timberwolf1

What are your favourite colours for the Bride or Groom? Do you purchase professional

backgrounds? What materials do you use? What are the wrinkling considerations? How

do you store it? Why do you select the colours that you do? What are the considerations?

How do you analyze colour selection? Do you light certain fabrics differently than others?

How?

Civil contracts are here to stay with same sex 'marriages'. What challenges does this give

to wedding photographers?

Ever had auto mode or TTL exposure problems at a wedding or event? What did this

occur? What solution did you produce for it? Were you successful? What alternative

solutions did you use to get by? What equipment did you use? What would you tell other

photographers?

When I started in 1973, I was nervous and alittle "on end" for about 2 years. I realized that

I could not live with this stress for a number of years. I resolved that I would take one

problem at a time and solve it, completely, so that it could not repeat if possible.

Therefore, I studed every movement, every decision of the Bride and coordinator, etc. I

created a priorities list in my head. I remembered which shots I should re-take later, if

possible. All this took time. I had all the artistic rules and variables to consider as well.

 

Some photographers keep a mild level of nervousness about them. Me, I actually 'sleep'

in the Bride's living room as I arrive about 2 hours early. I will stay in my car as an

alternative. The Bride is astounded that anyone could be this relaxed. I mean you need to

see the look on their faces. Then, when I spring into action, I am all eyes and action.

 

Photographing weddings can become routine. In order to increase the stress alittle, the

challenge, I have been the DJ of the ceremony and reception and the photographer at the

same time a few times: Such is my confidence in myself.

 

Your ability to become relaxed depends upon how willing you are to solve completely

small problems of execution and planning. Sometimes i think of myself as a fighter jet

pilot with a complete set of programmed responses I can trigger. And this is how you will

become relaxed; program yourself. I am sure that tennis stars do this. They don't so

much think as they have a set of programmed responses to 'dance to'. Make your wedding

photography a 'dance'.

 

I am extremely fast in execution and I do not "hang" on people lurking for a better shot. I

know when I have maximized the situation and i move on. You need to be confident that

you "have it."

 

The one most important quality you will possibly achieve is to gain patience, greater

patience. The most important lesson that you must remember is to stop doing weddings

when in your heart and mind you feel you cannot give your all. Only do them as you enjoy

them. Quit for a year or two when you feel you have given what you can and you

therefore need a sabbatical. Do not become aggressive and impatient. Become fast,

efficient, kind, caring and accurate. And above all, treat them as you would have them

treat you. A guru from the 1970s once said: "Serve them, feed them."

 

Timber Borcherding timberborcherding

Be cautious of "Buy It Now" offers without any regular bid price. It is possible that the person has 20 of these at the same time on different types of items and he/she seeks to grab the money and run within 1-3 days. It happened to me.

 

Software, especially operating systems and popular titles attract many buyers for this generic value. And this is where the frauds can choose to be. It happened to me. On the other hand, unusual items, like a one of a kind plastic James Brown statue, are not as likely to be used by these fraud artists.

I just 'hate to say this' but I think that her friends are going to make cute, funny comments

on the fact that he is 'rubbing her tummy': Is he indicating that something is happening in

there? Be prepared for these definitions and views of viewers when you photograph. It is

funny now, but the joke may tire the couple; they will will want a "nice", not "funny",

picture later.

It depends upon whether you want the look "designed" or not. What you have is casual

and funny. In the newspaper, it will be fine. But this is because the newspaper

reproduction will downplay the massive tree in the background. You also photographed

alittle too low for the bride-to-be. Therefore, we see under her chin. So, while it is a

funny, sort of athletic picture with alot of good health messages about it, it still could

stand a tune-up.

 

Firstly, I would not choose a tree trunk as a background unless it had vines on it or it were

a redwood tree. I see any tree as a type of wallpaper. Tree trunks are "male" in my visual

message library, ivy vines are 'female'. Now, if i were taking a picture of a Ranger bound

for war, i might dress him up and put him in front of a tree trunk with his beret and

soldier's shirt; or maybe I would use a brick wall. But a bridal couple? I feel safer placing

them in a "female" environment of soft foliage, backlit sun, climbing vines and backlit

grass. Or, I could go halfway on the male-female mode, and pose them against a range

fence for cattle at sunset with them rimlit by a low sun. Massive things like rounded

walls, tree stumps and other "symbols" of strength and muscles and hardness don't send a

message of "love and kindness" to the viewer.

