I am helping my cousin shoot a wedding in a week, she is doing the heavy lifting but I am given some super opportunities as well.  For one, after the wedding I am going ahead of her to shoot some pictures of the reception in a very dark meeting hall.  This scares me.  I do not like dark places and want to hopefully avoid such a flash look, probably unavoidable I know, but...Any advice, tips, secrets would be appreciated! 

The easiest way to avoid the flash look is to not use the flash straight on ( thats why they make the better flashes with tilt and swivel actions..

Point the flash at the ceiling or a wall to get a more dimensional look.

First weddings can always be very nerve wracking....but as Gary suggested above using a swivel flash (for example I have a canon 40D so I use the 580EX II). Another good investment is a light sphere.. Gary Fong has some nice ones. For example: If you point your flash at the ceiling it will use the ceiling to bounce the light which has kinda an effect of lighting up the room. However, Depending on what kind of flash and also what kind of camera you are using you may need to keep that flash look and point direct at the subject if the situation is very low light. I am not sure what kind of camera you are planning on using but the cameras top shutter speed can have a big impact of how well you will shoot in a low light situation. A faster shutter speed obviously would be ideal, but we all have to work with what we have available.

Definatly would consider using a nice swivel flash and light spheres.

Hi, thanks, I have a canon20D with a 430EX.  The good thing is that I am a "helper" so I have some room for error.  I feel that the flash is very powerful, do you agree?  So bouncing sounds good.  Since I have not been in the bldg I'm not sure what I am dealing with, I'm told that it is dark.  What do you recommend knowing my equipment?  Thanks so much.

 I agree, some kind of diffuser for your flash is best.  I have seen a lot of people on other forums who got the gary fong thingy and used it a few times then never again.  It is expensive and bulky.  Stofen makes some nice, compact diffusers, or make your own: http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/

thanks again, the videos are funny, or rather he is.  will take notes and practice.  do you shoot weddings?  do you have a website?  would love to see.  eb

Ahh 20D... I have a 20D as a backup. I used it on a wedding last weekend and I know it doesnt have nearly the shutter speed as the the 40D but does okay. For the 20D and 430 Flash you are really going to need to focus it right on the subject. Other wise your shots are going to be very dark. I had this problem last weekend. Also, if you can I havent used the 430 only the 580EX and 580EX II, check to see if you can turn the flash on to be more powerful that just the standard setting. I had to do this and noticed a big change in the image quality. I didnt have my assistant use a light sphere but wish I would have. It really would of come in handy. Also, Make sure you are changing ISO speeds on the camera. When shooting outside with no flash leave it on 1600. That will be fine, but if you are in the church or inside the reception hall, change the setting down to 800. Try that see how those work.

Also, I would suggest just to calm your nerves...

1. Remember you are a backup shooter... take as many shots as you want you can always sort through them later and get rid of the blurry or to low light ones. Digitals are great for this!

2. Try it out first. Go into a living room or bar or somewhere that is low light and test your camera, have a friend or family member stand and move around alittle as people will be doing this at the reception and play around with the flash and ISO settings to find your best method of shooting. (this way you can have more of a feel for it before you go) Have fun with it.

3. Even though its your first wedding, you are now a professional, so dont tell people this is my first time, just walk in there as that second shooter and think I am the professional, having that confidence will help you even more!

If you need anything else just let me know!

Make sure that you have the right to use the photos you take in your portfolio. Does your cousin have any suggestions/advice/techniques to pass on. One of the reasons I'd shoot second like that is to learn....

 

Dave

 

Thank you for your kind words and advice.  I will definitely not tell them it is my first wedding. 

Oh, I would love the 40D, cannot justify new equipment just yet.  I have  my eye on one!

 You mentioned checking ISO while I shoot, how do I do that gracefully or within time constraints?  That is biggest fear, the timing of it all.  Normally a studio shoot is on MY time and I use it.  I don't want to be so nervous that I miss opportunities by fussing. 

I do get to keep my images, thank you.  She is so relaxed and has given me so much advice but I know that I'm wearing on her with all of my concerns.  I don't want her to think that I cannot handle this.  She is extending a great opportunity to me.  I will need to check with bride/groom what I can do with their images for my own business.  Would you agree that once you take images that they are your intellectual property?  Most clients agree with that, that I own them and I can display them.

Well, the ISO is pretty fast to change and if your going to be indoors just change it down when you first go in and leave it on that setting, if you know you are going to be outside change it up. I know if sounds like it would be very difficult but trust me you will not miss anything.

