Beach wedding shots

[DJPPhotos]

I'm new to this, so any advice or criticism is welcomed. I'm trying to get better! :-)



--------------
Camera: Nikon P90
Touched ups with Adobe Photoshop Elements

[zona5101]

sunset is great...needed a little fill lighting (flash) as they are a bit dark

[DJPPhotos]

You are totally right. I didn't use the flash when taking this photo. I find that the camera takes much better pictures without the flash. Either way, the bride and groom could have used some lighting for sure. Thanks!

[pjflan7]

regular flash would light them up and render the background too dark. You are almost asking for the impossible in getting everything lit up properly.....The white outfits against the dark skin probably requires stacking several shots at different exposures. But if you only have a flash....go slow rear sync so that the camera will get the surrounding exposure right before firing at the end to light up the subject.....the risk of a flash in this shot is blowing out the outfits or making them unnaturally "hot". In this shot, the outfits are in fact pretty good.....white and you can see detail......no easy answers here without a studio lighting setup nearby......You did a great job given all of the complications

[DJPPhotos]

Thanks for the advice. That's the main reason I didn't want to use the flash, because it would take away from the background, which in my opinion, makes the shot.

[PhotoPhix]

Originally Posted by DJPPhotos

I'm new to this, so any advice or criticism is welcomed. I'm trying to get better! :-)



--------------
Camera: Nikon P90
Touched ups with Adobe Photoshop Elements

You could have absolutely used a flash for some fill, although with the high res shot you might be able to add some light using PP. I would also adjust the white balance as the whites look a bit blue in your shot. Your crop is a bit tight as you cut off a portion of the brides dress. Nice job either way. Here is a quick retouch of your shot using CS4.

Armando

[IMG][/IMG]

[pjflan7]

this is a nice recovery but what happened to the cloud just to the right of the bouquet? The coloration is split right through the middle of the cloud.

[PhotoPhix]

Originally Posted by pjflan7

this is a nice recovery but what happened to the cloud just to the right of the bouquet? The coloration is split right through the middle of the cloud.

The op's question and focus was on the underexposed couple, I could spend more time in PP and make the complete shot work.

[Benji]

Ok now for some correct information about how this could be done. Take the ambient light reading with your hand held meter and set the suggested aperture and shutter speed into the camera. Then take your off camera flash and position it where it should be and take a flash reading. Adjust the flash output either up or down until it matches the ambient reading. Make the capture. The subjects will be lit by the flash and the background will be lit by the ambient light and both will be properly exposed. Shoot your grey card with the flash for proper white balance.

Benji

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by Benji

Ok now for some correct information about how this could be done. Take the ambient light reading with your hand held meter and set the suggested aperture and shutter speed into the camera. Then take your off camera flash and position it where it should be and take a flash reading. Adjust the flash output either up or down until it matches the ambient reading. Make the capture. The subjects will be lit by the flash and the background will be lit by the ambient light and both will be properly exposed. Shoot your grey card with the flash for proper white balance.

Benji

don't be too pompus.
btw, the first post (mine) mentions the same the technique while leaving the specific process for the OP to query. PhotoPhix also states fill flash is an appropriate solution while demonstrating a PP alternative.