Jeff wrote to Chuck:
> I guess since you are taking pictures of people, you try to
> get even lighting almost all of the time. With ambient light
> being 2 stops down from the strobes, probably mixed color
> temperatures aren't a problem for you.
Agreed! Rakish lighting used for artistic intent is good for
the occasional shot, but almost all images for a wedding shoot
will be of the normal front-fill lighting. By putting the
ambient light 2 stops under the strobes, this does several
things for you:
1. It saves the shot in case the flash didn't fire. I can almost
always resurrect a RAW image that is 2 stops under and correct
WB enough to match the flash images. As long as motion-blurr
isn't a problem the image is usually savable. You might not be
able to make a 16x20 out of it, but it will definitely be album
worthy and maybe even serve as a background image on a
composite.
2. It shows candles and the mood lighting that look "normal",
not like tiny white dots in the image which a noise-removal
algorithm will mistake for stuck/hot pixels.
3. By dragging the shutter you'll get some motion blur of moving
subjects which combined with the flash will give the image a
distinct 3D look and will give the image some life. Important
for the reception/dance.
4. It warms up the image. Images which are 100% flash lit tend
to be a bit more cold and uninviting. I like my backgrounds to
be a little bit warmer to bring the subject out. The best film
for this was Vericolor II. The Portra films have a more neutral
backgound than the Vericolors. Fuji NPS and NPH (rip) give
warmer backgrounds than Portra, but have a hint of a magenta in
the shadows which helps counteract the greenish cast of
florescent lighting.
5. A flash with an Ultrabounce or Omnibounce will reflect light
off of a ceiling which ends up lighting the background some.
This creates a nice smooth exposure fall-off without risking a
blow-out if you are too close to the subject and prevents shadow
blackout if they are a few steps too far away.
6. Smoother skin and better skintones. By using the ambient
light to fill in the shadows you are reducing the amount of
contrast on the skin. The skin will be a whole lot less "shiny"
too during hot summer months.
AG
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