What flash to buy for a wedding?

[john_kramer3]

I have never used a flash before, but I am going to shoot my sister's wedding

and realize that a flash is probably a necessary piece of equipment for

something like this. Since I will never use the flash again afterwards, I'd

prefer to get something cheap, but obviously care very much about the success of

the photos. I have a 5d with a 17-40 and 70-200 2.8 isl

 

Can I get away with a $100 220EX? What would the issues be with choosing this

model versus a more expensive flash? Any guidance/advice would be appreciated.

[jimstrutz]

1) Don't do it. If you don't know much about flash, just don't do it. -- The wedding that is.

 

2) If you decide to shoot the wedding anyway, you need to learn about flash, among many other things. Hopefully you know most of those already. But get the flash and start practicing right away.

 

3) Chances are you won't use much flash for the ceremony, but more for the reception. Flash is also often used for the processional, kiss and recessional. For the ceremony you mostly want fast lenses. You might want to buy Canon's little 50mm f/1.8.

 

4) The 220EX does not tilt or swivel. That makes for a rather limited flash unit - no bounce, no reflectors/diffusers, etc. Also, it's not very powerful. Not as weak as many think, but still not very good. Even for a one time use a too weak flash is still too weak. Fortunately, the 5D has clean high ISO's.

 

5) Perhaps you can rent a 580EX for the day. If so, rent it for a couple days a week or so ahead of time to get used to it and find out what you can do with it.

 

6) Do a Google search for "dragging the shutter" and try that with the flash.

 

7) Weddings require a lot of vertical format shooting. That places the flash off to the side where it ought not to be. You might want to consider a rotating flash bracket and Canon's Off Camera Shoe Cord 2.

 

Hmmm, this is getting expensive for a one time affair. Perhaps you should re-read #1.

[jimstrutz]

Here's some more reading for you.

 

http://www.beaumontcameraclub.com/MiscInfo/My%20Wedding%20Tips.htm

[greg stuckey - australia]

Hi John,

Do you need to use a flash? How do you normally approach low lit or back lit subjects. If you are wanting just a bit of fill at close distance the 220 may be an option.

 

The 220EX does not tilt or swivel therefore reduces the ability to obtain natural lighting effects in certain situations (ie bouncing the flash off another surface). You could consider a 380EX second hand (it only tilts). You could think about hiring a 580EX? Using a flash can be abit tricky and I would suggest some practice first in similar lighting conditions. There are some good websites worth looking at concerning the use of flash to balance your exposure etc www.dg28.com or www.strobist.blogspot.com

 

Regards Greg

[ni_gentry]

Outside of not knowing anything about flash photography... what is your background in

photography in general? Are you experienced in shooting with the camera in full manual

mode under varying lighting conditions? Are you confident enough to be able to capture

once-in-a-lifetime moments under pressure? How long have you had the 5D? What did

you shoot with before that? Do you have a backup camera & flash? How big is the

wedding?<p> What type of pictures does your sister expect to get? Is her budget really

that tight that she can't hire a professional?

<p> Your 17-40mm is slow and not that good for low light situations. Is the ceremony

indoors or outside? How long is the wedding? Do you have enough memory cards to last?

Will you shoot raw or jpg? How good are you at post-processing? I could ask about fifty

other questions, but I'm already looking silly so I'll stop.<p>

The 220EX won't be too useful in my opinion. Depending on where the wedding is

(indoors, large hall, small room, outdoors, bright sun, cloudy day, etc.) I'd get either a

580ex or at minimum a 430ex and learn how to bouce it. A bracket would be good also

as Jim mentioned.

[steve_levine]

Are you really going to attempt to shoot a wedding with a completely unfamiliar piece of equipment? Knowing how to use flash correctly, believe it or not takes a lot of learning theory, and practical application, before even mediocre skill levels are reached.

 

 

Also you mention having 'a' camera. Do you have a 2nd camera, lens and flash? What will you do as the bride walks down the aisle, and your camera's LCD is bilnking "ERROR"?

[bdp]

Unless the wedding is a completely, and nicely, lit ceremony/reception and, as you indicated you are concerned about success, I would suggest you pass on this wedding, unless it's about a year away and you can practice a lot with a flash. My suggestion for flash would be the 550ex or 580ex, or at least the 430.

 

I use Metz 60 CT-4, and to this day I'm still learning about flash.

 

You should really practice a ton with direct and bouncing the flash, and with dragging the shutter so you get back light.

 

I know it's your sister, but I would pass on this if I were you, you could be in for a major rift between the two of you should this project fail for you and it's, hopefully, a once in a lifetime event for her.

[william_lorman]

I agree with the posts on knowing the gear and what you're doing, but I also find my pair of 580 and 430 flash units to be shooting fish in a barrel compared to my life that started with a 1950 camera and my working for a newspaper and magazine publisher in the 1970s.

 

I personally think a flash and tripod are very important. If your interest in the 220 is due to budget I'll suggest a 430EX at least. Know that it can be a slave unit when you do buy a 580. I also suggest Canon because I learned some 3rd party units had some quirks when I did my homework and why miss many shots or have aggravation for $50-100. If you're concerned about power, it seems my 580's extra power does more for me to capture outdoor sports than it does to take most indoor shots. It does however have the pop up white card that can be effective with a white ceiling that's not too high. The quirks I recall with the 3rd. party units were mostly around high speed sync and loosing settings.

 

One way or another I suggest a Canon unit because you will have rock solid compatibility and ease of getting up to speed if you carry the manuals for your body and flash etc...

 

Get use to the adjusting head, bouncing and aiming for horizontal and vertical subjects before this wedding happens. Same for using the diffuser and consider a third party or home made diffuser. Make sure you know your cf settings in camera so you can get depth of field or shutter speed required.

