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Re: [Re: [OM] Portrait to short telephoto lens]

Subject: Re: [Re: [OM] Portrait to short telephoto lens]
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 07:09:19 -0500
A few additional observations about Craig's remarks which are well written and contain some sound advice.

At 00:53 2/9/03, Craig Cunningham wrote:

When I was less than 8 ft. away from the bride during posed shots, I used the Stofen Omni-Bounce diffusers on my flashes to try and cut down on the glare that she would have gotten directly from the flashes. I couldn't bounce my flashes off the vaulted ceiling since I was looking at a 20ft ceiling, and too much light loss. The rest of the time I used both T-32's straight on my subjects.

I have a bounce card and a Lumiquest softbox (the large one, not the medium size) for close in shots. They have similar effects as the Sto-Fen in softening light. These devices are best for close work under about 10 feet and can be desirable for the reason Craig used one, but there's a cost. They eat up about 1.5 stops of light power that can leave you without enough at longer distances if you try to leave on the flash all the time.

In addition, even if you have enough flash power, on-flash diffusers at longer distances have a marginal effect at best. A flash mounted diffuser or bounce card creates a larger areal source of light from the small point source a bare flash puts out. As distance increases, an on-flash diffuser begins to appear to the subject as a point source again and its effect is lost. The longer the distance, the less softening effect it has. If you decide to try using one, ensure you can at least dismount it from the flash quickly when you need the power at longer distances . . . and think about where you'll stash it quickly too (stuffed a flattened Lumiquest inside my shirt a few times).

Most of all, I'd recommend studying John Lind's web site on Photographing a
Friend's or Relative's Wedding --
http://johnlind.tripod.com/wedding/

It's a great resource, and is authored by a very talented Zuikoholic.

Geez, don't know about the "very talented" part. I'm glad it helped you with your wedding. Wrote it after hearing too many horror stories and not being able to refer people to a decent tutorial on the web. Everything I found was geared for very high end work using a large truckload of lighting equipment most pros wouldn't haul around for a wedding and an army of gaffers/grips . . . or it was so minimal that major pitfalls weren't even mentioned.

BTW, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the pictures I got back from
the wedding -- my only complaint is that I didn't CONTINUALLY REMIND some of
my subjects that they needed to look at the lens. Although their heads were
facing the camera, the photos show that they diverted their gaze elsewhere
(maybe trying to avoid the flash?).

The bride did a great job, but a number of shots of the groom (and the bride's
father) have the bride smiling beautifully at the camera while one or both of
the men looking off some other direction.

Assuming you're guessing (reverse engineering) what happened, if this was during the formal portraits it may not have been flash avoidance. In my experience this results from others around me getting subjects' attention or otherwise distracting them . . . particularly if people are "shooting over my shoulder" and competing to get subjects to look at their camera . . . it is also a problem with children who are looking at mommy who is 10 feet to my left or right and trying to get them to keep their pose.

Not mentioned in my tutorial, I'm glad you mentioned this important detail. It's now on my "add list" for the next revision. Some adults may look away to avoid flash, but usually it's something else going on distracting them. The most common flash avoidance method I've seen used by children is continuous and quite obvious blinking, trying to anticipate the flash. [Some young kids have been blasted to death at close range by P&S's with the red-eye reduction strobing turned on.] If that occurs I syncopate the count or fire just a hair before getting to "three." If others around you being a distractor in shooting over your shoulder, a polite request to let you do your work first is usually all that's needed.

-- John


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