mark liddell

It varies really. If you are rich then two of the same might be the way to go and on the other end of the spectrum is keeping your old body as a backup when you upgrade.

With the male female split it's also interesting that a smaller proportion of women get into using off camera lighting in a big way - on strobist.com for example the readership is reckoned to be 94% male.

+1 on the slide film, it works great. The only downside is people keep asking if I broke my D700.

This will probably do most of what you could need: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

Auto iso is still active in manual mode btw, it varies the iso between the current iso set and the max iso to maintain the shutter aperture combination you have set.

 

Anyway you really need to read up on flash and how to use it, start here: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html

The camera is never totally off when switched off anyway, you can tell when you change the card and the light blinks. Sleep mode is probably not far off 'off' in power consumption.

Shooting handheld with a crop sensor camera at 300mm I really wouldn't be worried about which aperture my lens performs best at

What was your shutter speed? Did you use a tripod?

For a critical shot (ie. they asked specifically for it) and in such difficult conditions definitely try a number of techniques, if it's that important to the bride then she will not mind the time for you to get it right. If you can get there to do some tests earlier do it.

 

Exposure blend two or 3 frames and be sure to use to use a tripod and get her to remain still.

 

Then do a flash shot, you say to have no means to do off camera flash but the other photog can hold it.

I have it and it's great, the camera is immediately accessible right by your hand and it doesn't bounce around when you walk due to the rubber in the strap. When you crouch/bend/whatever it also doesn't swing about. My only criticisms are the price and the supplied shoulder pad is not that comfortable. I can't beleive it's taken this long for someone to design a strap that actually works well.

 

The camera is totally safe, the screw has a rubber washes to stop is working undone. There is also a locking clip so you can take the camera off the strap quickly if you want to. I use my camera with an L plate and with this I don't even have to unscrew the strap if I want to use a tripod.

 

Shootsac + rstrap = great quick access combo

Flash or natural light it's still just light, some of the pics you linked are flash only, some are natural light only and some are a mix - you just need to understand lighting. A softbox was designed made to model window light afterall.

 

If the natural light is doing just what you want then great - use it

 

If the natural light sucks indoors then kill it as much as you can and then max your shutter speed to the flash sync speed to overpower it, then you can set up your flash gear and use only flash with full control

 

If you need backgrounds in big rooms and stuff in the distance to be lit you will want to mix flash an ambient

 

If you don't use flash already you will be amazed at what you can accomplish with a hot shoe flash and an umbrella used off camera, check out strobist.com

If you want shallow dof with flash you need an ND filter or to shoot using FP high sync mode if the flash can deliver enough power due to sync speed issues others have mentioned.

 

Also using the diffuser outside is a waste of time, it just sprays light uselessly and costs you flash power.

Modern lenses can't defeat the laws of physics so yes shooting landscapes with foreground detail and infinity hyperfocal is just as applicable as it ever was - all that has happened is manufacturers have removed dof markings and distance scales from their lenses for some reason.

 

All hyperfocal distance is, is a distance at which you can focus so that your outer limit of depth of field is at infinity.

 

There is also dof blending software like helicon focus which can combine frames shot focused at different points meaning you can avoid apertures that soften the image due to diffraction and/or enable you to shoot with dof impossible under normal circumstances.

Put some NiZn batteries in your flash, they already match battery pack speed with just 4 AA cells. Other paps won't have any different gear to you, if you want faster recycling shoot at a wider aperture so you use less flash power.

 

Watch out you don't melt you flash btw.

Use of that adapter if for softboxes other than the apollo, just thought I would clarify.

 

For the apollos you can use their accessory mounting arm like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/prismred/tags/apollo/

Umbrellas are much more tolerant since the flash is not encased like the westcott apollo softboxes which definitely does affect the triggering. Still, indoors the popup flash with CLS I have had not failures with the westcott softbox.

