greg jansen

<p>What Bob said.</p>

<p>Good points, Matt. I would take a different approach if limited to the equipment you mentioned. Definately shoot at minimum f4. I would feel better at 5.6. 400 ISO is good. Camera on tripod. <br>

I would shoot both SB600's through the same shoot through umbrella, on a lightstand next to the tripod and high up, pointed slightly down to the group. I would also use the diffusers that come with the flash. Keep the power on both units the same. Gradually turn them up until you get a nice exposure (on the people). Have a test subject stand where the groups will be.<br>

I would set the SB600's on manual. TTL is going to be all over the place, and so will your exposures. Set the shutter speed 1 1/2 to 2 stops below the ambent light.<br>

The flash should kill any mixed lighting on the subjects (assuming no strong overhead skylight or something) because it is stronger than the existing lighting.<br>

I.M.O. the worst thing you could do is put them at a 45 on each side of the tripod. The distance will be greater, which means more power on the SB600's, and you will get those ugly cross-shadows on the group. If you shoot at such a fast shutter speed that none of the background comes through, it is going to look absolutely awful.<br>

I would use a cord to trigger the units (or radio slave if you have it). More reliable than the commander/slave thing.<br>

The big problen you are going to have is lack of power on the SB600's. Keep the flashes close to the subjects, take you time, watch for the red lights so you don't fire before they are fully recharged, set everything manually- flash power, shutter speed, iso, aperture.</p>

 

<p>You ask a lot of questions there, too many to answer. <br>

Part of my business plan is to not get caught up in the new equipment rush that digital imposes. <br>

By using my existing equipment, I greatly reduce my expenses for the year.<br>

It's like an automobile. You can but a new car, and most likely justify the monthly payments. But in that is a bunch of expenses that really add up. A new car has increased insurance costs, tabs, etc. If you have a used car that is paid for and reliable, your monthly outlay is much less, and gets less and less the longer you own and use it.<br>

I shoot film at weddings to save money. I have done the math, and it's basically a wash when it comes to cost of producing a finished product (film vs digital). There are film and processing costs, but digital has time in front of the computer costs. For me they end up about equal.<br>

Where do the savings come in? For me, it is in the equipment and all the things around the equipment costs. <br>

I have equipment envy. If there is a new computer, program, set of actions, etc. that is going to speed up my workflow, I'm tempted. If you keep current on all that stuff, you are going to spend a ton of money. Even if you buy 6 months or so after things are introduced and starting to get discounted.<br>

There is a big difference between spending $10,000 a year or $1000 a year on that stuff, especially when that happens year after year.<br>

You need to take your yearly expenses for camera equiptment, software, hard drives, computers, disc burners, etc. and add it all up. Now divide that into how many weddings you shot. That's your equipment cost per wedding. I think many will be surprised come April 15th how much that is. You also need to factor in the time going to the computer store, online shopping, hooking things up, etc. Your time is an expense.<br>

Without getting into accounting rules such as depreciation, let me just say you are better off in the long run putting as many miles you can on your existing equipment.<br>

I shoot weddings on a pair of Nikon F6's, and sometimes a Hasselblad. I think I paid about $3000 for the F6's about 5 years ago. I have shots hundreds of weddings on them. They still work like new, and produce excellent images. Every year I use those cameras I save money.<br>

It's reasonable to say that if I was using digital for those 5 years, that I would have spent about $3000 a year on camera, software, or computer upgrades. Those 4 years without spending the extra $3000 is $12,000 saved. <br>

Granted, everyone has their own set of numbers they work with, but the bottom line is use your equipment.<br>

The only way to offset new equipment purchases is by increasing the number of weddings you shoot (pricing aside).<br>

More often than not, new equipment isn't going to increase your sales.<br>

Buy high quality stuff, and use it for as many years as you can.<br>

I am looking forward to another year working my F6's, and not spending a ton on equipment, thereby increasing my bottom line.</p>

<p>Another good option is Quantum fired by a radio slave (Pocket Wizard or such) for general room lighting, SB800 on hot shoe. Plug the transmitter into your pc socket on the camera body.</p>

<p>Another good option is Quantum fired by a radio slave (Pocket Wizard or such) for general room lighting, SB800 on hot shoe. Plug the transmitter into your pc socket on the camera body.</p>

<p>Another thing to consider is how many people in the shot. I use a general mottled one as above, grey being the most versatle color, but also have a smaller one just for headshots. <br>

Some have a center area that is quite a bit lighter than the rest of the canvas. The mottled area kind of fades away from the center. These are great to isolate one person, but not very practical for groups.</p>

