It was the last weddings workshop of 2009 and the weather didn’t disappoint. It rained almost constantly, it was dark and a perfect day for a ‘how to make a bright and sunny wedding album from a dull winter day’ workshop. The sun did come out for 10 minutes as it ducked under a storm cloud just before sundown. Here is one shot from the day (click the picture for the full res version). The rest of the pictures and their exif is in a Lightroom web gallery follow the link after the jump.
Taken hand held with a Canon 5D Mk2, ISO 400, 1/100th second at f/5 on a 21mm Zeiss f/2.8 lens.
Click here for the rest of the pictures shot on the workshop.
If you want to join Julie and I for a shooting weddings workshop please click here for for more information. Please feel free to comment on these pictures and do share your tips for shooting weddings in light challenged environments.
Sorry to be a complete tog geek but that Carl Zeiss 2.8…
It does make me happy to see wedding photography done with a bit of glass appreciation!
With the 5D file I’d have this picture filling a whole wall!
Thanks for response ;)
“Er….. no stuart” hehe made me laugh but as you can probably tell I have no experience with this type of equipment :)
Er no Stuart, the Arri is 240v and 300W. Even if you could find a battery and inverter that would power it I doubt it would last long. You’d need a generator :)
Thanks for th info. So the Arri only works from the mains? You can’t use a battery pack at all?
(Smile) You’d need wellies and a container-load of sandbags to hold everything down at the moment – think I might just be coming back down to you guys instead…:-)
Orkney, a beautiful place. If you organised enough interest and a bride and groom we could come and demo the lights for you :)
Thanks very much, Chris and Damien – I’m up on Orkney – somewhere near the Arctic Circle ;-) so we’re in near perpetual darkness in winter. I could do with both (ha) so need to prioritise initially between light and portable v. that gorgeous fresnel lens….
Corinne.
Morning Damien,
May I just take this opportunity to echo the words from my fellow college Carole.
The winter wedding workshop was everything I wanted and more, both you and Julie are truly talented people going well above what is expected of you.
Once again many thanks.
David
Hi Carole,
Thank you, Damien.
Hi Damian and Julie,
thanks for a fantastic day, I learned so much from begining to end from both of you. My brain is fit to burst with all the info and you taught in such a way that it was easy to remember.
I used to dread using flash indoors at weddings, my pictures were dull and lifeless and now they look so bright and crisp!! You had taught me how to do that within the first 15 minutes! I used to dread shooting at low shutter speeds but thanks to Julie wont worry about that any more. There are loads of techniques I need to go off and practice now, I never knew a monopod could be so useful haha
It was a great course well run and it was fun meeting the other photographers too, many thanks and have a great Christmas
Carole
Thanks Chris,
I think that sums up the tungsten lighting options well.
Corrine, The Arri comes in 3 power options in a similar guise before going into the big lamp range. The sizes are 150w, 300w and 600w. I find the 300w perfect for stills wedding work hence choosing to offer it here on my website. All three lamps are about the same price although the 600w is a bit bulky for most 1 light shooters and the 150w has an inline dimmer. The Lowell is available here.
Best wishes,
Damien.
Hi Corrine, good question, and my initial response is what do you shoot most of ? Here are the scenarios I use.
The lowel light is battery operated, so is useful for outdoors. Its dimmable and has barn doors and operates on a 100w bulb readily available from car accessory shops. Its a great piece of kit. Light and portable.
The Arri is a 300w light source with a beautiful fresnel lens and barn doors, the light source can be focused to create a beautiful spot pool of light or something more wider with a lovely transition from light to shadow. It is mains operated. For classy interior portraits its a must have. I now use my lowel mainly for street photography, first dances, and beach bride work, and my Arri for interior bridal / groom portraits and Cherish the Dress™ shoots.
Hope this helps, I started off with a lowel, got an Arri, and use both a lot.
Hi Chris, which would you choose between the Lowel and the Arri, for a first continuous purchase? Thanks, Corinne.
I love the canal shot, simply beautiful. Almost “Turner-esque”
You asked for tips on light challenged environments.
We had a 4 o’clock castle wedding a couple of weeks ago. The ceremony room was lit with only candles and high vaulted windows with very little light. It was seriously dark, ie f2.8 ISO 3200 40th sec. The couple wanted to keep the ambience, so no flash. We mounted a battery operated video light on a stand and created a pool of continuous light onto the couple. Enough to give us f4 60th at iso 1250. Totally unobtrusive and blending into the atmosphere. Even the registrar thanked us:)
Having a continuous light source as part of your kit gives you lots of creative options. We have two forms, the lowel video light and the Arri Junior, both of which I would never part with.