Flash guns and weddings

Atirez

Atirez

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Barry
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Hi all, I hope you can help me out with some much needed information.

I have been asked, kindly, by a friend to be his second at a wedding at the end of next month. Since I get to take photos and don't have to shoulder all of the responsibility of not ruining every photo of someones very important day I agreed.

However, I do not have a flash gun and can't decide; firstly if I need one and secondly (since I prefer ambient lighting) if my lenses are really going to cut the mustard indoors.

I currently have a 50mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8 Canon EF lenses which I can put on a 6D, which seems to have good noise ability at higher ISOs.

If that is not going to cut it, I was looking at the Canon Speedlite 430ex but don't know enough about flash guns and specs to make an informed decision.

Anyone have any advice?

Thanks.
 
Well your lenses are pretty much fast enough for ambient lighting though I would tend to take a flash gun to balance some of ambient with fill in flash and perhaps do a mixture of both. The flash you've mentioned seems a good option though I'm not a Canon user.

Don't now anything about your friends venue have you paid it a visit at all?

Bouncing flash inside is always a good thing to be able to do.
 
Many churches don't allow flash, it varies a lot so it might be worth checking, however for the shots outside you might well find fill flash helpfull, especially if it's a sunny day.
 
I'm a wedding photographer that prefers natural light but I don't think I'd want to go to a wedding without a flash. I shot a wedding recently where 85% of my shots were taken with a combination of a 35 f1.4 & 85 f1.8. Most of those would have been natural light but some would have used bounced flash.

I would have said that your 2 lenses on a crop camera don't give you a wide option but as a second shooter you can probably get away with that. It depends what kind of shots your main shooter wants you to get. My 2nd shooter gets a lot of candid portraits with a 135 f2 while I'm getting some wider shots which makes for a good set overall.
 
with a 6D and those lenses you will be fine with no flash.

The 6D is epic at high iso numbers from what I have seen even at 8000iso so you will have no problem.

Rob the 6D is full frame not crop but even still, 50mm isn't that wide but as hes not the main shooter I don't see too much of a problem
 
-Rob- said:
I'm a wedding photographer that prefers natural light but I don't think I'd want to go to a wedding without a flash. I shot a wedding recently where 85% of my shots were taken with a combination of a 35 f1.4 & 85 f1.8. Most of those would have been natural light but some would have used bounced flash.

I would have said that your 2 lenses on a crop camera don't give you a wide option but as a second shooter you can probably get away with that. It depends what kind of shots your main shooter wants you to get. My 2nd shooter gets a lot of candid portraits with a 135 f2 while I'm getting some wider shots which makes for a good set overall.
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I figure I will be doing mostly candid shots but the main photographer was having a meeting with the client yesterday and we are going to have a chat later about what he expects from me.

The 6D is a full frame camera, so should be wide enough right? I do have the 24-105L kit lens as well. But I think that may struggle in doors.

I have been looking at getting a wider prime but the amount of money I have spent on gear recently makes me want to wait a little bit :)
 
swanseamale47 said:
Many churches don't allow flash, it varies a lot so it might be worth checking, however for the shots outside you might well find fill flash helpfull, especially if it's a sunny day.
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking as well. From what little experience I have using flash I have liked the results from a fill flash in the sun. But have generally hated the results in doors but that has been from on camera flashes where control is limited.
 
chivers67 said:
Well your lenses are pretty much fast enough for ambient lighting though I would tend to take a flash gun to balance some of ambient with fill in flash and perhaps do a mixture of both. The flash you've mentioned seems a good option though I'm not a Canon user.

Don't now anything about your friends venue have you paid it a visit at all?

Bouncing flash inside is always a good thing to be able to do.
Click to expand...

Still waiting on information about location so have not had a chance to visit yet.
 
As Rob says, I wouldn't turn up at a wedding without flash.

High ISO and fast primes are great for weddings - BUT, there does come a point where I look at the quality of the images and think that it is time for flash.

One other thing to also consider are those conditions where the ambient light is not just dull but mixed temperatures.

As a second of course, I suppose you could argue that there is less pressure.

Good luck with the gig! :)
 
Outside last weekend we used 1 off camera flash with rogue bender and one on the hot shoe to balance the light from the sun on the left hand side.

However if you are doing the candid nobody sees me photos and from a distance the flash may become an obsolete item anyway.

I was shooting our candids from a good 15 -20 feet away with the telephoto outside the church so to not be in the way of Iain whilst doing the group shots with flash etc so I wasnt using flash from my position.
 
Is it a friends wedding or your a friend of the primary tog whose asked you? If the latter see what he/she is doing so you end up with balanced looking shots, might look odd if there's are all ambient no flash and yours are all ambient with flash :)
 
haha :)

Easily done and you would be right if it was crop, we use 17mm or a fish eye even
 
Calzor Suzay said:
Is it a friends wedding or your a friend of the primary tog whose asked you? If the latter see what he/she is doing so you end up with balanced looking shots, might look odd if there's are all ambient no flash and yours are all ambient with flash :)
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That is a very good point! And yeah the main photographer is my friend.
 
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So since I do not have a flash at the moment, can anyone give me any advice regarding what to get and what to look for?

I didn't want to spend a huge sum of money but don't want to waste money on poor equipment. So was looking at getting the 430EX II which, in the future, I could use as a slave.

Canon Speedlite 430EX II

Is this going to be good enough? I really have no idea about specs on flashes at the moment.
 
Atirez said:
That is a very good point! And yeah the main photographer is my friend.
Click to expand...
Here's an alternative good point:
If (as it appears) you haven't got a clue how to use a flash...
Atirez said:
If that is not going to cut it, I was looking at the Canon Speedlite 430ex but don't know enough about flash guns and specs to make an informed decision.
...
Click to expand...

You have the choice of creating good photo's with fast lenses or crap photo's with flash. To me; that's a no-brainer (providing you do actually know what you're doing with ambient light and wide apertures).
 
Phil V said:
Here's an alternative good point:
If (as it appears) you haven't got a clue how to use a flash...


You have the choice of creating good photo's with fast lenses or crap photo's with flash. To me; that's a no-brainer (providing you do actually know what you're doing with ambient light and wide apertures).
Click to expand...

That did cross my mind, so I was going to harass my friends with my camera and flash a fair bit before I turned up to use it at a wedding. I wouldn't use something I am not comfortable with.

I am far more confident in ambient lighting, I am no pro however and have not up-sold myself in any way.
 
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