<p>You may want to use one on camera, and one on a small lightstand. For the one on the lightstand, find a place in the room where you can set it, maybe a few feet from a corner and behind you. Use the diffusion dome and point it almost straigh up, about eye level or a foot higher. This assumes you have a ceiling you can bounce off.<br>

You can turn the lightstand flash on or off and make adjustments by the flash on your camera.<br>

When it comes time for the big group shots, maybe move the lightstand close to you and use that for general bounced fill, while the on camera will provide more direct light to fill the faces.<br>

I have an SU800 but don't use it much in roaming shooting situations. It always seems I am turned away from the remote flash or flashes when I want to take a shot. Safer to have a flash on camera at all times, with the remote flash more stationary.<br>

I honestly don't think you would gain much by having a flash on each side of the camera with the SU800 in the middle. Aside from being a bit of a clumsy rig, I don't think you would see much of a difference than if you had one flash on the hot shoe of the camera and one to the side on a bracket.<br>

I have done the above set-up, where the flash on the bracket was more or less pointed straight up to provide general illumination in the room (bouncing), and the on-camera one was pretty much straight on. I think I had the bouncing flash on manual setting.<br>

There's a ton of things you can do with the SB800's. I just takes some playing around based on your shooting setting.<br>

The downfall I've noticed is if the remote flash is behind you on a braket, sometimes the master's pulse won't reach it. Smaller rooms help as the master's flash bounces off the wall, sending the signal behind you. Be sure to point the receiving port on the remote in the direction you will be shooting.<br>

If the whole system was based on radio signals, it would be great and I would use it more.</p>

<p>I travelled to Vietnam a few years ago, and asked that my film be hand checked. It was no problem. I try to make it easy for the customs officials by removing all the film from their cardboard boxes, and placing them in clear zip-lock bags. I also throw in a roll of 1600 speed, even if I'm not going to use it, so if you get someone who asks what speed it is, you can say 1600.<br>

I travel frequently with film, and 95% of the time I ask for a hand inspection they swap the film canisters and put the pad in the drug detection machine. No big deal, just takes a few extra minutes. I have never had a problem or been treated rudely, in fact, most are very friendly.</p>

<p>I would say the film is far from amazing. A nice production that took some time and planning, but nothing new there. There are many videographers who use HD cameras at weddings. The fact that it is also a still camera would mean nothing to a bride.<br>

Right now, still and video are two very seperate things. Both require different editing software and presentation.<br>

Are brides going to want short video snipits in the future, as opposed to only still images? Who knows. If they do, the workload, I.E. post production work, is going to double. Not interested. <br>

IMHO all that digital has added to wedding photography is an increased workload for photographers, which means less profit in an already low paying field. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hmmm. I assume you know the 600 and 800 should be on the same channel, and only one should be set as master.<br>

I had an SB800 show some weird stuff on the display once. The only thing that got the display back to normal was doing a two-button reset. The pull out diffuser shows how. Maybe that will reboot something goofy in the flashes.</p>

<p>If you are worried about not leaving plenty of room when you are shooting, do the following. Take the ground glass screen out of your camera, and draw a thin line with a sharpie along the short ends to approximate 4x6 or 8x10.<br>

I did this with my 35mm film cameras and although not an elegant solution, works well to keep the image in my normally printed size.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If you want something inexpensive, look for an old Bilora tripod on Ebay. They fold down to about 10" and weigh next to nothing. They are more than adequate to hold a bessa for a quick shot, although you willl want to use a cable release.<br>

I can fit the tripod in the back zippered area of my shoulder bag no problem. <br>

I have two, I think I paid about $20 for each. There is a manufacturer out there that sells a new knock-off version at one of the major camera stores, but the build quality is not as good as the old ones. Old ones have brass legs.<br>

They are strickly for hold it in place to take a quick shot. Not something you would want to be constantly using, adjusting, etc.</p>

<p>When you get there, find out who's in charge. Ask them exactly where people will be standing when they receive their diplomas. Then get a test subject there and get your settings.<br>

Try to take two shots of each recipient. One out of 5 or so will blink. If you take two quick shots of each you will just about eliminate any blinkers. Stand in the same spot for the shots. After two or three shots, people (the presenter) will get the idea to pause while you take two quick shots. Don't worry if you are blocking some parent's view while you quick step up to get the shot. </p>