 

I make my backgrounds flow around the couple oftentimes. Think of graphics of the

Rennaissance.

 

I design their arms and hands so as to minimize confusion. Oftentimes, they look like

they share the same hand! I do not photograph quite so low on a woman as you have

here. I will likely photograph higher on the woman, and let the man "run" in height. And,

by gosh, men are usually taller than the woman. But I will re-set his chin so that his

height does not show me his 'adams apple'.

 

For the newspaper, its o.k. to showing them sort of laughing. But for a desk portrait, give

them a choice of something more subdued.

 

Dressing them in white was good. However, we have a broad wall of white there, and this

makes them look wider and less, well, 'graceful'. Graceful isn't the term I was looking for,

but they look more massive in this wall of white. Fix it by having him dress in beige or

gray. This recedes the man alittle in relation to the bride. Of course, a color like blue will

have an emotional "receding effect" to make it all more complicated! Go for simplicity, go

for harmony. If she is in white, she will attract more attention; the eye will attract itself to

white areas firstly. That is what you want: more attraction to the bride-to-be, visually

speaking. Now, WHY DO YOU WANT THAT? This is a larger subject; not now.

 

But you 'broke the rules' on placing her higher than he, and this is playful and it works

fine. But you have the problem of her under chin area to solve. And she will see it. And

she is the client.

 

Simplify hands; make arms flow.

 

I guess you can tell that I am not influenced by whatever is the latest fad on defining

'political correctness' in the placement of men and woman in relation to each other. My

influences are a mixture of old fashion traditional values, Eastern thought, and some

fashion photography visual posing concepts picked-up along my way. I do not allow

androngenists and people struggling with their personal identities to influence my work or

ideas. I am in San Francisco, so I see alot of these 'struggles' and 're-definitions' every

day. So, I advise you to think of natural items in your environment as "male" and "female"

in form, and to apply them in harmony to your couples as backgrounds and as props.

 

Maybe someday I will show my couples.

Oh, if anyone wants to put a black "mask" over the people's face to hide their identity and to protect the innocent, this is acceptable. You may also blur the facial features in photoshop if you like: Your choice.

Show me some examples of "bloopers" from your wedding photography

efforts.

What particular 'old fashioned customs' have you photographed at weddings?

Do you know the history behind the formation of this custom?

But what items do you

bring to make the Bride more comfortable or, to help

you or the bride/groom in a unusual problem?

Have you

developed any particular visual placement rules or 'posing rules' for taking of photos before the wedding ceremony? Do you just "let the wedding day run" without any

styling or censorship or personal involvement? Do

you have any examples or your work?

Have you developed any particular visual placement rules or

'posing rules' for the taking of any photos at weddings receptions? Do you have any examples or your work? .

A "Tiltall": These were manufacturered under Leitz and there was a Asian

copy. It doesn't have any odd latches or springs or unusual shapes hanging

off of it. It is as simple and a direct solution as you can get in tripods. They

come in black or silver. However, it only has a 1/4" thread on top. But my

experience with it is that you can attach your Stroboframe in about 12-15

seconds. The 1/4" bolt is spring loaded so it practically "finds" the

Stroboframe screw hole. I think you can find these used for about $50 on the

auctions. "TILTALL" is the name. It already comes with a head. There are

quick release adapters that will generically adapt your Stroboframe. Look for

them on the auctions because i think Stroboframe, owned by Tiffen, is going

into bankruptcy. That doesn't mean Stroboframe is disappearing.

 

Other brands like Manofrotto look very good. However, their design seems to

demand that the tripod be heavier than TILTALL. I would go with Manofrotto

if i wanted a special tallness or heaviness for large format. The tiny problem

with quick releases is that they make the tripod alittle heavier and the adapter

that attaches to your Stroboframe makes your bracket heavier. I only use a

tripod about 3 times during a wedding so a quick release is not much of a time

saving. For the price of a head on other tripods, you can get the whole (used)

TILTALL with head. Look for pictures of them on the auctions.

