
Just one of the wow pictures shot at today's workshop. ISO 200, f/16 @ 1/200th second exposure. Program exposure mode on my Canon 5D set at -2 stops with a 580EX2 on a stand, zoomed to 105mm and triggered by an STE2 transmitter.
We had a fabulous dark day of picture making forcing us to use ISO 1250, 1/5th second, f/2.8 at times. Before the rain set in we ventured into the cold to shoot the classic Lovegrove shot above. Take a look at the rest of today’s pictures…

One of the formula pictures taken using the magic ISO 800, 1/60th second, at f/4. Keeping things simple is the key to producing successful wedding pictures in low light.

Another use of random backgrounds. This time I used the cover of a magazine. ISO 800, 1/60th second at f/4.

This was our first taste of low light photography. At the back of the room some 15ft from the casement widow we needed an exposure of ISO 800, 1/15th second, at f/3.2

A Christmas bouquet. ISO 800, 1/60th second, at f/2.8

This close up at f/2.8 looks very festive.

High key pictures taken on dark wedding days excite clients. This shot was taken using a manual exposure mode with an effective exposure compensation of +1 stop.

Once inside the chapel we were down to 1/5th second at f/3.2 at ISO 1250. The Nikon D3 and D700 users amongst us were able to shoot at up to ISO 6400 and this advantage was clearly evident. It is often the case that you are not allowed to use flash in Churches.

More of the same at 1/5th of a second. Keeping the camera still at such extreme settings is the job of my trusty Manfrotto monopod.

These Church pictures are all taken using my 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens.

A very dark church that could have been better illuminated by lighting a few candles! High key shots like this require a push of exposure. ISO 1250, 1/5th second, f/3.2

Never miss the opportunity to go in for a close up.

A quick shot in the grounds gets us back to sensible shutter speeds. ISO 800, 1/125th second, at f/4

The close up steals the day. The kick light on Ruth's face was provided by the sky through a gap in the trees canopy. Strength of eye contact is vital for shots like this.

Back inside and it was time to zoom the Speedlight and isolate the subject. ISO 1250, 1/40th second, at f/2.8

Next it was the turn of my favourite Arri light. I set it up in the center of the room and set ISO 800, 1/60th at f/4

This simple mirror shot needed one stop more light than the direct shot.
Well that’s it! My last scheduled winter weddings workshop. Please feel free to comment on the pictures or the day if you were there.
Damien.
Hi Damian, Love all your DVD’s they have given me so much confidence to take on my first two winter weddings next month!
My only question is about re-prints for the guests, I noticed when you crop your images you don’t crop them to 1.5 x 1 ratio i.e. 9×6.
So if a guest orders a print you have done in a panoramic style how do you present the print to them?
Rodney
Hi Damian, Julie, Marko and Laura.
Just wanted to say thank you for your patience and a brilliant time at the last workshop. I went away quite inspired and have already started trying out some of the techniques from the workshop.
I look forward to seeing the dvds when they arrive and seeing Marko sometime in the new year for a master printing workshop.
Have a great Christmas.
John.
Hi Damien & Marko,
It was great to come down to Lovegroves again and see the masters at work! Very much enjoyed the whole day and have come away with some exciting new techniques to practice.
I particularly liked the wide angles, shot low ‘sky’ stuff and the zoom speedlite technique is definitely something that I will be using. In fact, I feel much more confident with the whole flash off camera thing.
Many thanks once again and I look forward to my next visit. Merry Christmas to you all.
Julia X
Hi Dave,
No, no, no, I used my regular 5D. I wanted to show the group just how good a 5D or D300 can look at high ISO if you get the exposure right with beautiful light.
I’ve not got my new 5D mk2 yet. I might wait until after Christmas. I want to make sure that there are no problems with the first batch and that Lightroom and CS4 are compatible with the RAWs files first.
Cheers,
Damien.
Hi Damien hope your well, did you use the new mark 2 5d for these shots?
Dave