Flash or natural light for first wedding

redmonkee

redmonkee

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PHILIP
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Hi guys

Here's where I'm at. I have my first wedding coming up in early August and i'm trying to decide whether I should take a flash.

Now to give you a bit of background. The wedding is for a couple of friends of a friend and they are not paying me as they have no money and also as i have no experience shooting weddings I have told them that I would not accept any payment. Instead I've asked if they'll simply buy any prints they like off my website.

I currently have a manual flash (YN560) and have only had limited experience using it so was thinking of getting an ETTL flashgun but now I'm thinking I cant justify the expense for a job where I am not getting paid.

Do you think it's possible to do a good job without flash using just natural light.

My glass includes Canon 35 1.4L, 70-200 2.8 mkII, 135 f2L

or if you believe a flash is vital is there anywhere I could rent one for the day?

Cheers

Phil
 
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depends what kind of natural light you have on the day, what you going to do indoors after the ceremony?

I would take a flash, end of the day the better the pics the more chance you have pf selling them on your website
 
I'm in a similar position in September..

Stick to what you know and what you're comfortable with, and work within these limits. Unless you can get a lot of practice in with the flash before the day you won't be familiar enough to carry it off.

.. fortunately I'll be in the position of being one of three photography buddies shooting the wedding of a fourth photography buddy, so we're all getting to play to our strengths.
 
Problem with no flash is what do you do if it's hissing down all day and all the wedding shots have to be taken inside, happened to me 3 weeks ago.
 
Pity you aren't closer, I'd have given you a loan for the day.
 
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You really need a flash, either a rented one or maybe see if the bride and groom would go halves.

The only time you might not need one is a bright overcast day. I use flash for fill on bright days and flash for a bit of pop in photos on a dull day... then obviously shots in the venue would need bounced flash.
 
That's very decent of you ED, you're a gent! :thumbs:
 
I echo what Dan has already said here.
Dull overcast day = flash
Sunny day = flash required for fill
Indoors = bounced flash required.

Your glass is fine but missing out on the 24-70 range.
If your going to be shooting the reception and it is a dark room them you will need the flash if only to use the infrared focus assist to help.

Take a look at www.lensesforhire.co.uk
They have the 580exII and you can rent this for a whole week £40
 
Alastair said:
I'm in a similar position in September..

Stick to what you know and what you're comfortable with, and work within these limits. Unless you can get a lot of practice in with the flash before the day you won't be familiar enough to carry it off.

.. fortunately I'll be in the position of being one of three photography buddies shooting the wedding of a fourth photography buddy, so we're all getting to play to our strengths.
Click to expand...

I see what you're saying, but now I have the chance to play with Ed's flash (hope that reads right :nuts:) I try and take the opportunity to learn flash as i'm sure it'll come in handy at some stage during the day.
 
John Price said:
I echo what Dan has already said here.
Dull overcast day = flash
Sunny day = flash required for fill
Indoors = bounced flash required.

Your glass is fine but missing out on the 24-70 range.
If your going to be shooting the reception and it is a dark room them you will need the flash if only to use the infrared focus assist to help.

Take a look at www.lensesforhire.co.uk
They have the 580exII and you can rent this for a whole week £40
Click to expand...

Hi John cheers for the heads up on the hire company. That is indeed a great price for a full weeks hire so i'll deffo keep them in mind :thumbs:
 
The one thing i'm struggling with is I love to shoot wide open, so the shots outside i'll be shooting at between 1.4 and f2 as i'm a sucker for Bokeh :D now can I shoot wide open and still get the flash to fire to add fill?

I'm thinking the high SS will be above the sync speed of the flash or is this where HSS comes into play?
 
redmonkee said:
The one thing i'm struggling with is I love to shoot wide open, so the shots outside i'll be shooting at between 1.4 and f2 as i'm a sucker for Bokeh :D now can I shoot wide open and still get the flash to fire to add fill?

I'm thinking the high SS will be above the sync speed of the flash or is this where HSS comes into play?[/QUOTE]

Yup!
Click to expand...
 
With the fast glass you have I would shoot available light as much as you can. You can't beat it for capturing atmosphere and emotion at a wedding. I disagree with the dull, overcast days comments about needing flash btw - with modern, high iso-capable cameras it's not the quantity of light but the quality that's important. Look at where the light is coming from as soft, low contrast light from an overcast sky can be perfect for a wedding.
That said, think of your flash gun as insurance and use it in one-off situations such as walking up the aisle or cutting the cake. This is an unrepeatable day for your couple so go for the safe, predictable option if you're not sure. If it's sunny you can use it for fill-in for your group shots if you can't find a big enough area of open shade.
As long as you cover yourself for the standard pictures you'll have plenty of opportunity to experiment with shots of the couple alone. Enjoy!
 
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