{"id":2071,"date":"2010-01-11T17:42:19","date_gmt":"2010-01-11T21:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetneil.com\/tangents\/?p=2071"},"modified":"2021-06-01T16:42:02","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T20:42:02","slug":"flash-and-low-ambient-light-wedding-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/flash-and-low-ambient-light-wedding-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"flash & low ambient light – adapting during an outdoor wedding ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

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wedding photography: flash and low ambient light – adapting during the shoot<\/h1>\n

I’m often asked what I would do when I encounter a situation where you need to use flash, but there is no easy way to bounce flash.\u00a0 My flippant answer is … you’re screwed!<\/p>\n

Well, not really.\u00a0My advice is that you have to improvise<\/strong> and in some way of finesse<\/strong> your use of light.\u00a0 In tough situations, you still want to try and shy away from using direct on-camera flash whenever possible.\u00a0 Direct on-camera flash as the main source of light is rarely aesthetically the best choice.<\/p>\n

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As an example of what I meant by improvising, here is a wedding I photographed a\u00a0wedding at the Pleasantdale Chateau<\/a>. Earlier in the day, working outside with the couple, we had great light. There was a changing mix of dramatic light and soft light, which made it easy getting beautiful photos of the couple.<\/p>\n

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Later in the evening, just using bounce flash was enough to work with:<\/p>\n

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However, the outside ceremony was scheduled for early evening.\u00a0 I knew that even if the ceremony started on time, the light would gradually fade into darkness as the event progressed.<\/p>\n

I now had to balance the practical consideration of getting sharp images, with the artistic consideration of retaining the mood of the setting and the mood of the ceremony. I couldn’t rely on there being enough available light to carry myself and my second photographer through the time of dusk setting in.\u00a0 Direct on-camera flash just doesn’t look that good, but there really was no way to bounce flash there … we were outside next to a lake.<\/p>\n

This is where panic set in.\u00a0I desperately want to give my clients images that look as great as those they saw in my sample albums or on my website.\u00a0 But there were the practical matters to consider. I wanted both these things –\u00a0 sharp images, but also images that retained the mood …<\/p>\n

I decided to cover myself both ways.\u00a0\u00a0 I would do both things – use flash, but also get images that were only available light. Something had to stick.<\/p>\n

I gave my second photographer, Elisbeth Millay, all my f1.4 and f1.2 optics, and told her to only shoot only available light. To use high ISO settings. With these lenses, she’d be able to shoot handheld in very low light. At the time she was using the Canon 5D bodies, and I was happy with the results at 1250 ISO, from these cameras. Even 1600 ISO if we had to. I can always deal with high-ISO noise in post-production, but I can’t fix images which are soft due to camera shake.<\/p>\n

For myself, I decided to cover myself the other way, by using additional flashguns.\u00a0 Before the ceremony, I very quickly set up two Quantum flashguns<\/strong> on 13′ high lightstands.\u00a0 I couldn’t use umbrellas, because even the slightest wind would topple the light stands.\u00a0 I weighted the lightstands down with camera bags hanging at the bottom of the stand.<\/p>\n

I set up the two lightstands at the two back corners of where the guests were seated.\u00a0 If I recall correctly, I had set the power to 1\/4 of full power.\u00a0 I used the diffuser disc that comes standard with the Q-flash.\u00a0 Other than that, these two flashguns were directly pointed towards the area where the couple would stand during the ceremony.<\/p>\n

My reasoning was that the flashguns would illuminate their areas individually to the back, and to the center, add their exposure … ending up giving as even light as was possible right then with a quickly improvised setup.<\/p>\n

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off camera flash as additional light at a wedding<\/h2>\n

I used on-camera flash in my set-up, with the idea that the two additional flashguns would second-light my photographs. I was hoping that the additional lighting would reduce the ‘flat’ effect of on-camera flash, by giving some dimension and depth to the resulting images. \u00a0My speedlight on my camera was in TTL mode. \u00a0The additional flashes were in manual mode.<\/p>\n

It’s not that difficult judging the relative settings to ensure the additional lights and the on-camera flash augment each other. \u00a0 For the manual flashes, aperture and ISO controls exposure. \u00a0For the TTL flash … they don’t<\/a>.\u00a0That’s the key.\u00a0(Oh, for some images, I did switch my flash off.)<\/p>\n

In this image here of the bride approaching down the aisle with her parents, you can see how the one Q-flash was positioned.\u00a0 That’s the flashgun (obviously) flaring in the corner of the image.<\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/60 @ f5 @ 1600 ISO<\/span>
\n equipment:\u00a0 Canon 1D mkIII;\u00a0 Canon 24-105mm f4;\u00a0 Canon 580EXII<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is the image taken moments before, as the bride was approaching – but this time, available light only.<\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/125 @ f1.8 @ 1000 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 5D;\u00a0 Canon 85mm f1.2 II
\nphotography: \u00a0Elisabeth Millay <\/span><\/p>\n

You can immediately see the problems we’d be facing with ever-fading light levels, if these are the settings we’re dealing with at the start of the ceremony already.<\/p>\n

But with the two-fold approach, I’d be assured of getting solid results – one way or another.\u00a0 Or perhaps if I’m lucky, working like this would give me the most images to choose from to give to my clients.\u00a0 And that is actually how it panned out in the end.<\/p>\n

A few more images taken from approximate the same angle, or at the same time – one with my set-up with additional flashguns; and the other the available-light-only approach.<\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/25 @ f4 @ 1600 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 1D mkIII;\u00a0 Canon 24-105mm f4<\/span><\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/125 @ f1.6 @ 1250 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 5D;\u00a0 Canon 85mm f1.2 II
\nphotography: \u00a0Elisabeth Millay<\/span><\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/40 @ f3.5 @ 1250 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 1D mkIII;\u00a0 Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS<\/span><\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/100 @ f1.4 @ 1600 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 5D;\u00a0 Canon 85mm f1.2 II
\nphotography: \u00a0Elisabeth Millay<\/span><\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/13 @ f2.8 @ 2500 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 1D mkIII;\u00a0 Canon 16-35mm f2.8 II<\/span><\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/30 @ f3.5 @ 1600 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 1D mkIII;\u00a0 Canon 16-35mm f2.8 II<\/span><\/p>\n

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Oh, for those three pairs of images above, for those who would insist in a passive-aggressive way that they need<\/strong> to be told which are with flash, and which are available light only – and who insist they can’t figure it out from the settings and the look of the images – I am going to post your names on failblog.org !<\/p>\n

Here are two photos taken during one of the key moments. \u00a0In this case the available light shot was taken at the very extreme ends of hand-holdable settings .. and as a result, there is noticeable camera-shake. \u00a0However, it shows the bride’s elated gesture so well.\u00a0 Since that image clearly encapsulates the mood of the evening, I included it in the final selection of images without hesitation.<\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/50 @ f3.5 @ 1600 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 1D mkIII;\u00a0 Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS<\/span><\/p>\n

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camera settings:\u00a0 1\/60 @ f1.2 @ 1600 ISO
\nequipment:\u00a0 Canon 5D;\u00a0 Canon 85mm f1.2 II
\nphotography: \u00a0Elisabeth Millay<\/span><\/p>\n

So there is some of my approach to wedding photography, and perhaps some insight into the thought-process. It’s a constant adapting and changing, depending on the scenario I have to deal with. It’s not just one way of working.<\/p>\n

What would I have done if I had been alone on this evening?\u00a0 I would’ve worked just so much harder – but with the same multifold approach to make sure I get the kind of results that is expected of a professional photographer.<\/p>\n

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other articles on wedding photography<\/a><\/h3>\n

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