I just came from my local camera store in San Francisco. I tried on a Promaster vest. I

have a 42 chest, and with wearing a jacket, the Medium Promaster vest in black color

loosely fit over all that! This vest I recommend because it has thick webbing, large louvers

in the back, and pockets that will fit a vertically oriented telephoto lens. Therefore the lens

will not get pressure from a horizontal orientation on the body and rupture the lens from

body hits. I have had 2 vests, and this one is the most advanced I have yet seen.

However, there are a number of choices with Domke, Tamrac, and even a special Tuxedo

vest sold by Adorama. The Tuxedo Vest is very interesting, but not "cool" for your

purposes.

 

I think if you put the word "vest" into bhphoto.com search engine, you will end up

overwhelmed with choices. The Promaster vest seems to be very popular with camera

stores. I would chose the Promaster instantly. However, if you exchange backs with your

camera like a Hasselblad, you need to try the pockets in several brands to find out which

one works best for you.

 

Remember that if you don't like all the 21 pockets (!), you can unstitch some of the

pockets to make it all simplier looking with fewer pockets.

 

Because this vest is louvered at the back, you do not want a tight fitting vest. If you were

to have this tight fit, the louvers will expand to show your bare skin back underneath but

covered with black thick (3/16") webbing. So, a medium size is good for me at 42 inch

chest with a full tanker jacket on underneath! They definitely "run" loose in size

designation for the Promaster vest.

 

Only choose black. I once had a khaki vest for a while. Black vests did not exist. I got

serious complaints from a Bride later over the color of the vest. I explained that it made

me uninhhibited and freed me from my suitcase as I could carry more film and equipment.

It didn't matter. Khaki color or brown color made me look like a character in an adventure

film in her mind. Black is the only color to choose unless you live in the Bahamas.

Having an open collar to your shirt is a start towards comfort. Nix on ties. However, take

a clue from the Saudis, you need a layer of cloth to provide you with a walking umbrella.

Therefore, I wear all black. If I sweat, you can't see the dark wet marks around the arms.

Then I use a photographer's vest which is louvered to permit the vest to breathe. The

inside of the vest has thick webbing so that it keeps the outer layer at a distance.

 

Now, what you wear under the vest mostly cannot be seen. So, you could have a custom

black shirt taylored with webbed "holes" maybe 5x5 inches that would appear around your

shoulders and back and front area. Heat rises, so these webbed holes or ports should be

particularly at the top and at least a couple at the bottom so that you have a sort of

chimney effect with rising hot air. You could just have a whole 4" strip of webbing all

around your chest and continously around your back to do a real good job of it. The vest

will cover all this tayloring and provide you protection like an umbrella from direct sun.

The vest has layers of pockets, maybe 8 pockets of all sizes to hold your batteries and film

and flash meter. No one will be the wiser to this altered black undershirt, unless you

remove your vest. So, take along a real shirt, a complete shirt with no tayloring, no holes,

just in case you decide to ditch the vest.

 

Tamrac and many others make these professional photographers vests. You really need

to try it on to make sure you like the size of the pockets. The pockets should really fit

some of your pieces of equipment. The upper left pocket is handy for the flash meter on a

cord which is tethered by cord to a sewn epilet or eye hook on the front of the vest. You

will never lose your flashmeter! No more running to your suitcase for your flashmeter!

 

After you make these shirts, sell them to other photographers!

Meisel, well they went out of business in Dallas, but someone has turned up with the same name in San Francisco. They do large enlargements for sales presentations at places like Moscone Center. Sounds like they do what you could use. Of course, NYC will have comparable services.

Troy,

 

Use a faster film than ASA 400 film. Also, try a test using a flash with a 1/2 straw or full straw filter over the front. Rosco has these polyester filters. Bounce this light from the ceiling. As a result, you will have amber colored flash. This will give you the fill light that will combine with the color of the candle flame for a more natural look. WITHOUT using such a fill bounce amber flash, you will certainly have contrasty pictures that make people look like they are in a cave. With the amber flash bounced, you will have a more romantic look. But you must do tests at the site to have success. You cannot guess at this. I think you are walking into the most difficult lighting situation I could imagine: 100% candlelight!