<p>Use flash on all the shots. There is one natural light source in the room- the big window. That light is very directional also. Since you will be the official photographer you will be moving around a lot. Depending on where you and the subjects are, the window may provide strong backlightng, strong sidelighting, etc. By using a little bit of fill flash on all your shots you will decrease the contraty lighting from the window (assuming the same light as in the posted shot). The fill flash will overcome any strong contrast in the light. Strong contrasty lighting can look pretty bad on someones face. The shots most important to the graduates and their familes will most likely be the one where they are holding the diploma and shaking the hand of the dean. Pretty lackluster stuff, but that is the one shot where you need to have your settings figured out before it starts. Have someone stand there for a few shots before the event starts so you can dial in what looks best.<br>

You want your shots, especially the diploma presentation part, to have a nice consistant look to them from recipient to recipient. Using Steve's advice, figure out those settings, dial them in, and leave them there for the duration of the awards presentation.<br>

For candids and general atmosphere shots, it's o.k. to play around more with the natural light, but I would not depend on it for the presentation part.</p>

 

Part of the whole wedding thing, in addition to the shooting, is the post. An experianced wedding photographer with a good post-production workflow will be able to make the best of the images you and your asisstant shot.

 

You may be able to find someone locally or on his site willing to clean up all the images and get them in a presentable fashion. This would include white balance correction, tone, hue, contrast, cropping, noise reduction, etc. An experianced pro will have a variety of techniques and workflow practices that go beyond the basic adjustments you may not be familiar with, and tis is not the time to learn them.

 

With some good post and heavy editing, you may be surprised at the outcome. Don't expect any miricles, of course.

 

It's easy to look at the mass of images and feel disappointment. That mass of images is not what you present the client. You show them only the best of the bunch, which could be 50% or so, and that 50% has been tweaked and corrected to be their best.

 

Get some help on the post.

 

Good luck.

Neil, you now got me thinking. I've never used SLOW in bright sunlight. Wouldn't the camera work the same as in A,S, or P mode without slow on, because it wants to use a shutter speed faster than 60-second? In other words, once the shutter speed is at 60/sec or faster, aren't the metering tweaks made by setting on slow cancelled? I'm thinking about this too much.

I am getting mixed up. I'm thinking of when it is getting dark. When it is getting dark if you are on A,S,or P mode, the background may be too dark, even darker than a couple of stops. SLOW will, in addition to allowing for longer shutter speeds, bring consistancy to the exposures in different lighting. It's as if you are using two different meters in the camera, one for the background, one for the flash (ttl). When set properly, the background exposure will stay consistant from one area of light to another. So when it is darker out, you may need to increase the shutter speed (longer shutter) from the default of 60 sec. Then if you want to decrease the background some from "normal," you dial down the exposure comp on the body, and then typically go a bit+ on the flash.

 

The problem in well-lit scenes is that you may hit the 250/sec barrier. In other words, if the camera wants the background at 250/sec, and you want to underexpose it 2 stops, you can't do fill flash at 1000/sec. You would need to adjust iso and/or f-stop. I know FP mode is a quirky, low-power thing, and I believe that some of the more auto settings or metering doesn't work in that mode.

 

Manual is easiest! Just set your aperture, and dial shutter speed down two or whatever you want by looking at the metering bar in the camera. Turn flash on, ttl. Done.

Neil- "slow" does balance the two. By setting a minus compensation on the body, you are underexposing the entire image, which includes the background (and the flash). If you set your flash to + to make up the difference, you will get the effect he is after, I.E. underexposing the background a bit.

 

Granted, it's a quick and sloppy way to do it, but it works.

 

I agree all manual is the way to go, but sometimes you are in a hurry and moving from one light source to the next. If I'm going to stay in the same place with the same light, I'll shoot manual. If I'm going to be taking a variety of shots in different light in a short amount of time, I dial in slow and work on the compensation. It's easy to look in the viewfinder and watch the shutter speed changing and to keep it in check from one location to the next.

Karen Wise shoots film. That's why her images are not too blown out, and have a nice consistant look to them. No post-production.

Lots of stuff going on there. Like David said, ditch the diffuser and use the flash straight on. Angled flash with a diffuser seems to mess up TTL on digital frequently. Turn of FP flash mode.

 

Try this. Set the flash mode to SLOW. Exposure on Program, Matrix metering. Flash staight ahead, TTL BL, no diffuser. Take a shot. Now try dialing down exposure compenstion on the body, say -2, and maybe dialing up the exposure on the flash itself.

 

"Slow" flash mode balances the background and foreground. It kind of takes the camera out of program mode which leans towards 60 second.

 

This will work well if it is not too bright. Are you trying to do this mid-day, in the shade, or later in the day right before the sun goes down?

I keep adding to this thread... One more thing. If you are just shooting and printing, one shooter and one printer, if they are good, can do it. If you are required to get names or keep track of things in some way, by all means get a third person to do the paperwork and help push/pull.

