 We love photographing weddings! And the photographic challenges that come along, like less than ideal lighting, limited time, etc. This is why I love the opportunity to photograph portraits, especially in a studio environment where your imagination is the limit. We always look forward to our Studio and Environmental Portrait Workshops at Samy’s Camera. We…
 We had a great engagement session in San Francisco recently, we worked with a great couple! Carol and Greg love their City and took us to a handful of great places… Including Treasure Island. They like the view of the City from this location. Because we wanted to be at the beach with the Golden…
April 12, 2013 - 8:52 am
I am a new photographer, wanting to learn more about engagement and wedding photography, and I find these posts very helpful. Its great how you show the exact thought process the photographer goes through. This site is becoming my favorite photography site!
April 12, 2013 - 9:04 am
In the second picture, the brides face has some shadow on it, I was wondering would it have been a good idea to have a second umbrella in front of the couple, or on the other side of the couple, to help solve that?
April 12, 2013 - 9:23 am
Thank you for your comments David! I’m glad you enjoy the posts. I’m trying to do them more often… Regarding that second image; we did lots of photos in that area, the ones with the couple looking towards the camera and towards the light worked best. In that image the bride is still getting some light from the umbrella bouncing off the groom’s face. A second umbrella would have resulted in the light being a bit flat. Also, when doing an engagement session in different locations, it’s not always practical to set up lots of lighting, there’s so much gear you can bring and it slows you down… Thanks again for your comments… Keep in touch!
April 13, 2013 - 12:10 pm
That’s a really interesting lighting setup & makes the subjects’ skin look so pretty & soft. Shooting w/ overhead sun has always been a fear of mine & I don’t like the look of a blown out background, so this is a really great alternative. Thanks for sharing
April 13, 2013 - 5:17 pm
Thanks for your note Carly! I know what you mean about shooting in sunlight. There are many factors that can help or hinder here… If your subject is wearing white or a very light color, that could be a problem. If you have enough power (in your flash) you can overcome most problems, of course, this is not always possible, especially if you don’t have a power outlet near by… The larger your light source, (in relation to your subject), the softer the light will be… Shooting outside also brings on another set of issues… How do you keep a large soft box or umbrella from moving around at the beach… Lots of weight and a heavy duty stand or a couple of assistants… Keep in touch!
April 14, 2013 - 3:38 pm
Another great article, Joe / Mirta. I’ve got to tell you, I’ve learned a lot from you two. Probably “THE” most important Technical items that you showed me was the Overhead Scrim and the light that came through, possibly coupled with a soft flash. This single thing has just opened up so much for me. Thank you for all your teachings, and the learning’s I glean from articles such as these. It’s wonderful learning from a master! FYI: just purchased three of Canon’s 600 EX-RT flash head and used them this past Saturday; one as a stand upright with a light modifier on the top. Between the modified “Bare Bulb” knockoff and my on camera flash as a master, lit the entire room. Took me some time “Playing” with it to get it to do what I wanted, now I have to become a master to adjust output to each. Neatest thing I did what to reduce output from the other side of the room. [Still learning, still practicing | getting better]
April 14, 2013 - 3:53 pm
I’m glad you found this post helpful Rick! Looks like you’re headed the right way! It does take some experimenting to get the OCF just right… Keeping the off camera units on manual is key, in my opinion… That way they are consistent. Thanks for your comment! Keep in touch.  Most of us don’t like to use flash. We prefer to use “available light”… Well, I consider available light to be all the light that is available to me, including the light coming out of my SB910 speed lights. The trick, or rather the skill, is to make the light from a speed light look…
April 2, 2013 - 11:11 pm
Great information on a variety of flash situations condensed in one brief article. Nice job. Especially liked using the white card as flag, and the Manual vs. TTL situations. Great BTS images too. Thanks.
April 2, 2013 - 11:20 pm
Thanks John! Glad you liked the post… We’re doing more and more of this kind of lighting on location, after a while, it get’s very intuitive and you can set it up in no time. One thing I forgot to mention… When using speed lights up on a light stand on remote, it’s a good idea to go in the menu and cancel the stand-by mode. That way if you don’t shoot for a while you don’t have to waste the first shot to “wake up” the flash. It uses a bit more power, but if you use a power pack it doesn’t matter… Take care and keep in touch!