 

Good luck.

[picturesque]

If you're set on doing it, I'd rent a 430EX or 580EX, use Program and up the flash compensation by +2/3. Rent the same unit before the wedding to familiarize yourself with it.

[KenPapai]

What Nadine said, get yourself a 580EX, failing that a 430EX, failing that, forget it. Also get some sort of a diffuser, like the Sto-Fen Omnibounce.

 

Shoot in Manual mode -- practice first. Please read this ASAP:

 

http://www.photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

 

If you've never used a flash before then please don't raise your sister's expectations. What is your backup, 2nd camera body?

[William Michael]

> I have never used a flash before, but I am going to shoot my sister's wedding

 

You will need a flash and you will need basic flash theory and you will need experience using it.

 

> I'd prefer to get something cheap

 

Ok, but that is not my preference.

 

> Can I get away with a $100 220EX?

 

IMO No.

 

> What would the issues be with choosing this model versus a more expensive flash?

 

Many, articulated above.

 

> obviously I care very much about the success of the photos. Any guidance/advice would be appreciated.

 

Depends on your definition of `success of the photos`, can only speak from my definition in your position: wanting a reasonable quality outcome to professional standards.

 

Then from the information supplied in the question I suggest:

 

Get 2 x 580EX at least one more 5D body for shooting, and a third back up body a 20D or 30D will do for Back Up.

 

Add to your lens cache: a 50mm F1.4 and 85mm F1.8, if you are quick on your feet, and quick with your hands; if not get 24 to 70 F2.8L as well as the two primes.

 

Get adequate Memory, to shoot RAW + JPEG

 

Most importantly of all: After you get your gear sorted, assist a Professional Wedding Photographer for at least 20 Weddings, you will most likely come across 70% of the problems in 20 Weddings, and just hope you don`t meet the other 30% when you shoot your Sister`s Wedding.

 

Regards

WW

[john_kramer3]

I have to say, I actually went out of my way to not post my message on the wedding forum. But it got moved.

 

I was expecting a lot of the replies I received ("WHAT?!?!?!? NOOOOOO!!! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!")

 

So, I'll take your advice. Instead of trying to go out and shoot 25 gigs of raws with such unworkable limitations, I'll just put a few disposable cameras on each table and let the guests handle the photography. But don't worry, I'll make sure they are the kind that have a flash.

[William Michael]

Regarding the comment above:

 

Sir,

 

I speak for myself only, and I detect a note of sarcasm in your reply.

 

Whilst you might have taken my answer as aggressive, sardonic or trite, it was not.

 

On the contrary: my answers on this forum to questions like this draw only on my personal experience.

 

I was Assistant at about 50 Weddings before I shot the first one by myself.

 

During that time I completed two College Certificates in Photography and did part time work for three Newspapers and sold Cine and Still Photojournalism to any Editor who would buy from me.

 

I did not personally contact to photograph a Wedding without lots (read LOTS) of experience.

 

I firmly believe it is mainly a result of that experience I knew exactly how to approach the Professional Wedding Photography Industry and be successful.

 

However, I also respect that others have different path to follow.

 

But please remember Sir, even though you might have placed your question on another forum, it ended up here and as a member of photonet I would have answered the same in any forum it appeared.

 

My answer was direct, honest and only in the interest of the benefit of a photographic colleague (and his client).

 

You may choose to ignore my input, that is your choice, but please do not belittle it with sour sarcasm, I deserve more respect than that.

 

Regards

WW

[picturesque]

John--a few of us answered your questions with helpful information. I would add, that if you are not a beginner in photography, you could get a used Vivitar 285 or Sunpak 383 for less than $100 and use auto thyristor flash metering. This would be better than the 220EX. However, this assumes you aren't a beginner, since you will have to use manual camera mode, as AV indoors would be a problem.

[vmphoto]

As a professional photographer having shot 32 weddings this past year, I'd say that a good flash is among the most useful equipment you can take with you to a wedding. You don't want the 220 because you can't swivel it around to bounce off of the ceiling, wall, etc. The 430ex is a pretty decent flash, and you can get it from Ritz for $299+tax, but I honestly prefer the 550ex myself or even the 580. If you would consider having two flashes, remember that the 430 can slave but not master.

[john_kramer3]

To everyone: Thank you for all the time and advice you have provided to help me with this. I will try to rent a good flash rather than purchase a substandard option. The only problem with that is the wedding is in Buenos Aires, Argentina -- not sure how difficult it will be to find a shop that rents equipment there. Since I live in China, I won't be able to rent anything from "home" either.

 

To William: I'm sorry if my reply was sarcastic. But my point was this - I don't think that posting a message like mine on a forum full of wedding photographers results in the most pragmatic solution. In other words, I think that most people on this forum have never met a couple before who want a low-key wedding. Everyone here lives (and more importantly, works) in an environment where a wedding is the prom of adult life. The couple I'm shooting for don't really care about any of the things that most brides and grooms in a traditional wedding spend months sweating about. I wasn't even asked to "shoot a wedding". I'm doing this for me, more than them. I have nice equipment, and a lot of experience and no matter what I do it will be better than relying on somebody else to bring their point and shoot digital camera. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

My reply wasn't meant to be rude. I owe helpful people like you on photo.net all of the development in photography I have made over the years. I was frustrated reading many of these replies thinking "We're not looking at the same big picture here"

[larry h.]

John, my answer is meant to put things into perspective, not upset you. But if you are paying for a round trip plane ticket from China to Buenos Aires, the cost of a used 420EX (very minimum), or new 430EX or 580EX is small potatoes to ensure that you get good pictures for your sister's wedding.

 

As for your statement, "Since I will never use the flash again afterwards," you can always sell the unit after using it at your sister's wedding. The cost would be lower than renting without the international hassles.