 BetterPhoto Member |
Outdoor lighting I am shooting my first outdoor wedding? When I went and scouted the location I found overhead rafters that light can go through and cause shadows. Any suggestions?
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Maynard McKillen |
Dear Kelli: Yes, it could be distracting if you took photos of people using only the available light. Those shadows, or perhaps even worse, alternating aeas of light and shade, would wash everyone with "zebra light." (It sounds as if you might be shooting under an arbor.) Bring along a powerful flash (Guide number 160 or higher, in feet for ISO 100 film), if you plan to photograph large groups under these rafters. Several less powerful flash units, with guide numbers of at least 120 in feet for ISO 100 film, could be substituted for the single large flash. I'm being generous in my estimates of the amount of flash power you would need, since I haven't seen the location, don't know the distance between you and the subjects, and haven't measured the available light intensity with a meter. Your strategy would be to provide so much electronic flash illumination that the flash becomes the primary source of light for the photos. It would "overpower" the sunlight, eliminate the shadows cast by the rafters, and thereby even out the illumination of the subjects. (It may be easier to imagine this approach if you consider how you'd photograph the wedding if it were held at night. You'd want plenty of light, evenly illuminating the subjects.) The light emitted by the electronic flash units will have to be "brighter" than the sunlight. Let's say you take an incident light meter reading of the sunlit area where people will be standing to be photographed. The meter displays f/8 at 1/125 of a second, and you are using ISO 100 film. To even out the illumination and overpower the sunlight, you set up your flash units and adjust them to provide enough flash illumination so that you could actually shoot at f/11 at 1/125 of a second. To check the combined output of the flash units, stand in the shadow cast by one of those rafters, a spot where you know one of your subjects will later be standing to be photographed, and take an incident flash meter reading. You want to see a flash output of f/11 at 1/125 of a second for ISO 100 film. This is only one possible way to solve the problem of uneven natural illumination, and I make some assumptions in this example. I assume you set the flash units to manual, and adjust their power output by means of the dial or lever found on some flash units. You can also adjust the output of a flash by moving it closer to or farther from the subject. To get several flash units to fire simultaneously, you'd probably resort to radio slave units; if you used light triggered slaves, flash discharges from other cameras could trigger your flashes, rendering them unavailable to you while they recharge. And, of course, they would not be ready when you needed them (See Murphy's Law, Article IV, paragraph two). If this happens to be a small wedding, you might find a way to pose the wedding party so that no one ends up standing in a rafter shadow. Consider, too, that if the rafters are closely spaced, and cause "Zebra lighting," you may want to use this lighting to your advantage for a few photos. A full shot of the bride and groom, walking away from you (or pretending to) and holding hands, might look very dramatic under "zebra lighting." I see you choosing a low angle to shoot from for that photo. Good luck!
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