropriate here. It's not really a closeup, but has the items you mentioned. This was a grab shot outside while I was shooting some formals at a wedding on Saturday.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimberly c. Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Great shot, I always try to sway the bride torwards getting a colorful bouquet, I dont really like how the all white bouquets photograph. For detail shots I always use my 28-200 macro, for me it always works and it gives me room to experiment with available light and/or flash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melisa Posted May 19, 2004 Author Share Posted May 19, 2004 Thank you for your suggestions and for sharing your photos, I appreciate it so much. I'm happy to know close-up filters are recommended--seems much easier to work with than switching out lenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberwolf1 Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Make a temporary "ceiling" above the flowers with a light disc by Flexfill. You can use a white card, too. Point your flash upward at this temporary ceiling held above the flowers. As a result, you will have soft light. It works every time for me. The look of this light is nearly identical to a softbox in softness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WM Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Melisa, Some of the mid-range zooms actually have a macro function on them at certain distances, so if you are going to do weddings, it is probably a good idea to get a mid-range zoom..........though some people might disagree, but I am not very experienced, so having the zoom to compensate my skills (or lack of in my case) helps me a lot. Heehee ! Here's a shot using a Sigma 24/1.8 on a Canon 10d witha 1.6x crop factor, and it was a really dark room, so I bounced my 550ex flash off the celing to give a fairly even lighting on the P mode, to make sure that the full exposure relies on the flash power. Keep on shootin'.............Wee-Ming<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I use a 50mm & no flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmahler5th Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I shot this one with Nikormat Ftn and 50mm 2.0 with Kodak HIE Infrared film. I would have preferred there be more contrast in the image, which is something that can be fixed with exposure, but I like this effect, and the 50mm lens without flash I think was a good choice for this shot.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think27 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Nadine -- please limit image size to less than 500 pixels in width. This way it appears on this page and doesn't eat up valuable space... Cheers... Mary Ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picturesque Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 Mary, I made a mistake and put in 512 pixels instead of 511 on this image. Will try to not make that mistake again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueworldstudios Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I love using a 50/1.4 @ 1.4. It focuses pretty close, you don't get any wide angle distortion, and the narrow DOF helps eliminate the almost ever present bad background. This was lit by ambient light and a 550ex at -1.3 with an omnibounce gelled to match ambient.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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