April 3, 2013 - 10:58 am
Very helpful article! At weddings, I use Alien Bee B1600s, and I’ve been wanting to try using my SB910s more instead since they’re so much more compact. I like your trick of holding the reflector in front of the flash. I’ll definitely be trying that this weekend!
April 3, 2013 - 11:20 am
Thank you Carly, I’m glad you found the information helpful. I used to use self contained AC heads at receptions too, mostly I’ve gone to the smaller flash units with a power pack instead. I’m sure you noticed that we were using a round translucent panel (not a reflector) in front of the flash. Sometimes, like at the beach, we do bounce the flash off a reflector, a totally different technique. I’m glad you mentioned that, I’ll be sure to talk about out door use of speed lights soon. Take care…
April 4, 2013 - 12:32 pm
Hello and thank you for the informative article. I am occasionally forced to photograph at high noon settings with very little or no shade available beach settings. Sometimes client wants back lit beach images, so I light them up with a flash. In doing so I get well lit clients with a blown out background which spoils what the client wants in the background. Is the solution just get closer like in your group wedding party shot where you used the wide angle, or is there something else. Also do you have any ideas in this beach or bright scenario if the an onboard flash has to be used for compensation? By the way I am a Nikon user. Best wishes, Billy Higginbotham
April 4, 2013 - 1:41 pm
Hi Billy! Thanks for your comment… You’re right. When shooting with strong backlight at the beach you need to have the fash close to your subjects. If your flash is mounted on the camera, you can’t use a long lens and achieve the “look” a long lens gives you, especially stopped down. However, if you place your flash on a stand with a remote triggering device, you can back up, use a long lens and still have your flash close. BTW, using the FP setting doesn’t work very well in these cases when you need lots of light from your flash. Firstly, FP won’t work on manual, and even if you used a remote TTL system, FP requires the flash to fire several times during the same exposure. If you’re using lots of power, the flash won’t recycle fast enough to do the job. For those images we use a larger, self contained flash unit, like the Profoto 600 w. or the Elinchrom Ranger, 400 w. I’ve been using the Elinchrom Ranger more lately because even though it’s 200 w less power it’s much lighter and easy to set up and carry. If you use a large flash with a soft box, you should bring an assistant. In the last few images on this slide show from one of our Samy’s camera workshops you can see how this set up works: http://www.barnetworkshops.com/studio-environmental-lighting-class-at-samys-oc/ Take care!
April 6, 2013 - 9:51 am
This is such valuable information! thank you! Could you comment on how the flash heads are positioned at the reception- on camera bounced off ceiling with card or omni-bounce, flash unit on the stand has card or diffuser? Also, I shoot in manual mode on my nikon D700 but usually have my flash set to TTL. Could you talk a little about Manual mode with the flash? I have no manual mode experience with the SB900. I do own the pocket wizard flex tt5′s. honestly i haven’t used them much. Still haven’t implemented them into my work flow. Lastly, do you ever do workshops in the Chicago area? or midwest? I don’t make is out to the west coast very often. many thanks.
April 12, 2013 - 10:39 am
Hi Mary; Thanks for your comment! Good questions… We also shoot Nikon, and SB910′s. At a reception, especially indoors where the light is not going to change very much, I use my camera on Manual and the on-camera flash on TTL. In this case, the off camera flash (1 or 2 depending on the room) are set to manual at about 1/8 power. They’re as high as possible on stands near the walls, pointed up and have the large, white snap-on diffuser. The off camera flash is triggered with regular Pocket Wizards (not Flex5′TT5′s).  Top 10 Skills to Master for a Successful Photography Business: Part Two As business owners we have to sell our products and services. Without sales, there is no business. I can’t think of another industry where the goods and services offered by one vendor differ more from the next, than in our wedding photography industry….
February 19, 2013 - 10:27 am
[...] week: Selling yourself and your product… We’re running a business here… [...]
February 20, 2013 - 9:25 pm
I just ordered both books. Hope it helps me and Dene. Neither of us are good at selling nor do we like it.
February 20, 2013 - 9:41 pm
I’m glad you found the post helpful Vivien. Selling is something we all need to master, just like every other skill in our profession. You are committed to your business, I know you’ll be great! Keep in touch.  Top 10 Skills to Master for a Successful Photography Business: Part One OK, that should be Happy New Year, but I think we’re all happy if our business is doing well. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to start blogging regularly, so here it goes… I’m going to try to do a post a…
January 23, 2013 - 10:11 pm
You and Mirta are the best!
