If the groom is holding the flash then he is just out of shot where I’d put my stand. I hope this makes sense.

Damien.

It was ISO 800 1/60th at f/4 dark if that helps I exposed the shot until it screamed for mercy and then backed it off a bit. I used the camera screen to guide me on what highlight info was left in the shot.

Damien.

So the handheld flash is quite close then? If the groom was holding it, it would behind the brides head yeah?
Sorry… just trying to picture it
Cracking articles… and thanks for the bracket, arrived SUPER quick!
Pete
IOM

Thanks for the kind words.

Matt, I do indeed use 2 Speedlights on overcast days with clients. Once rigged I tend to leave the units locked in position and carry the left stand in my left hand and the right in the right hand etc between locations. I always have the left flash on group A and the right flash on group B that way I can quickly set the ratio I need if a tweak is required. On some shots I use just one light or on pre wedding shoots I get the groom to hold one flash with the other on a stand and then swap with the bride holding the flash. They can gaze into each others eyes and have the light in the perfect position.

Use the sun as the second light behind your model or client or better still use the sun as a third light and use 3 point lighting In this scenario the sun should be beyond the model to rim light her or him. Use a good lens hood to avoid flare unless you want it of course. Anything goes these days.

Beware of double key shadows as they become confusing for the viewer to decode.

I hope this helps, Damien.

Thanks for a fantastic day, it was great being the only Nikon shooter with 2 SB800s all to myself. Shame I didn’t bring a hat as I got sunburnt! )

I did an urban shoot on the weekend in Birmingham and took out my SB800, my new SB900 and 2 lighting stands. I used both speedlights on a couple of different setups, but after that I reverted to using 1 as it was a bit of a hassle to keep setting them up while the models waited.

A couple of questions…

1) Do you use (or have you used in the past) 2 speedlights on a portrait shoot with clients? (I’m concious of the time it can take to set them up.)

Or do you prefer to use the sun or other light sources as per your “2 point lighting” post?

2) On one of the first shots of the day we had Charlene in the middle of 2 speedlights which produced a stunning image.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattmurray74/3640761938/

Does this style of shot only work when the model is not directly in the sun? I tried it on Sunday but this time the model was in the sun. I was happy with the images, but the shadows are in different places and wondered if I should’ve moved position.

Cheers

Matt

Great work Damien – love the window reflections.

Sean
http://www.energyphotographic.co.uk