 Janice M. Borodezt |
Wedding Photography In May, I have a wedding to shoot. I always get some shadows in my pictures. How can I get rid of the shadow in back of the bride, groom, etc.? Any reference in wedding photography will help. Also, I have a lot of equipment and have shot weddings in the past but it has been one year since I shot a wedding. Any info will help. Thank you.
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hi Janice, Outside - fill flash... I use my 580EX or 430EX speedlights for outdoor daytime shots because it cuts down on light shining between the leaves and other objects that create harsh shadows. For shadows behind the subject, a large softbox, beauty dish, or ringlight will help to wrap the light around the subject which will cut down on background shadows. You may also try bouncing the flash off of the ceiling or walls but keep in mind that the light may pick up the wall color and cast that color onto your subject. This can be fixed with Raw editing programs or by using a white balance card at the shoot but make sure you are shooting in Raw format so you can more easily correct the white balance. Keep the bride/groom a distance away from background walls, which is my preference but too far away can cause other problems - distractions like people walking behind them while you are shooting. If you section off a space to do these shots, you can better control the light, background and distractions. I try to scope out shooting locations at the venue and envision my shoot beforehand so I can better anticipate the challenges that may arise. So when you make your pre-shoot check at the venue, play it out in your mind where you want to take the portraits and what the lighting you have available to work with and what you will need to do to compensate. Good luck & have fun... My .02,
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Janice M. Borodezt |
Carlton, Thank you so much for your reply. I will definite use the information you talked about it is very usely. Again I appreciate it.
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Bunny Snow |
Janice, I set my 580EX Canon flash to minus 1/3 ETTL for fill that does not quite look like fill. It gives a nice 1 to 2 ratio of the filled shadow to the light areas. One has to be especially careful of capturing people with the sunlight filtering through the leaves because of the unflattering and harsh leaf designs on their faces. Diffused lighting be it from a big cloud or a cloudy day would be ideal, because there would be no high contrast between the highlights and the shadows. But, if your weather is not conducive to deliver perfect lighting, you can make it better yourself with careful positioning and a fill-light at that setting. Look closely at your LCD screen to see what the shadows are doing to their features on the faces, and remember, the slightest breeze can make this change. Hence, a fill-light is crucial. Another location for good even lighting outside is in the open shade of a building, but with a garden background. I've always been taught to avoid direct sunlight because of the harshness of the light and the deep shadows, and to use open shade when doing a portrait outside. That open shade may also be found in a covered doorway, for more intimate portraits with additional composition. One more thing. Always, know your flash and setting previously, so you will know quickly what to expect and be able to cut down on wasted time with your subjects. When I captured weddings (decades ago), I scouted out the area the day before with my camera in hand, even taking some images where better lighting could be found, so that when I was there with my "models," I was ready to go with minor adjustments. If you have helpers who can hold large sheets of white foam core poster board, they make for wonderful bounce lighting to softly fill the shadows with delicate lighting. They have to be carefully positioned, but are an inexpensive way to increase the lighting effect that a softbox would do in a studio setting..on a budget. Hope this adds to the excellent advice previously received.
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Janice M. Borodezt |
Bunny: Thank you so much for your response. Thank you so much.
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Bunny Snow |
If you have time, Paul Gero has an excellent course on using your 580 EX flash: An Introduction to Your Canon Flash. The course helped me enormously reduce my learning curve when I changed technology from Nikon to Canon and from an inexpensive SunPak manual flash to a more automatic Canon 580EX. As a Canon Visionary, Paul got me up and running quickly and efficiently. He's very helpful at thoroughly answering questions. I strongly recommend his course. The first assignment of the short 4 week course is March 9th. This will quickly reduce your learning curve and get you up and running for your wedding. Read not only the flash manual, but the camera manual, too, because the equipment needs to work together. There may be some custom functions that you may want to set. Paul will explain them. Hope this helps. Bunny
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Janice M. Borodezt |
Bunny. Thank you so much. I definite want to take the course. This does help.
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