Your technique is fine but IMO your execution is horrible. Your first photo is close to 2 stops over exposed just look at the light. If you had adjusted the exposure solely for the light, which is the brightest part of the scene. Then used FEC to adjust for the final shot. I also don't understand why you'd use bounce flash, also need to set the ISO to 800.
@@Jack-oc5ty It seems like you have some strong opinions about the photographer's technique. However, balancing exposure, especially in dynamic wedding environments, is no easy task. While you mentioned the first photo might be overexposed, it's worth considering the challenges involved in capturing the perfect shot under varying conditions. Regarding Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC), it's a helpful technique, but it's also important to recognize that photographers often need to adapt on the fly. The use of bounce flash is a deliberate choice to create softer, more flattering light, which is a common practice to avoid the harsh shadows and unflattering highlights caused by direct flash. As for the ISO settings, suggesting an ISO of 800 could be useful in certain situations, but again, it depends on the specific lighting conditions of the venue and the desired aesthetic. Photographers have to make quick decisions to ensure the best possible outcome. Constructive criticism can be beneficial, but it's important to understand the context and challenges faced by the photographer. Your feedback is noted, but it’s also crucial to acknowledge the complexities of wedding photography and the skill required to manage them.
@@Jack-oc5ty I agree with you. The last picture, the lamp is too bright for me. He used bounced flash, so it won't look like a direct flash; and ISO to 800 so to have it look like natural lighting?
Wow... Most informative video on how to USE the SETTINGS with the flash. Other videos rarely go into this and usually get you to buy a diffuser, softbox, or some other type of GEAR. I have the same shooting style so this was really helpful for me. Finally got a flash after 5 years of photography lol
ok this helped so much! I shot a wedding last night and used some of your tips that I learned only an hour or so before I started and loved the results!! feeling much more confident with my flash now, thanks!
When doing your video, you should make your photo samples fill up the whole screen. It's a little hard on the viewer to get a full sense of what you are showing.
I agree 100% with everything and especially with using manual settings on flash is better and more correct, but as a wedding photographer, there are cases where your subject is moving all the time and its distance from the walls is changing (because a lot of times there is not a seiling), this is where TTL is the only way to keep the same style of shooting by keeping the same amount of light hittiing your subject :)
Great stuff.... hope more "photographers" watch it and this reminded me when I was shooting at a wedding where the wedding photographers (2 of them) had *NO* flash between them even when the ceremony was outdoors and seriously backlit. Found it so funny when the "photographers" told the family they couldn't shoot formal family photos at their floral arch because its "too backlit".... LOL
This is one of the best videos on flash photography for beginners(like me!) - not just for wedding photography! Thank you!! It really cleared things up for me.
Amazing video, gave me several ideas of using the gear I already have (not a lot) and get more artistic images on parties and receptions. I do go to weddings, but with video only... it's probably time to get some photo contracts too.
When the subject and the photographer are moving and distance from the camera to the subject is varying. The best is TTL plus Flash exposure compensation. Many photographers don´t like TTL because they don´t know how to use Flash exposure compensation. At weddings I only use Manual Flash during posing photos, when the subject is steady.
Finally! Your video really made things much clearer about the relationship between ambient light, camera exposure settings, and flash light. I’d watch videos where they would set ambient exposure settings, set flash power, and take the shot. I’d go crazy trying to figure out the relationship between the chosen flash power and the ambient exposure settings. Hearing you explain that they are largely unrelated AND that we need to experiment a bit with flash power to figure out what gives the most natural ambient / flash light combination was revelatory. Thanks so much for explicitly explaining this.
I’d love to see you actually set up the lights at the venue, reception, etc. I’ll check your site for other videos. Really enjoyed this one though. Thank you!
Like most of us, I watch a lot of instructional videos. This is probably the best video I have seen using flash at a wedding. You made it simple, yet versatile. Excellent explanations and analogies to carry your points home. You didn't really share any earth shaking insights, but it was so clear in comparison, approach and outcome. Thank you. 📸🌞
Love this. I'm gearing back up for weddings this year after taking a few years off from the industry and watching your videos helps me get all my jitters out. your approach to flash is exactly mine as well. It is supplemental to ambient to add the pop or clean up that you need. The major benefit of that is you can use really low flash power levels and simpler units, and it will integrate better with a gallery of naturally lit photos! Thanks for the great content.