The best alternative with the westcott apollo is to use a ttl capable radio trigger so you can change the flash power settings from the camera since the flash is enclosed. The mounting arm westcott sell may solve you problem in getting to the controls though: http://www.flickr.com/photos/prismred/tags/apollo/

 

I don't know anything about the lastolite but the westcott apollos are great for speedlights because there is no speed ring required and they fold up easily like an umbrella.

It's worth noting that if you use CLS to trigger the flashes the preflashes will mess up an external meter.

 

Lots of photographers that use off camera flash extremely well don't use meters (David Hobby, the lightenupandshoot guys etc.), it's personal taste. Personally I shoot in manual and expose the ambient to how I want it then I add the flash(es) and adjust the power until the skin looks right.

 

If you want to do you lighting 'by the numbers' then use a meter, for me the lcd tells me all I need.

With these softboxes you'd basically have to take the front diffuser off each if you wanted to adjust the flash power because the flash is actually inside it so using CLS or some other ttl capable system is a must imo.

 

I've just got a westcott apollo 28" and was very surprised how well I could use my D700s on camera flash as commander and use CLS. It doesn't work amazingly though, yesterday I got a failure outdoors with the softbox about 15ft away, it would probably be better using a flash on the hotshoe as commander so it could be directed at the softbox.

 

Since I have the 28" which only covers up to 3/4 shots and given the power limitations with speedlights I'm not too worried since it won't ever be far from the camera anyway. The lowest power I've used with it so far with the SB800 is 1/2 power and I'm nomally needing full power so I have a double speedlight bracket on order.

Buy the most powerful flash by nikon which is the SB800 or 900, speedlights need all the power they can get and buying nikon you can control remote flashes from yoru D700. Batteries are no real issue at all and performance with the new rechargable NiZn batteries is amazing with recycle times cut to fractions of what they are normally.

I shoot multi row panos with only a ballhead and levelling base; nodal rails and other rrs scaffolding is only really needed for architecture/interiors.

I shoot RAW. I know the jpg vs raw debate verges on fanatical but a wedding is the one one place I will always shoot raw due to lack of lighting control, criticality of many of the shots and white dress/dark suit issue.

Overpowering the sun at midday, full length shots, big modifiers and fast recycle time all point to big strobes. If you need to travel light, can pick and choose where/when you shoot and live with the batteries and recycle time speedlights are an excellent and flexible choice – I love being able to use TTL off camera and change power settings of remote flashes from the camera.

 

Most photographers tend to lean one way or the other – it’s a personal thing and depends on how/what you shoot. Even the most hardened ‘strobist’ fans seem to end up with studio gear or at least rent it when the job comes up where speedlights aren’t appropriate.

 

On the FP high sync issue, the power loss entering high sync mode is massive when you test it. You are much much better off shooting at max sync speed and using the full power of the flash and an ND filter if you need shallow depth of field. I even set up an SB800 to trigger an remote SB800 in SU4 mode at full power and at all shutter speeds above the sync speed this achieved just over a stop more power than shooting in FP mode!

 

The best way of getting more power with speedlights is doubling them up, I have made a bracket that does this but the cost and hassle quickly makes big flashes attractive. Remember, doubling the number of flashes only gives you 1 more stop of power!

I don't have as many lenses as you and don't see the need to have any more, buy more when there is something you often want to shoot can can't with your current lineup whether there are 'gaps' or not.

 

I would buy a flash despite what you say about flash. I'm assuming here but in my experience most people that hate flash and are 'natural light only' have not worked with it enough or learned to use it properly. Have you used flash off camera and with modifiers? It opens up a whole world of opportunities far beyond fill in bright sun and direct flash when light is low. High iso performance does not suddenly absolve need for flash - it is a creative tool which most people don't use as such. Buy and SB800 and read strobist, if you hate it you can just resell it for what you bought it for knowing you have learned a lot in the process.

I recently got a brand new SD-8A off ebay for £50. It makes a huge difference, recycle at full power is now under 2.5s from 6s but would very easy to fry your flash.

 

I'm using 2900mAh batteries.