 

If you need to get names it is very important for the photographer to tell the person with the clipboard the file number of the shot after it was taken so they can match them up afterwards.

 

Find out BEFORE the event what, if anything, you need to keep track of.

 

Sometimes guests will have a coupon they have to hand over for the photo. That's good. It keeps people from asking for different combinations with others, and from getting in the line again. People looking for another free shot can be a real pain and slow down the whole process.

Wireless has it's problems. Just like your wireless laptop, signals can drop without warning. Also, wireless transfer rates are generally slower than the speed you will be shooting at, assuming its going to be pretty rapid fire. Even tethred is a bit slower than a card reader and the card out of the camera.

 

In practice, the printer table is generally within arms reach of your tripod and light. It takes but two seconds to hand over a flash card, grab the other one and put it in your camera. Do this every 20 or so shots or when there is a lul, not after every shot. I use two different looking cards so the printer person can keep track easier. Or number them.

 

With that many couples, the whole idea is to keep the printer running at all times. If you don't hear any noise from the printer, you should get a knot in your stomach. It has to constantly be printing, or you will be WAY behind after the last couple is photographed, and they may not want to stick around until their print comes out.

 

Good point about the RGB setting in the camera! Dye-subs are RGB.

 

Bring all the extras you can. Extra batteries, charger for the camera, extra USB cords, flash cards, card reader, even laptop. Of course, extra paper.

One more thing... If you insit on using a program to do some tweaking before printing, Lightroom is far better than Photoshop. You have much more of a visual idea on where you are in the batch of photos. It's easier to scroll around and such. I don't like how Photshop has to "open" and "close" everything. It slows things down.

 

If you are tethered, you can set up a watched folder in LR. Whn images are added to that folder, they are automatically imported. Nice. Then when you go to print, this is important, look at the bottom right of the screen in the Print Module. You will see a selection to select a printer profile. Choose the one that works best, or load you own. It will stay selected from print o print.

I've done a lot of these high volume events, and usually the simpler he set-up the better. Have two flash cards and just swap them is one way. When you give the card to your assistant, they load and print the unprinted ones, hand you the other card. Assistant just needs a pad of paper to keep track which images on what card were printed.

 

Direct cable connection from camera to computer. THis works nice, but you must be sure the cord is not going to be in anyone's way. This will also suck your batteries dry very quickly, as the batteries are sending power through the cords ll the time.

 

Photoshop: I would skip using Phtoshop. It slows things down too much, and is just one more thing in the mix.

 

Spend some time (get there real early) getting your camera set all on manual, do a bunch of test prints. The idea is to be able to print straight out of the camera. The simple file viewer in Windows XP is great. It is super fast, and you can easily see where you are. You can also select a bunch of images, then select Print. Easy.

 

Camera: Usually I'm at 125th sec, F5.6. Set the white balance manually so the prints look good (5400 or somethig). Keep your light on manual (50 or 100ws is what I use), ISO at 400 or so. Now that those settings are set, play with the color, then the size. For the color, look at the jpegs printed. If you need to adjust saturation, contrast, tone, whatever, make those adjustments. Do this AFTER you set exposure and white balance to look good.

 

Write the camera settings down on a pice of paper and keep it in your bag for next time. Save your settings to a profile on the camera if you can.

 

Now set the size. Start with JPEG large, fine. Now take a test shot at JPEG Medium, fine. Print it. Keep reducing the JPEG size until you notice a difference in the prints. You will find that with a good dye-sub you do not need a very big file to get a good print. When print 5x7's, my file size is about 700k. This is important: If you shoot large or raw files, your computer may start to bog down, the prints will take twice as long to print becuase of the extra size strain on it's buffer, and you increase your risk of the computer crashing from information overload. Use a small file size!

 

If you find you can't get a good print printing directly from the file browser and camera adjustments (which I doubt), you should be able to go into the printer driver and do some tweaking to color, brightness, contrast, whatever.

 

Again, the idea is to spend some time in the begining to getit right so you don't have to make any adjustments before printing.

 

Camera person: Take two shots of every group (in case someone blinks). Let the assitant at the computer select which one to print- they can see closed eyes on the computer screen better. DON'T delete any. You may have someone come back and not like a print for some reason you didn't see, or computer person may delete the good one by accident in te heat of the moment.

 

It's a fast-paced gig, but kind of fun.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Agree with all above. Let me add if it is a publication that is going to use you again, whatever rate you bill them now is what they will expect in the future. It's very difficult to raise your rate on future similar shoots for the same publication.