Also, some extra advice you might want to think about. Since you are the second shooter you have much oppurtunity to use your creative side. Since your cousin is the primary shooter use this oppurtunity to take shots your cousin is not taking. If shes shooting the group move to the side and shoot them at an angle all looking at her. Or shoot from the floor looking up. or vice versa. Stand on a chair and shoot down. Do a close macro of the flowers or glasses... these can all be very nice shots. I love to shoot all of the other things that are part of the wedding the decorations close ups of the flutes, the flowers draping down the side of the cake... whatever... just use your imagination.

I was kicking myself after my wedding Friday night. I was reviewing shots and for the heck of me, I don't know why I didn't just pull out the tripod to do all of the "filler shots" the cake, flowers, candles, etc...well I know ( I was being lazy and was on a time crunch) usually I can get by with that but I was in an extremely low light situation and trying to use only ambient light. If I hadn't been lazy and pulled out the tripod, I could have taken the shots at a muuuuuuuuuch lower ISO with a longer shutter speed and gotten much less noise. If you are there before hand and are not responsible for having to catch them as they first walk in the door, take the time to use your tripod and keep the iso low.

I agree bounce is better than headon flash but you need to consider the height of your ceilings. The sphere is great to use with high ceilings because you don't have to let it reach the ceiling to spread the light. Low light, open up your aperature as much as possible and keep the ISO as high as you can stand without too much noise. Just keep in mind you will have to increase your aperature for any "deep" group shots or shots where you want more of the depth of the object to be in focus. Also watch that shutter speed. You don't want it soo low you get movement blur.

Quote >>>>Also, Make sure you are changing ISO speeds on the camera. When shooting outside with no flash leave it on 1600. That will be fine, but if you are in the church or inside the reception hall, change the setting down to 800>>>>

I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound right.  Am I missing something about this advice??

 Typo I hope.  

sorry guys, at work and didnt reread what I was typing.... thats what I get for trying to do 20 things at once. Sorry!

Inside you'll more than likely be using your higher iso settings. We shoot a lot at 1600. Outside, depending on time of day, you should be much lower. However, use what is appropriate to get proper shutter speed/aperture combinations. Personally, I would stay away from the fong dong stuff. The stuff from Stofen was mentioned above, if I use a diffuser on camera, I use that. Normally I never use one. I think that a lot of those items waste your light, half the time they send it straight up into nowhere. Gary gave some great advice. Practice bouncing (or foofing) it off of a wall or ceiling. You'd be surprised at what kind of side lighting you can get from bouncing off of walls from on camera flash. One of the coolest ways to avoid a "flashy" look is to get the flash off camera. Easier said than done at most of my weddings.

1600 OUTSIDE !??!?!  What the ?  I don't know how your camera is for noise, but be careful using extreme high ISO.  IMO use the lowest ISO  you can and still get good, sharp images. 

 IMO to the original poster, if  you don't know enough about your camera and shooting to be able to quickly adjust ISO and other settings with confidence, then maybe you are in over your head.   Just reminded myself that you are the second shooter.  How about getting advice from the person you are working with?  If they are an experienced wedding shooter, then tell her you are "scared" to shoot in the dark reception hall.  If you were working with me, I would much rather you ask me BEFORE, than hand me crappy photos that I figured you were going to handle, since you didn't ask!

 I also was very confused by the posting telling you to turn up the power on the flash.  What the heck??  I shot weddings for 2.5 years with Canon before switching back to Nikon and although Canon's flash isn't as good as Nikon (IMO, that's another thread) it did Ok, and I didn't have to "turn up the power" when in a low light situation.  The flash and camera meter control  the output with iTTL. 
 

Here's another tidbit....if it's lit well, high iso's on most modern dslr's handle noise just fine. If it's not lit well, it's going to have noise.

I didn't read the 1600 iso outside as a typo, I just assumed she was talking about shooting outside at night. Then you would want it.

I have talked with the primary photographer quite a bit, my main concern was changing settings quickly, as I have never had that pressure before.  She had mentioned to me that timing is a big issue.  I understand that. I'm nervous about getting images in an efficient manner.  I know my camera well but I can get nervous.  She knows my concerns and I will not give her crappy images.  

Hang in there... Unfortunately, at least in my opinion, nothing will prepare you for this. You just have to stay as calm as possible and thank the Lord that we don't live in the "pre-photoshop" era!  LOL.  You will do fine. The more you do it, the better you get.

Yes, I'll never know what I am capable of until I try it right?  So, thank you for the kind words and insipiration.  BTW, the topic before mine is hilarious; guess it isn't just newbies that are scared of weddings!  Thank you again.  I'll  let you know how it goes.

I think you are over thinking this.  What settings do you think you'll be changing as action is happening causing you to possibly miss shots?  When you enter a new lighting situation,  you will choose the ISO for that room/location and then forget about it.   

 Experience is a wonderful thing so just go out there and do it, and have fun...it'll all work out!