By Golly I think I've got it..... Shutter Drag.

[elaine marie]

I finally got it into my brain the concept of dragging the shutter.<P> Thanks to

Nadine,Marc,Ann, and many others that have been kind and patient enough to

explain over and over again how this is done.<P> It was a very dim lit room with

only chandeliers and a disco ball at times. I was shooting at 1/10- 1/20 with

bounce flash Iso 400. The lighting looks great and the captures are sharp with

no motion blur. Thank you!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!!!! Now that I feel I have

the technical down I can consentrate on the artistic side. Please check out my

Amanda and craig folder and let me know what you think.The small images dont

look any where near as clear as they are full res.<P.

Thanks<P>Elaine Marie<div></div>

[elaine marie]

Heres one more of my favorites<div></div>

[toddlaffler]

Elaine, personally I'd go with ISO 800 and around f 3.5 or so, and then watch the back of

the room open up even more. Just give it a try one time and see what you think. Also, you

may need to be careful with 1/10 of second that you don't get ghosting on moving

subjects that are dancing etc. Good luck, and enjoy the process. :)

 

Todd

[roxyandkaidotcom]

I love that second pic! I dont think it needs to be any brighter at all in the background. It's

perfect - the dancers stand out but the background is there, too. Congrats!

[bdp]

Welcome the Shutter Draggers club!

 

I usually shoot dark reception halls around 1/25-1/40 around 4-5.6

 

At this point I'm not using 2ndary lighting or a light person so draggin' is what I do to open the background. I'm working on the 2nd lighting person and how it affects my shoots. I help out another photographer as her light person, her pictures are really nicely light and a nice depth with that other light source.

 

Bob

[annealmasy]

This is awesome, Elaine!!! Great work! I know your clients will be so happy with these

beautiful reception images :)

<p>

Next you can practice your skills for rooms where bouncing ISN'T an option:

Have an assistant hold a flash on a monopod. (You might want to add diffusion in the

form of a flash-based softbox, etc.) An assistant can also just hand-hold the flash for

more flexibility. They can hold the light out over your subject and you can use

PocketWizards to remotely fire the flash. It will light up the subject AND add more

dimension to your lighting than would an on-camera flash.

<p>

<a href="http://www.almasyvisualarts.com/SC/index.cfm?

fuseaction=ThumbnailPage&tpg=1&CFID=10873&CFTOKEN=D2C548E0-

AB56-11AC-221AC701D2DAF2B6&rand=70777F26-1393-63AA-

B71FEFDC4DB2AE07"><u>Here's a link to a wedding where our assistant held the flash

off-camera to provide directional lighting.</u></a> (The ceiling in this venue was

angled, 45 feet high, and dark wood!) Check out pages 2 and 3 for the reception images.

<p>

Good luck!

[picturesque]

You go, girl.

[fotografz]

Beautiful.

[elaine marie]

Thank you Everyone for your comments. Todd ,I will try using the higher Iso just to see, thanks. Elaine Marie

[conraderb]

hey elaine - just wanted to check - I'm guessing you are using a DSLR, right?

 

you practiced your technique before the wedding, right? I remember when each image was $1. that made it hard to practice - I wrote down my settings and compared prints to prints very carefully. now, just do the trigger button.

 

if you don't think that you can simulate what a reception hall is like, put a lamp in one corner of the room and turn it on. turn off any other lighting and bam - you have a reception hall.

[barry_davis___st._louis__m]

Question..do you go to second curtain synch with the lower shutter speeds as she did..1/10 or 1/20?

[elaine marie]

Barry, I used first sync curtain but I want to try it with the second also. I couldnt belive how low I could set my shutter a few I was even at 1/8 and no blur.

[savagesax]

Pics are great! In even darker rooms or churches feel free to hit ISO 640 or 800 if needed. Your setup right now looks just perfect. Nice job.

[Dave Gardner]

Elaine,

 

Excellent!!! Anne,Nadine and Marc would be proud.

 

Dave

[jake_holt]

One thing to keep in mind is that if you get in a situation where there is a light overhead,

even a dim one, shutter speeds like 1/10 or 1/8 will give you some ghosting on the face that

may be hard to see on a small DSLR screen. However, you will see it on the computer monitor

or print! Practicing in a few different situaitons will ensure that you'll catch this before it

becomes a problem. I also recommend trying ISO 800 to open up the background even more.

Anyway, great job trying something new - this technique will open up so many new

opportunities!

[picturesque]

I've gotten used to upping the shutter speed for brighter overhead lights and bright lights or windows behind my subjects (to avoid ghosting), but still am having trouble with video lights. It's hard to tell sometimes just how bright the lights are and they get turned on by the videographer without much chance for you to absorb the fact that the ambient suddenly got brighter when you're concentrating on the action, plus the border between what is bright enough to cause ghosting/blur is hard to define. It's gotten me a few times--ended up with motion blur.

[medina photography cherry]

Sometimes I use the videographers light as a rim light- when it arises! Good job Elaine. I love dragging the shutter. At my last wedding I restrained myself to two rigs, a 1D MKII with 24 1.4 @ f2 and a 20D with 50 1.4 @ 1.8 and dragged the shutters. The wide open aps give some awesome DOF images.