@@lukewtcleland Totally! Also if you have to do flash for family formals, if you have a big white wall or ceiling, it's so so so much easier to point a big monolight at the wall and light up the whole room than to try to set up umbrellas, modifiers, etc. Trust me on that. Especially if you have rows of people and need to light the back row.
The best and most comprehensive flash explanation I’ve ever watched on RU-vid. Thank you! I’ve been struggling to grasp when and how to use flash at events and most of the time I don’t even take it out of my bag.
LUKE YOU ARE AN INCREDIBLE TEACHER! OH MY GOSH! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your overall wonderful self with us in these videos. Your editing is perfection and presentation over and above. I learned so much and can't wait to start applying these techniques!
One of the best " real world " explanations of how to use ( or not use ) flash in a Wedding/Event situation. Brilliant advice backed up with beautiful photos. Subscribed 👍
I am a wedding photographer! I already use most of these tricks to obtain the photo that I see fit. but still, I LEARNED A LOT from this video. the way you explained everything is simple yet so effective!! heck i've been shooting weddings for 4 years now, but that cheat sheet is so handy I'm going to print it and slide it in my bag on next wedding! you never know when amnesia hits and get stressed over a simple setting. thanks a lot 💙
after searching for info, videos, tutorials and then finally coming across your video here it is safe to say I can finally make my flash purchases and feel prepared for my next big wedding day coming up! thank you so much for this extremely helpful and valuable video I really appreciate it!
This is the most beneficial video I’ve found in years. flash has always confused me and when I search how to use flash they all explain the practical way to set one up but they always say set your flash to TTL but mines is manual only, so thanks for your explanation on flash . I then clicked on your channel to check out your earliest videos and seen you came to Scotland, come back I owe you drink sir !
I've been looking for exactly this kind of video! Thank you so much! I would love a video on dealing with mixed white balance situations and how to pick flash gels. Sometimes when trying to match the white balance of a scene I wind up just trying all kinds of gels because I have no idea which to use and none of them seem to be right.
Oh I’m so glad!! Oooo I’ll put that on the list! I actually love using gels in mixed lighting because the results are pretty fun! It’s fun to fix bad lighting. Haha
Actually this is the best video I'd ever seen about flash, people always said that you have to be a master using speedlight, but definitely I learned everything with this video, next week I have a weeding, of course I'll will keep this video in mind . Thank you 🙌🏼
This is probably the best how-to video I’ve seen about flash photography yet! I just photographed a wedding last night, and struggled 😩 Wish I would’ve seen this beforehand 😒
I feel like flash is always an area that I can improve, so thanks for this! Those detail shots are beautiful. I recently got the MagMod kit for this year's season and super excited about the color filters to match the ambient lights more so it's less obvious there's a bright blue flash compared to the ambient lights for things like speeches. Going to try more off camera flash for those moments too. 👍
Thank you! Oh yes! I've been looking at something like that. I'd love a magnetic one that I can just pop those gels on. Right now I have tape haha So glad this was helpful!
When you bounce flash, esp in portrait orientation for like candid shots etc, try bouncing flash off the floor instead of ceiling. Sometimes you get amazing results...
Great video Luke! I love how clear and informative you speak. Picked up a Godox v1 to play with this year and get better at receptions/low light wedding venues and this video gave me some great tips!
just came across this while frantically searching for some help on this topic. wow, this was the most helpful & reasonable video on wedding flashes i've been able to find 😅. like, I am *immediately* subscribing to your channel.
Dude... thank you so much for this video and the flash tips. I do my best to get the natural light look... because I have nothing but natural light to use since I don't have a flash yet, and when the time comes, I'd have studied this video so much it'll be embedded in me to do this.
Glad i found your channel! I've been feeling a bit bored and burned out shooting weddings, but your content is giving me lots of new things to practice!