Answer:

 

Using a professional incident meter with auto mode flash is not effective. If there was a

way for the flash to confirm what light output it just sent out in the LCD of the flash, well,

that would be nice. But

it doesn't. Taking a reading off of the face is something of value, but you have to be very

careful about the effects of the white veil, and all of this may underexpose your film 1 f

stop anyway. It is a reasonable answer though.

 

I would rather give you advice that can give you control, with an expected result. I don't

particularly like any "work arounds" auto mode. If you are going to go to this trouble, you

may as well use manual mode.

 

Why not find what f stop your flash will give you at, oh, 15 feet. Then allow for a 1/2 f

stop overexposure for color negative film as you punch in the ASA number to your

incident meter. Duplicate this 15 foot distance at the wedding and use manual mode with

your known f stop. Re-check yourself with your incident meter. The groom will hold it.

 

In this way, you have the most important photos under your control.

 

But what are you going to do at the cake? Most everything is white there.

 

If I were using auto mode, if I were chained and gagged and forced to use auto mode, I

would use color negative film and I would overexpose everything 2 f stops. That is, i

would use a 400 ASA film and rate it at 100. In this way, I could relax and know that if it

does pick up the white dress and underexpose the camera, I am reasonably safe because I

am already compensating by rating the film at 100. The only

danger time is when I am pointed at a row of black tuxedos. At this time, I would set the

ASA to 400 normal. This will probably overexpose them 1.5 stops, but I am again safe.

I would use manual mode on these important pictures, and bracket your exposures in

addition up to 2 f stops. This is quite alot, but weddngs cannot be redone. The white/

black combination will positively create a headache for you. Don't risk the wedding

photos. I would use manual, and calibrate for a distance of a full length person.

Naturally, you will be farther away from them because of her dress length. Use manual

mode. If you have an incident flash meter, use it.

Adding as a footnote:

 

This manual mode control does not put Minolta Flash Meters out of business! If you want

to go an additional step to really perfect your flash fill, you would use your manual control

steps of reading numbers off of a lens, and then take a reading to determine your % of

ambient vs. flash fill. But you know, photojournalists cannot treat every picture as a

portrait! Time is of the essence! The manual mode control system will bring you close,

but you need to watch what the ambient light power is! So this is why a flash meter with

1/10th f stop accuracy is very nice to have available! And it is nice to have the time to use

it! (...here...here!)

Let me say this to the readers: If you use this tried and true method, you will not be

underexposing your flash any 1.5 f stops when you fill. Don't use this number posted

above as any reference that you can mindlessly use in real practice with all flash units.

This is something that only applies to his post, his refererence to a particular TTL flash.

 

Standard flash ratios apply with my manual control methods. If you like a 2:1 or 1:1 flash

fill, you can produce it. You can also produce a 1.5:1 if you like. You have the control to

make any ratio you like. There is no guessing, only reading numbers when you focus.

Light discs held by a guest can work to block the wind. However, what I have done is to

hide a guest or bridesmaid behind the bride to hold down her veil. If it is "hair", then I

would be using a protected area from the wind. Maybe try facing her into the wind!

MANUAL MODE FLASH, Part 2 ...Timber...

 

USING WHITE TAPE

 

Of course manual mode is great for outdoors pictures. Both of you failed to go one step

further, an additional technique that is used for flash fill outdoors: I will detail it:

 

Firstly, Mary was limited to a 1/60th flash sync: sounds like she was using a Mamiya 645

with a focal plane shutter. OK, the first requirement of outdoors flash is that you need to

be using only, only leaf shutter lenses. As a result, you will have a 1/350th, or 1/500th or

possibly a 1/000th (Rollei 6008i has this with PCS lenses) flash sync speed. This is the

first requirement. Mary says she didn't have it, so she can't do it, she won't have success

with flash fill under the multi-various conditions of a wedding outdoors.

 

If you are using a 35mm camera, a 1/125th flash sync is of little help. Only until you get

to 1/250th flash sync with a strong flash at 200ws can you do this successful flash fill for

a full length shot of a person at a wedding, and maybe a small group. Yes, maybe with 1/

125th, but i don't want to put anyone's hopes up.

