Wedding help!

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BRECK

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I have been persuaded to photograph a friends daughters wedding in March, I have studio flash but thats obviously of no use so was thinking of getting a speed light nissin 866 the Nikon 910 seems too expensive as I doubt I will get much use out of it. to soften the light I was planning to bounce of ceilings or walls indoors or use a small soft box and get some one to hold it for me above and to one side of the camera (D800) outside
Does this sound sensible any advise gratefully recieved
 
This is a tricky one, because a wedding is no place to be using techniques you're unfamiliar with. And the fact that you asked the question would lead me to believe you're unfamiliar.

Get lots of batteries - good rechargeable ones, alkalines don't cut it for flashguns. the thing about softboxes is (IMO) If they're big enough to be effective, they're too big to carry around. Although some people use the small ones quite effectively, I prefer bounced flash. How would you fire the flash off camera - again, it's a great idea, but unless you know it inside and out - don't use it at someone's wedding.

Only use flash when you know it's necessary, unless you're an expert at fill flash it can be a bind to get consistent exposures in varied conditions.

Have a backup plan, for everything! camera, lenses, flash, even locations (in case of inclement weather).
 
Hi Phil,
I agree and thanks for your comments, not something I relish ! The plan is to get the speedlight in plenty of time to practice and only use as required for fill in outside, inside will depend on the ambient light i will be visiting the venue to see how much light is available. Inside the Nissin has a small fill flash but the mail light will be bounced if ceilings and or walls, but again I will only use as demanded without pushing the Iso too high.
Of camera I have the built in flash to trigger the off camera flash gun or infra red as used on my studio lights
 
BRECK said:
Of camera I have the built in flash to trigger the off camera flash gun or infra red as used on my studio lights
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Any decent amount of ambient light will kill the signal and cause misfires. As will the softbox, if it gets between the camera and the speedlight.

Best solution is a cheap but reliable radio trigger set such as the Yongnuo RF602 or RF603
 
Michael Sewell said:
Any decent amount of ambient light will kill the signal and cause misfires. As will the softbox, if it gets between the camera and the speedlight.

Best solution is a cheap but reliable radio trigger set such as the Yongnuo RF602 or RF603
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Or a TTL cable, as a backup to the built-in optical triggering. It would be nice to keep TTL, given there won't be much time for proper flash metering (or chimping).
 
Johnd2000 said:
Or a TTL cable, as a backup to the built-in optical triggering. It would be nice to keep TTL, given there won't be much time for proper flash metering (or chimping).
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Definitely worth trying if you are going to keep your assistant within 4 or 5 feet. Much more and you run the risk of having members of the wedding party ( or more likely, their off spring) get caught up with the trailing cable.
 
Phil V said:
Get lots of batteries - good rechargeable ones, alkalines don't cut it for flashguns.
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Alkaline batteries work better then rechargeable in flash - and they don't get as hot. Any decent battery will work well
 
Michael Sewell said:
Definitely worth trying if you are going to keep your assistant within 4 or 5 feet. Much more and you run the risk of having members of the wedding party ( or more likely, their off spring) get caught up with the trailing cable.
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I agree about the risk. It's one of the main reasons I'm considering getting an assistant.
 
Johnd2000 said:
I agree about the risk. It's one of the main reasons I'm considering getting an assistant.
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Pixel King radio triggers act like a cordless iTTL cord, erm................ if you can work that bit out :thinking:
A rather pricey iTTL option though
 
Do they make a pixel king trigger for Sony? Just mho but they're a bit **** anyway
 
boyfalldown said:
Do they make a pixel king trigger for Sony? Just mho but they're a bit **** anyway
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The TTL/HSS options for Sony are Pixel Kings or Phottix Odins. The Odins look the better option, but they're pricey.

I'm using Pixel Soldiers for basic triggering. They've been fine, but I've heard mixed reports about the Kings.
 
boyfalldown said:
Alkaline batteries work better then rechargeable in flash - and they don't get as hot. Any decent battery will work well
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There's quite an extensive post on the Strobist blog as to why rechargeables are better than Alkaline.

I personally find rechargeables to be superior. I purchase as high a capacity as I can find. I always replace the full set if one becomes suspect, and I always recharge in time for a shoot (Well, almost always :bonk: )
 
Michael Sewell said:
There's quite an extensive post on the Strobist blog as to why rechargeables are better than Alkaline.

I personally find rechargeables to be superior. I purchase as high a capacity as I can find. I always replace the full set if one becomes suspect, and I always recharge in time for a shoot (Well, almost always :bonk: )
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None of the arguments in that post are about actual usage - they are the bits that go round (cost, green issues etc.), all are great arguments, but non of which explain why alkaline are worse in a flash
 
Well, it clearly states they have a faster recycle time, which is the reason I use them. All my speedlights run faster on rechargeables.
If alkalines were quicker, I'd use them and be damned with the cost. After all, the cost of such items are part and parcel of an assignment cost, and are past on to the client anyway.
Recycle time? well, that means I get things done faster, and the speedlights are ready to go as soon as I need them. Well, in general :)
 
I bought a load of energizer hightech for the wedding i did in the summer. I took 6 sets not knowing how much i needed, but i never even went through one set. I was very impressed they went on forever.
 
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Which it does argue, but IMHO again the difference sited is not going to make a difference in real world use.

In any case my answer was directly in response to a comment 'alkalines don't cut it for flash'. They patently do, regardless of advantages of one type over another
 
boyfalldown said:
In any case my answer was directly in response to a comment 'alkalines don't cut it for flash'. They patently do, regardless of advantages of one type over another
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Alkalines are absolutely fine for speedlights, and better alkalines are better too.
Rechargeables are better suited for the heavy user.

Regarding recycle times, I've seen a table somewhere that compared battry types, and it was quite an eye opener. I think it may have been lighting rumours.
I'll see if I can find it.
 
boyfalldown said:
Alkaline batteries work better then rechargeable in flash - and they don't get as hot. Any decent battery will work well
Click to expand...

Horses for courses Hugh, I don't like the ever increasing charge times:)

Hadn't seen Mikes post, but I remember seeing the power curve of alkalines vs NiMh once and that's what made me decide to never bother with Alkalines any more.
 
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boyfalldown said:
Which it does argue, but IMHO again the difference sited is not going to make a difference in real world use.
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But we all agree that anybody who uses planet killers is evil, right?

FWIW the Ansmann that are designed for flash stay very cool. For rechargeables.
 
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