Shooting in difficult venues

[ralph_wilson]

<p>In a recent dialog with a respected wedding photographer the

comment was made

that they (to paraphrase) get to deal mostly with attractive brides

in

attractive venues. It made me think of the opportunities that are

available to

metropolitan shooters that are not always there for us country

folk.</p>

<p>Many of my receptions are held in volunteer fire department social

halls.

Maybe it easier shooting because you have solid cinder block walls to

bounce

your flash off of and your flash won't destroy the mood of the

fluorescent

lighting. The only lights not turned on are the bingo board. (Aptly

captured by

my partner)</p>

<p>When I did weddings in the 90's I stressed over the problem. Now I

shoot more

of a documentary style and try to work in the stacks of folding

chairs in the

corner.</p>

<p>(Now my questions) </p>

<p>How do you deal with difficult venues without doing a disservice

to the B&G?

Shoot everything tight is not the answer I'm looking for. That is too

easy.</p>

<p>Also how does this hamper you from building a portfolio of

stunning samples

to represent your talents?</p><div></div>

[maury_cohen]

Your ability to work with light, your timing and your personality will make you valuable to your clients, or not.

Getting in tighter can certainly help as well (as you allude to).

 

Brides to be will be able to see the love and care in the sample albums if it's there.

[fotografz]

Fast lenses, wide open, make any background dreamy looking, even a bingo board.

 

Look for the light, and use it to your advantage.

 

Other than that, I think stuff like bingo boards is pretty cool.<div></div>

[ralph_wilson]

Well, I like the bingo boards too. It's a sign of the times. I just wonder if the bride sees it that way.

[steve_levine]

When I shoot anywhere with a distracting background, I take the steps to darken it.This is normally done with fast shutter speeds and flash.

 

 

As for fire hall weddings, the tableware is plastic, the champagne is in a keg, but the people are real.

[stacy]

That is difficult Ralph! I think I would try to create some dramatic lighting with a slaved flash and shoot atleast somewhat closer. There is just nothing to gain by showing the whole ugly room- for your bride or your portfolio. Unless maybe the crowd is going wild and having the best time ever- that could compensate for the bad room :)

 

This is not a great example because the room was pretty nice, but just to show what a flash opposite the camera will do. Good Luck! Maybe you'll get some outdoor spots this summer...<div></div>

[todd frederick]

When you have many distractions, I see nothing wrong with tight cropping. Why not use both and select the best?

[rich_dutchman1]

Yep, shoot wide open for the blur.

 

The background doesn't have to be distracting. Try having fun with it and incorporate it into your work. If this is your market, people will see how creative you can be and they'll flock to you.

 

Here's one we shot at a BBQ place: http://www.richdutchman.com/portfolio.htm (See Miki & Jeanne)

[johnmarkpainter]

You should just have fun with it. I did one that was a Campground cookout with an

interesting group of people.

 

jmp<div></div>

[fotografz]

Okay Ralph, here's a thought or two:

 

This is a perfect example of the available lighting notions that Jeff Ascough was talking

about at his WPF seminar this past week. Namely, being aware of where the light source is

and how to use it to light your subject.

 

The light source in your image was coming from the opposite side of where you were

shooting from. The way you shot it highlighted the background and placed the emphasis

on it rather than the subject. This was intensified by the fact you shot with a depth of field

that kept the background as sharp as the subject. The eye goes to the lit and best

information.

 

You could have either shot from the "bingo side" directly opposite from where you were,

and waited for the subject to get in position, or from the side and waited for the subject to

turn into the light. In either case the background would not have had the light source in it

or the bingo board.

 

If you were trapped where you were, (hard to believe you were), then you could have used

Steve's solution and used flash to rebalance the light and place the emphasis on the

subject, while using my suggestion of shallow DOF to further de-emphasize the

background... like the crude PS fix posted below indicates. If you didn't have a flash, then

the "available light" paragraph above was the solution.<div></div>

[fotografz]

Since such extreme PhotoShop fixes suck, here's a actual shot of the above lighting

balance and DOF notion at work. It also demonstrates digital "Chimping" which was

discussed in another thread recently ; -)<div></div>

[ralph_wilson]

<p>Interesting PS work Marc.</p>

<p>Perhaps I wasn't completely clear on my thoughts on the subject and posting

the bingo board image wasn't fair. I am interested in ways to shoot problem

venues and there are suggestions here that I will pay more attention to next

time this arises.</p>

<p>I actually really like the bingo board shot and Stephanie shot it as the

focal point on purpose. We walk into rooms like that, look at each other and say

"Oh yeah, the bingo board is a keeper!" We have another reception where the head

table was under a wall of a couple dozen beer mirrors and the bar had bras

hanging from the ceiling, surrendered by previous patrons. You gotta know they

made the cut.</p>

<p>I see it all as a slice of Americana. I think these are the images that will

stand the test of time from a documentary stand point. I'm sure the

grandchildren will think they are a hoot.</p>

<p>Obviously, we provide images where we have done our best to control the

background (rather, it controlled us) but we end up missing those gorgeous

overall shots of grand ballrooms. We have no images of the brides in a row of

columns and on and on. Those places are hundreds of miles from where we are. I

enjoy the small country weddings and our market for the reason Steve said. "the

people are real" but I am envious of some of the samples I see in other

photographers portfolio.</p>

<p>Stacy, I particularly like what you did with the second flash. Do you have

that on a stand or does an assistant move around with it? Steph is a very

talented shooter and by having her there we do have time to try new ideas. Yours

is a definite.</p>

<p>And yes Marc, we shot with the bingo board to our back. To opposite wall was

a bank of soda machines that were lit up. We liked the bingo board much more.

Much classier.</p>

<p>Thank you all, I'm not trying to end this thread. I appreciate the

suggestions and samples.</p>

[stacy]

Thanks Ralph- there are always 2 of us shooting so we experiment with the second flash a lot during dancing. Just have her hold the slaved flash at different heights. That example the flash looks to be low- she hidden by the brides veil.

 

Here is another example, but in this one I had no flash on camera and she is standing at the other corner of the dance floor. We already had some interesting lights thanks to the band, but the flash is just illuminating his face and her side. Anyway- it's fun and you can get some interesting effects.<div></div>

[ralph_wilson]

Yep, I'm ready to go play.

[halina_gross]

You can easily blur the background in Photoshop.

 

Halina

[paul_kurian]

Please refer the attached picture. Shooting 85mm/1.2L wide open makes the background blur is one of the solution<div></div>

[paul_kurian]

Another example with same technic<div></div>

[paul_kurian]

The above photo was in Adobe RGB colour profile. Here is the SRGB version

[er1]

I am the executive event photographer for the Governor of Michigan and I agree with Marc W. in regards to reading the light sources & fast lenes. Many of my assignments are located in difficult venues... Crowds, security, poor lighting situations, etc. My style is a combo of journalistic & posed. My results are most always very good. (Did someone mention 'chimping')?

[chris m., central florida]

Stacey Newgent has offered great advice. I use double or triple off camera flash during the reception and it is a killer combination. Once you get used to visualizing how your are going to shoot in advance, it's easy. Pocket Wizards let you control which off camera flash fires, so you can move and constantly switch which off camera flash is activated. Sometimes it's touch and go, but I usually get a very nice collection of well lit dance shots, etc.