CP-do you have one or two assistants helping? how do you have enough time to set up a monolight and softbox? I can't quite grasp this, time wise, when I read people set up strobes, and yet, for many churches, would think it might be necessary.

Churches here are DARK. ISO 1600 2.8 and 1/30 is the ambient reading in many, maybe 2 stops better in some. So ambient light is often no good.

There is another issue that I see about half the time - spot lights pointed at the altar - unless your exposure is brighter you will get shadows from these spots. See my fist shot - the shadow under the bride's chin? That's a spot in the church ceiling. I prefer not to shoot AT the altar for that reason and the old candles and crosses growing from their heads bit is always an issue - some churches have lots of mics on their lecterns and other distractions that drive me nuts. But sometimes there aren't options or the bride demands altar shots.

The softbox I am currently using is assembled all the time. Several companies now make folding softboxes (just like umbrellas). Alien Bee is one -they make a 2x3 softbox. I shoot the receining line while my assistant sets up the light - only one - and pulls up the creche and moves the flowers or other things that we can move at the alter while I adjust the light and camera. takes 5 minutes, 10 max - while the receiving line is going on, while the people empty out, etc. We have set up the light and stand before the ceremony and just put it in a back corner out of the way - so it's just a matter of walk it to the center aisle and plug things in.
We try to use the churche's power, but have an Alien Bee Vagabond battery unit for when we need it. The lights run and recycle just as fast as off the wall power.

I do use an assistant - the best money a wedding photographer can spend IMO! You can shoot and schmooze more while the ass't runs the gear, watches the gear, goes and fetches lenses or batteries or the ladder in the car, etc. Want to take the bride out for a pic? You got someone to go make sure the groom is hiding, etc. And for the formals he helps in posing - it goes faster and looks better.

And by the end of the day I am NOT bone weary tired! Plus I use him to second shoot during the ceremony from the back of the church while I roam about.

This was with two lights so I got some cross shadows, but it shows how some churches make posing at the altar more challenging - railings in the foreground! Yuk!


Back of the church posing works sometimes. It often presents it's own set of challenges - like where to put everyone not currently in the shot!


This was an exceptionally dark church and they had lots of crap on the altar (mics, retractable screens, etc) and itsn't not big up there, but it was DEEP, so that made getting the ambient setting difficult. Shot with an umbrella. And I HATE to see pews in the foreground corners, but sometimes it is what it is.

Hi JessE,

As CP suggests setting up a mono light or two for alter shots is not all that difficult. Especially if you have them setup ahead of time and ready to go as soon as the ceremony and receiving line is finished. Having an assistant as CP says is pretty much a must and will be the best $ you ever spent. That is unless you want to feel like a horse that's been rode hard and put away wet when you get to the reception. That goes double for old guys like me.

Hi Chris P,

Thanks for taking the time to respond and posting some great real life examples! This is soooo cool.

All your alter pictures (I am trying to get out of the habit of using the words shot and shoot) look pretty good. You are dead on about alters in most churches being a real challenge. You are also correct that using a bigger light source as opposed to a smaller one like a speedlight will help to prevent shadows from candlelabras and other items on the alter.

In your first photo I would have thought the monolight would have overpowered the spot over the bride preventing the shadow under her chin. Could it have been caused by the monolight being up too high?

Thanks,
George

I was taught, and have no reason to disagree, that the center of a light should be 2 feet over the head of the subject (for most lighting). I also need to be able to walk under/not block the light so I want the bottom of the softbox at least 7 feet above the floor. My stand will go to 13 feet if needed (no sandbags - just a good stand is enough)

Most altars are elevated so to keep the 2 foot rule 8 feet up is not unreasonable. I will keep experimenting with this set up and see what I get.

Perhaps dragging the shutter left the shadow there, not sure. I saw it when posing them, but it's pretty much where they had to be. I don't have online the really bad ones - I had to set my light off to one side a bit as the church had no center aisle, and not all the spots were working - I got some really nasty shadows on those formals (and hence they're not online )

I've played a bit with a backlight, but it's not necessary and to be honest it scares me that it might create more shadows. I've tried it with the couple and bride alone and wasn't impressed with the results, so more experimenting is in order (or just go take a class from Al Gordon)

jasonrgphotographer:
Thanks David. I appreciate your advice and will be purchasing the Canon 580EX/430EX DVD today. I own both flashes. The wedding this past weekend went very well. I ended up using one of my 800w/s stobes and shot through a white umbrella. They turned out great for my first wedding. I would've liked the backgrounds to be lighter (using more ambient lighting from the church) but I can adjust a little bit in Photoshop. Next time, I'll try using a shutter of 1/60 to open up the natural lighting in the background. They didn't turn out black, but just darker than expected. It does put more emphasis on the wedding party, family, etc. this way I guess.

This actually brings another question to mind.....Is it best to keep the backgrounds in the church lighter or darker? As mentioned, the darker background actually made the wedding party stand out a bit better without the cluster of the background being light. Or, maybe it's best to keep the background light? If so, what type of camera settings do you recommend? I used nearly full power at f/10 for good depth of field. But, I also used 1/250 for my shutter - way too fast I suppose. Any additional recommendations would be helpful before my next wedding in March.

Thanks,

Jason

Hi Jason,

I think you've received some pretty good info so far on this thread.
I'd just like to add that I would really shy away from using one "static" setting while taking your wedding photos (group or otherwise). By static I mean just keeping one setting for all venues (1/60 f/11, for example). One size really doesn't fit all.

What I'd recommend is metering for your setting at your desired ISO and manually setting your exposure accordingly. Be sure that the f/stop you have gives enough DOF that everyone in the portrait will be in focus. If the shutter speed is too slow at that setting, up your ISO, re-meter, and reset your manual exposer to match. That will give you your setting to capture the ambient light.
Next, if you're using TTL-enabled strobes (such as the 580EX), you can set your flash to be +1 f/stop EV and you should be fine. That should take care of illuminating your subjects nicely.

After following the above 2-3 steps you should be able to walk away with some photos that both have the warmth of the ambient setting and properly illuminated subjects with some sparkle in their eye!

Finally I would suggest trying out all of the tips you've received with some willing models (anyone you can get your hands on should do) and see what really works for you.

Hope this helps!
-Mark