February 19, 2013 - 10:25 am
[...] Previous post in this series: Creating a Business Plan [...]
February 28, 2013 - 5:53 am
Great info! I am scared to start a business plan. Afraid I guess that I wont meet my goals but I know how important it is. Excited to see step #2! Thanks Joe.  To register for this year’s Recharge at Rancho workshop on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, click here: This was our 3rd Memorial Day “Recharge at Rancho“ Portfolio building workshop at one of our favorite venues, Rancho Las Lomas. First of all, I want to apologize for not doing this post earlier. It’s almost time to start…
December 11, 2012 - 3:41 pm
What awesome images! Just awesome! You do set a “High” watermark in what you two do I continue to be inspired in what I see in your images. Joe & Mirta, You’re the best!! An avid follower
March 21, 2013 - 5:49 pm
I believe you want us to bring a medium zoom (24-70) and long zoom (70-200), but what about also a macro lens for photographing details such as the dinner plate, glasses, utensils, flowers?
March 21, 2013 - 8:01 pm
Hi David; In my opinion, the best 2 lenses for this environment are the 2 zooms you mentioned. If you like using primes, the 85mm is a good choice too. Personally I prefer to have something longer like the 70-200. A macro lens like the 100 or 50 Canon or the 105 or 60 Nikon are useful, but since the 24-70 focuses very close, it works well for the reception table details. If we were photographing wedding rings and other small jewelry, I would definitely suggest a macro. If you want to bring one, please do. We will be moving around some, so try not to make your bag too heavy. Of course, comfortable clothing and shoes are recommended. You will be receiving an email about a week before the workshop with suggested gear, directions to the workshop, etc. We look forward to seeing you at Rancho Las Lomas on Memorial Day!
March 22, 2013 - 6:58 pm
Is there anything else we should bring, such as an on or off camera flash, grey cards, color cards, HoodLoupe, etc?
April 12, 2013 - 12:23 pm
Hi David; Good questions… You wanted to know what gear would be helpful to bring for Recharge at Rancho… As I mentioned, my 2 favorite lenses, particularly at that location, are the 70-200 and the 24-70. Both 2.8 zooms. A spedlight is always nice to have also. We won’t use one much outdoors, but there are several shady and indoor areas where we’ll use one. Especially bounced off the walls to avoid the “flashed” look. I don’t use a grey card, sometimes we’ll do a custom white balance, but not in this case. If you like to work with a grey card or other color management devices be my guest. Just make sure it doesn’t take too much time away from shooting. I also don’t use a hood loupe. I know it can come in handy, but I never use one. I use the blinking highlights, the zoom and the histogram on my monitor to check things out… BTW, if you’re working in the sun and find it difficult to see the monitor on the back of your camera, a toilet paper roll cardboard core can help, paper towel core too. It’s a great shading devise, you can cut it down to whatever length works best for your eye site, you can keep it flat in your pocket and if you loose it they’re easy to replace… See you at Rancho!!! I recently read a post by a fellow photographer and friend on a Facebook page about a prospective client who had issues with his contract. This couple was planning a destination wedding out of the country, and was getting a great price from the photographer; but objected to the part of the contract stating that…
 This year’s WPPI was great… Time to start planning for 2013… OK, I exaggerate, but that’s only because we look forward to it all year, and it goes by so fast. More so, for the last two years, since we’ve been privileged to present a Master Class and help our sponsors, so we don’t have…
 We had a great time at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village working on Ceremony Magazine’s bridal fashion spread for this year’s LA edition. Our models Kim Daniels, Kristin Keating and Casey Wilson were awesome, as always. You can read the magazine online and see the images published here: http://www.ceremonymagazine.com/flipbooks/2012/la/ Our bridal spread is towards the…
 The 2012 Ceremony Magazines are out, so we can post some of the images we created for the current issues. These are some of the tables we photographed showcasing the incredible talent of the florists and linen suppliers we have the pleasure to work with. We advertise in the LA and Orange County editions of…
May 4, 2012 - 8:42 am
Joe and Mirta – Excellence is always the right word to describe your work.
May 4, 2012 - 9:29 am
Thank you Marvin, you’re very kind. As you know, we love our job!! |
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Tye - Great tips!