 

But if you have a 1/500th flash sync, as with a Rollei or Hasselblad (by the way, compur

shutters on Hasselblads only sync to 1/350th according to a repairman here in San

Francisco, they are 'hopfully marked' on the lens barrel) you have more latitude with

outdoors flash fill. You can fill larger groups.

 

OK, now this is out of the way, now we explain how we go further.

 

The lens barrel has alittle space to place a white strip of tape on it. This space is about 1/

2" wide band around the lens: we are going to use it.

 

If you would use an incident meter in the middle of the night on dark asphalt, you could

meter your flash for a true: f5.6, f8, f11, f16. You would focus your lens at the point

that a perfect f8 distance appears. Then you mark your tape with an "8" for "f8". You do

this for f5.6 and put a "5" on this place. You can be very exact and place a "tic mark" on

the precise spot that the focus place is at and then place the "5" or "8" or "11" or "16" at

that tic mark. Easy. Now, when you focus, you can read off exact f stop settings for your

flash as you focus. In fact, you can read off a 1/2 f stop, or you can figure out a 1/3rd f

stop difference. You simply focus, read your f stop, and set your f stop, then shoot.

 

Now, I realize that some of you have various ideas as to what your flash fill will look like.

Some like the fill to be muted and others like a full blast of light. At this decision point,

you can make a new mark or adjust your tape or have 2 marks or 2 colors or whatever

symbols you want to let yourself know exactly where you are in flash fill or "proper

exposure".

 

The reality is, you will want to overexpose your film at least 1/2 f stop just to insure that

you are not ever underexposed. So, you must take this into account. Perhaps you take a

picture before the unit recycles completely, too. Perhaps they have really dark clothing in

a dark room. Whatever the reasons, you should be alittle overexposed on color negative

film for these reasons. Don't risk the wedding on under exposure! There is no need to

take this risk!

 

So, given this variable and the variables of what "flash fill look" you like, you can mark

your tape. You can do a basic test at night; then you can do a test under the

conditions of a garden with the sun at the back of the subject.

 

You can even get so precise so that if your camera doesn't "set" in 1/3rd f stops that you

simply back up alittle with your feet maybe 1/2 foot to reduce the power output a 1/10 f

stop on the person's face! I mean, you really have control here. Of course, the newer

cameras allow 1/2 and 1/3rd f stop settings. So, these are great lenses to be using as

long as they have leaf shutters.

 

So, why use black asphalt at night? Well, the ground will reflect light and make your meter

reading off about 1/3rd f stop if you're are standing on white concrete. Use only an

incident meter, not a reflected meter. Point it directly at the flash head when taking a

reading.

 

What is really neat about this system is that you won't be needing to use an incident meter

hardly at all during the wedding. This saves time. And you don't need an assistant to be

holding an incident meter! When you do a group picture, you will know that you need an

f4.8 and you won't be underexposing those important group shot: the ones with all those

black Tuxedos.

 

You will be calibrating for each separate lens you own.

 

Now, with my Norman 200b, I simply change power settings with my thumb. I don't

change f stops hardly ever. But if I did something like add an additional power pack, I

would not have to change my white tape settings. Why? I simply would change the f stop

setting on my lens from f8 to f11 when I add the additional pack. So, I can go either way:

change the f stops on my camera or change the power settings on the flash to

accommodate a 2nd power pack. And yes, I do use 2 packs, especially at group photo

time. I may use a 200ws pack which is modified to give me 320ws and a 400ws pack

modified to give me about 620ws for a total of 1,040ws output from a camera bracket

mounted 2 flash system held in my hands! I can go from 50ws to 1,040ws, in other

words. No depth of field problems with 6x7 or 6x9!

Marc has just acknowledged one form of "risk" that appears with mixing ambient flash:

trailing light blurs. As for "knowing what one is doing": This one is an easy one. With

TTL, the unit is taking away control from the photographer. Therefore, it isn't the

photographer who is doing the "knowing", it is the auto mode. Auto mode is the subject

of another thread recently posted on photo.net Auto mode responds to the reflectance

of the people's clothing and as a result, creates all kinds of unpredicable, unknowable

results.