Stained Glass Windows

robshaw

robshaw

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Robert
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Hi Folks.
So I've been asked to do some portrait work during a wedding, with stained glass windows behind the subjects.
The location is inside a large presbyterian church in Glasgow. Im not travelling up there until the day of the wedding so have no opportunity to practice at the venue.
Obviously, the detail of the windows will need to stand out as well as the the features of the people in the portraits.
I know all situations are different, but has anybody got any experience/advice on camera settings to give me a head start on this please.
Thanks
R
 
Thanks the for spot on link, but I forgot to mention that flash photography is not allowed within the church. :-/
 
robshaw said:
Hi Folks.
So I've been asked to do some portrait work during a wedding, with stained glass windows behind the subjects.
The location is inside a large presbyterian church in Glasgow. Im not travelling up there until the day of the wedding so have no opportunity to practice at the venue.
Obviously, the detail of the windows will need to stand out as well as the the features of the people in the portraits.
I know all situations are different, but has anybody got any experience/advice on camera settings to give me a head start on this please.
Thanks
R
Click to expand...

pray for sun..or ask the meeniste to do it...you will need it for the sgw's

wallace_2.jpg
 
robshaw said:
Thanks the for spot on link, but I forgot to mention that flash photography is not allowed within the church. :-/
Click to expand...

Then you'd best hope for a very dull day. On anything but the greyest of days the brightness difference between the glass and your subjects is likely to be quite a bit more than the range of your camera.

You could try blending exposures if you can keep them still long enough to get your bracketing done. You could perhaps get a stop or so back with some reflectors is there'll be someone to hold them for you.

There's no escaping that it's likely to be tricky.
 
Then I think you will face a real struggle, because daylight pouring in through the windows will almost certainly overwhelm the meagre lighting inside the church. You will have the choice to expose your subjects correctly and blow the stained glass, or expose the glass correctly and underexpose your subjects. Neither option is satisfactory.

The best you can hope for, I guess, is that it is an overcast day and the daylight is miserable. Ideally the windows will be north facing as well. That will still give you an issue with white balance, but is probably the best you can hope for.

Another option might be to bracket exposures - one for the windows, one for the subject and interior, and merge them in Photoshop etc.. You'll still have to fix WB independently.

p.s. I understand that flash is banned during the service, but are you sure it is banned completely while shooting inside, after the service?

This is how windows might look if you expose the interior correctly, with ambient light only, and shot from a different wedding, with the stained glass exposed correctly, but now look at the gloomy interior.....

20090418_143211_6282_LR.jpg
20080829_134409_2607_LR.jpg


Not good!
 
HA!! I've never had the faster typing before. :lol:
 
Ooh, I like the idea of merging 2 bracketed exposures. Tricky to get right i'm sure but would look good if I could pull it off. As far as flash goes, I have only been told that no flash is permitted. I am hoping that, like you say, its only during the service. But Im trying to plan for the worst.
The way the weather is going, its looking more and more unlikely that i'm actually going to get there. Travelling up tomorrow from Liverpool to the venue in Glasgow tomorrow and its just been on the news that there are severe delays. Cant wait......:-/
Thanks for the speedy advice guys. Ill let you know how I get on. :thumbs:
 
Take a tripod and your bracket/merge should be way easier. Good luck :)
 
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