Thanks for the video. Very nice and simple and clear. That's what I'm looking for haha. By the way: No flash at all --> totally agree, since I'm (still) too afraid to use it (especially weddings isn't the time to practice when there is a crucial moment haha... that's kind of what kept me from doing it most of the time... I played with it but not much yet). But the pictures I get without flash are very satisfying and to be honest the only way to actually capture the atmosphere the way it really was. At the dancefloor it is dark and moody and there are - oftentimes - colorful lights. With something like the A7RIII or A9II I can pull up the shadows so much without loosing image quality, it is amazing. Sometimes it looks a bit "too much" (like these HDR pictures from back then ;-) ). But most of the time if you tweek it here and there in post it is very pleasing. I guess that editing is just much less work with flash, because you don't have to adjust that many factors. Another factor would be those flickering LED lights, that a flash can just overpower. On the other hand - especially with the A9 series - it's not been a big problem for me.
Love your flash guide! The integration of the video light is nice. I also like the simplicity because i hate it to handle 4 flashes for a dancefloor setup like some wedding photogs do.
Thank You for this excellent Video, I enjoyed it very much & learned a lot. if you don't mind could you please provide the name, model of the Continuous Video Light you used. I am interested in acquiring one.
Great tutorial mam. I like the thought that goes into making the decisions whether to incorporate ambient light or kill it before adding flash. You're a great teacher.
Great info! Thanks. I actually moved to Nikon from canon after I watched your channel. I loved it! Also if you could I want to see your film camera shots too!
Hello, thank you for this video. I've watched so many wedding/event videos, but yours has been by far the best. I've shot one wedding as a photographer and one as a last minute (I was a guest but the hired photographer was a no-show) I fortunately carry around my Sony and a cheap flash everywhere. I've been to a few weddings as a guest and have noticed a lot of photographers use a lot of off camera flashes mounted on tripods bouncing off the ceiling. Normally three flashes at the banquet. I haven't used flashes except the last wedding I attended as the last minute photographer. I'm shooting a Quinceanera next weekend during low light hours 6pm-12am and the banquet hall doesn't have any windows. I've already scoped out the area. I have two AD200Pro's I plan on bringing, or would just an on camera flash be fine, or what would you recommend? My A7CR and A7IV are great in low-light.
Good morning am so glad I came across this video like what you said in the beginning of the video I as well had my first wedding and struggle with my flash in doors at the reception better still got some good photos and almost give up on photography thank you from sharing oh and shout out from the Caribbean Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Oh goodness I’m cringing so hard at my first few wedding I’ve done barely knowing anything about flash!😭 I’ve been so lucky that my clients are so kind and relaxed and have been happy but I’m ready to take it to the next level and this was so helpful!
Do you always angle flash head behind you to bounce of wall, no matter how tall ceilings are or how far behind you wall is? Wall has to be decently close, no? Excellent video thank you
Great video, thanks for your explanations and many different applications. No implied criticism at all, but how do you deal with the differences between the warm ambient light and the cold white light of the flash (direct flash example for instance)? Is it an intentional style choice? Would you ever play with gels to match the ambient lighting?
Awesome vid. What kind of sorcery are you using to not only record your EVF but also have it simultaneously show up live on your iMac? Pretty cool. Also, I found iso does effect input of flash light on top of ambient light... if that makes sense.
how do you adjust your flash by distance? I’m having issues using flash on primes. As I move around, I feel like I have to adjust my flash each time because if I use the same power, I grt very different results. Would you have any tips on this?
Scenario... Let's say the scene requires your camera be set at 1/100sec, F/2.8, ISO800 for a proper ambient exposure. Let's say the human subject is three feet away from you and that your flash requires 1/128 power for a proper, natural exposure of your subject. Now, let's say your subject (or you) for a wider shot increase(s) the distance to six feet... What should you do? Well, simple: Since the distance is now twice that of the original distance, adjust your power "one stop" up (stronger/brighter) to 1/64 power - and so on, and so on. The Inverse Square Law is what describes how this works, if you want to dig deeper and fully understand the subject. 🤓
