Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

I need help. I am a sports photographer mainly. I have been asked to shoot some family groups after a wedding outside. I have a Nikon D500 D4 lenses are 70-200 2.8 - 50mm1.4 - 85mm 1.8 - and a Nikon SB - 700 flash. I am looking for tips, suggestions and comments from this group of pros. Photos will be taken about 5:30 pm. Sun should be going down at this point so I will have the benefit of some nice lighting.
Please help and thank you in advance for your time. And 24-70 2.8.
Jules

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E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Hi, Jules! WELCOME to the section.

So...out-of-doors wedding photography- GROUPS!

I don't know what kind of experience you have had in shooting weddings so my first word of advice is GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW!...and apply the same methods that you use in sports photography. As per your posted o images; your exposure is correct, you have good skin tones and texture, the placement is good- you can see and recognize everyone, there is detail in the white uniforms and in the full-length images there is no foreshortening so the camera placement and focal length choices are correct. Good expressions!

I don't know what you are required to do exactly- just groups or bridal portraiture as well?

Unlike sports images, you need to make certain the there is no activity or clutter in the background. If you have access to a garden environment with high foliage or a church exterior environment you are good to go providing the lighting is right.

At around 5 o'clock, depending on your geographic location and the weather, the sun should be low enough to provide good backlight which will illuminate the bride's veil and give dimension to the entire group. Flash or reflector fill will balancehte lighting, bring up the skin tones and provide detail in the clothing.

Make sure you have a good lens shade and that non of the back- or side light is striking the lens.

You can expose for the flash and adjust the shutter speed to include the natural light, providing you have the shutter-speed synchronization range OR you can expose for the natural light and adjust the flash to balance.

I always work with an assistant so I prefer reflector fill where I utilize the backlight as indicated and fill in with an off-camera reflector. When back or side light is allowed to strike the reflector you can pump in as much frontal light as you require. What you see is what you get and there is no flash balance to worry about.

Sometimes you can simply expose for the frontal natural lighting and let the backlight just do its thing, that is if the exposure differential is not too much.

Depth of field issues: As for background management, I like to keep it soft and somewhat out of focus, even on groups. Unlike what I would do with sports of business groups, I work at somewhat larger apertures, however, I need sufficient depth of field to accommodate multiple rows of subjects. It's not much of an issue with a single line of subjects but with multiple rows, I focus carefully, 1/3 into the group and make certain that everyone is in focus. I can usually do this successfully at f/5.6 or f/8.

Camera position: On a single line of full-length subjects the came shod be about at the subject waist-level and not tilted significantly up or down. Avoid wide-angle focal length lenses or zoom setting. Try to stay with normal or slight longer than normal focal lengths. This will negate distortion at the edges or foreshortening. Wide angle lenses and zoom settings should only be used in restricted spaces and camera placement is very critical so as to avoid the aforementioned distortions.

If you are asked to shoot bridal formals, then there are the issues of gown, veil, and placements and of course, positioning of the bride's flowers. Again, backlight and shallow depth of field work nicely- profile views will pick up a nice rim lighting. In full-length, 3/4 and close-up portraits I prefer even wider apertures for less DOP. f/2.8 with 85- to 105mm will do nicely for good "bokeh" on formal or romantic portraits of the couple.

Of course, POSING has to be considered.

I lie to use a tripod to ensure stability, critical focus and after focusing and composing, I can look over the top of the camera, direct, talk to the folks and make sure to get good expression and open eyes. I shoot several shots of each group to ensure good expressions and open eyes. If the back or side lig becomes very low in the sky, I can use my hand or a piece of black cardboard to additionally shade- the tripod gives me the extra free hand to do this kinda thing if I have to.

If there are unexpected changes in the weather conditions, of course, you need to have a "plan B" for this possibility. Soft somewhat overcast light is not bad but you need to worry about "raccoon eyes", that is shaded eye sockets that result from overcast lighting coming in the form directly above the subjects.

In the event of inclement weather, you may need to consider shooting indoors with multip flash, if you have a second speedlight that will synchronize by radio, command or a photoelectric cell.

I hope this helps a bit. If you have any more questions or need a follow-up, please do not hesitate to post some feedback. If you can access the location ahead of time a run a few test shots with a stand-in person, I would be glad to have a look and advise.

You are an experienced sports shooter so you understand how to improvise and roll with the punches when things are difficult.
Weh you arrive at an unknown venue, you never know what the place is gonna look like, how much cooperation or time you will have and if MURPHY'S LAW is gonna conspire to mess with you.

Sometimes the aftermath of a wedding ceremony can be like a rugby match in terms of chaos so you need to be the organizer and fall back on what you know how to do. If things get a bit crazy, don't worry about all the aesthetics I have mentioned and just get good clean shots as you have in your images. Just watch for the details.

If you can handle a bunch of pepped up young athletes, you can handle a wedding party.

Good luck and let me know what you think or if you want more information.

Ed

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

I would guess that many of the techniques and equipment that you use to photograph your sports can be applied to the wedding groups...And dont forget to get a bunch of candid photos. I take photos that many pro photographers don't get because they are more focused on the B&G...

Good luck in your endeavors...

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Ed:
Thanks for getting back to me on this subject. You have given me so much to think about.
I am going to meet at the location the bride and of course I will shoot a couple of test shots. This shoot will be kind of informal for pics. I was shooting a softball playoff game and the coach came up to me after the game and asked me to shoot some family shots. I would imagine groups like the bride's maid, the groom party, etc. I want to check off most of the boxes before I go and you helped me do just that.
The wedding is July 5th, I will post some practice shots before the event for you to look at.
Thank you for all your help.
Jules

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

The practice shoot is extremely helpful. Be sure to post some of them and I'll give you the feedback.

By July 5th you'll be ready to rock 'n' roll!

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

I sure will.

Eric2018 Loc: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Your posted images show you know how to arrange people and get good expressions. Your fill light seems just right (looks like you used a flash) -- not obvious, lighting looks very natural.
At 5:30 PM on July 5, the sun will be about 28 degrees above the horizon in Las Vegas (there are convenient web sites with such information -- I found that info at https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php ). I can't add anything else to Ed's great and comprehensive comments.

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Thanks for chiming in Eric. I will let the group see how I did, gulp.

Eric2018 Loc: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Wow, Ed, that is a superb essay!

Zachary Welch Loc: Minneapolis

Good luck with the shoot!! Ed gave me some great advice a few weeks ago (of course, after I discovered this section)

I have one suggestion which is to rent a 24-70 2.8 (or equivalent) for the shoot. I think having something that shoots a little wider would be helpful for improvised shots. I am not sure what you have in your arsenal for light modifiers but something to soften the light on the chance that you wind up shooting inside or after dark might. E helpful as well.


Zak

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Zak thanks for your comments. I do have and plan on using my Nikon 24-70 2.8 among other lenses.

Zachary Welch Loc: Minneapolis

Jules,

I don’t catch that you had one!