Bridal Question...Lighting! Please help :)

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

03/15/2008 11:23:39 AM · #1

Hey everyone,

I'm doing a bridal session today in a beautiful, huge church today. I have 1 1600 watt alien bee light that I plan on using on the subject, but my question, what's the best way to get her perfectly exposed (i have a sekonic light meter) and then, make sure the surroundings (church, HUGE organ, etc) behind her are properly exposed as well? there will be outside light coming in through the stain glass windows , but i am just looking for pointers, for i am FAIRLY new to studio lighting .

any and all ideas / pointers will be GREATLY appreciated. thanks!

jmlelii

Nikon D850

03/15/2008 11:35:38 AM · #2

One way you could do it would be to meter for the lighting in the church, and then adjust the strobe to properly light the soon to be bride.

Olympus 12-45mm f/4.0 Pro

03/15/2008 11:52:15 AM · #3

sometimes I don't take the time to slow down and think things through,and your point is well taken...sounds perfect, i'll see what i can do and post afterwards.

thanks so much!

any other insights? i really appreciate this!

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

03/15/2008 11:54:44 AM · #4

What

jmlelii said sounds like solid advice. Personally, I'd probably leave the background at least 1-stop underexposed, to keep the focus on the bride.

I was instructed that in mixed lighting, when trying to fine tune it, the lens aperture controls the light from the strobe while the shutter speed controls the ambient intensity. With a meter this will probably be easier for you to nail down.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

03/15/2008 12:29:48 PM · #5

here's what i was thinking...

tell me if i'm wrong?

i meter the subject at a controlled meter of 200th a second, find out what aperture to use for that

then I meter the ambient light in the background, at the aperture used for the studio light, and then "drag the shutter" to a slower speed to expose the background at that aperture, but the flash would have frozen her at its sync speed ..

am i started to think in the right manner?

thanks!

ClubJuggle

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

03/15/2008 03:25:27 PM · #6

Since you're asking the day of the shoot, this is probably not possible for this shoot, but the best thing to do for similar situations in the future might be to try to gain access to the facility ahead of time, at a similar time of day to that when you plan to be shooting (read: similar ambient light conditions) and bring a friend (or yourself) dressed in white to take some test shots/practice metering.

That not being possible at this point, your histogram is your friend, and as noted you can adjust the strobe intensity as needed via the controls and/or moving it.

~Terry

Prof_Fate

03/15/2008 03:54:11 PM · #7

What aperture do you want? Start there. Pick an ISO that will get you close on the BG, say 800 (most churches are pretty dark).

Set your meter measure the flash and to ISO 800 and adjust the light till you get F4 (if that's teh aperture you've chosen) at the subject's location. Any shutter speed will do at this point.

Now set your meter to ambient mode and ISO to 800, aperture to F4 (as above) and adjust the shutter speed till you get the proper exposure - that will be be for your background. It may be 1/10 second or similarly slow shutter.

Then take you photo with the camera at ISO 800 F4 and 1/10. Yes, you'll want a tripod. An IS lens can work to a point, but a tripod is better.

Travis99

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

03/15/2008 05:00:41 PM · #8

Look for the natural light coming in the church. If you can't find it, squint your eyes. Then look. If you want to use the ab1600, just point it towards the ceiling, or use a big umbrella for a fill light. I would also take a handheld reflector. Because you may be getting some harsh light from above the subject. Place the small reflector under her so that you can throw some light under her eyes. If its a bridal, trust me, she is not going to give a damn what the church looks like. As long as she looks good. Keep the ab1600 on a pretty ow setting chimp the viewfinder and adjust as needed. My personal opinion is that when you start throwing artificial light all over the place you tend to loose the magic of stained glass.

Let us know how it goes.

Travis

03/20/2008 01:17:52 PM · #9

Bebe

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

03/20/2008 01:34:24 PM · #10

The photographs are gorgeous, and I think you nailed the lighting.

amandak

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

03/20/2008 01:43:42 PM · #11

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

So how do you do this if you're not using a strobe light, but a flashgun?

MattO

Nikon D4

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

03/20/2008 01:57:43 PM · #12

I like the poses and the photos in general. I think you lost the skin tones in the first two poses and there are some flash/strobe highlights on her face that are a bit distracting. I think you could have easily stopped down 2/3 on either the lighting or the aperture and had better skin tones and still been OK with the dress, there isnt much detail in it in that size, but maybe there is in a larger version, or its just a smooth dress.

Matt

Melethia

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

03/20/2008 02:02:59 PM · #13

I'm not a professional, the only weddings I shot were those of my siblings and only as a hobby, and I know nothing about artificial lighting. But I think you did a great job - the formals inside the church are nice, but I really like some of the shots you took outside - not for the setting but because you seemed to capture more of her personality in some of those. Very nice work - I suspect she's quite pleased!

pineapple

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

03/20/2008 02:04:44 PM · #14

Nice one Jon... really nice work. (edited to remove that H from Jon ;-)

Message edited by author 2008-03-20 14:05:39.

Prof_Fate

03/20/2008 02:15:47 PM · #15

Nice work! On the first 3, what lens? What aperture did you use? I like how the BG is OOF, so I'm curious as what you did / used.

Prof_Fate

03/20/2008 02:17:39 PM · #16

Originally posted by amandak:

So how do you do this if you're not using a strobe light, but a flashgun?

Av mode will try to expose for the ambient light, so pick ISO 800 maybe and an aperture you want and it should pick a shutter speed for the ambient exposure. Then you use the flash gun and adjust by playing with the Flash Exposure Compensation. Remember though, that the Av mode may let the shutter to as slow as 30 seconds!

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

03/20/2008 02:21:31 PM · #17

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Nice work! On the first 3, what lens? What aperture did you use? I like how the BG is OOF, so I'm curious as what you did / used.

i was using an aperture of 1.8, ISO 50 (my mistake, mainly due to the fact that i'm used to flipping the dial all the way to the left for outside pictures, which was right before this) and a shutter of 1/30th. the "stage" behind her is a good 35 yards from her lol. looks somewhat closer, but sheesh...going to be a LOOOONG wedding w/ me not being able to go any further than the back 5 pews and not being able to use any flash whatsoever LOL

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

03/20/2008 02:22:10 PM · #18

Those examples ROCK Jon! Very, very nicely done.
You should be proud and I bet they will be THRILLED!

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

03/20/2008 02:22:19 PM · #19

and thanks so much to everyone for your kind words and comments. it really helps me for the next shoot :D

amandak

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

03/20/2008 02:35:26 PM · #20

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

Originally posted by amandak:

So how do you do this if you're not using a strobe light, but a flashgun?

Av mode will try to expose for the ambient light, so pick ISO 800 maybe and an aperture you want and it should pick a shutter speed for the ambient exposure. Then you use the flash gun and adjust by playing with the Flash Exposure Compensation. Remember though, that the Av mode may let the shutter to as slow as 30 seconds!

Thanks so much for the explanation - I'll have to try it out!

Bernard_Marx

Canon EOS-40D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

03/20/2008 03:51:19 PM · #21

Echo others: Those samples rock. Great job!

Edit the line: Those samples rock are excellent (chose one)

Message edited by author 2008-03-21 08:26:16.

lentil

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

03/20/2008 10:31:05 PM · #22

Jon,
You have done a fantastic job at these! So clean and clear... great lighting too :) You lovin the 5D? :)