Equipment for doing weddings
Bouquet & bridal gown question
Helping the heavy bride
Film for candlelight wedding
Weddings and film speed

Dear Mary:
My recommendations for equipment to do a wedding are usually simpler than most photographers are expecting. While it is desirable to do a wedding with a medium format camera like the Mamiya 645, it can certainly be done with good results using a 35mm. With regard to portable flash equipment. There are several things to think about. First is the subject of "red eye." The way that you combat this problem is to keep the room lighting as high as is possible so your subject eyes will close down, thus reducing the reflections from the interiors of their eyes. In addition, you want to keep the flash unit away from the lens which will avoid the sorts of angles that will result in "red eye." By keeping the flash unit directly above the lens (typically 12 to 18 inches) you also cause the shadows generated by the flash to fall directly behind the subject and also below where you can see them. When you use your off camera strobe cord and simple move your light to one side away from the camera, you are creating shadows that are quite visible and not at all pleasing. Remember that light travels in a straight line. If you move your light source off to your left, the shadow from the subject will be behind them and to the right. Hand holding the flash unit requires some practice in order to be certain that it is pointed in the same direction as the lens. This is better accomplished by using a bracket called a Stroboframe. It is a metal frame that you mount your camera and flash unit onto so that the flash unit is positioned properly for good light distribution. Holding your flash unit by hand will produce variable results including what you described as part of the image being lit and part being in the dark. My flash units have always been very simple. Vivitar 285 for the camera and Vivitar 283 for the second or main light when doing double lighting. Their performance is essentially identical. The 285 simply has an adjustable head that will widen the beam of light to match a wider than normal lens or narrow it for use with a telephoto. I don't think you are ready just yet to attempt the more adventurous task of multiple lighting. Learn proper single lighting first and then move on to the more difficult topics. These strobes have full manual output and several auto ranges, perhaps like the flash unit that you already have. You just need to use these auto ranges to help get a reasonable exposure. For example, the Vivitar 285 and 283 have a Blue range. For Kodak Portra 160NC film, I would use this setting for small groups where you need a little extra depth of field. The blue range is generally used with your lens set to f8. You need to practice with each of the ranges before you start to get a feel for what the
results will be. My suggestion is to set up some time to photograph a single person, a couple and a group using each auto range of your flash unit and study the results carefully so you can begin learning what to expect. This is a classic case of "practice makes perfect."

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I am a relative newcomer to studio work. I have done occasional weddings for a couple of years but now that I have a relatively nice studio in what was my garage I am faced with doing studio bridals. I have lights and do ok with them but it's the posing with the bouquet and the dress that I have a hard time with. I keep hearing conflicting info from the guys at the camera store and another photographer. I just don't get along with bouquets. I want my portraits to look professional but they just don't and I am not sure why. Please help with any advice.
James

Dear James:
Bouquet are actually quite easy to work with once you know a few basic rules. First and most important: When you are working with a full length portrait of the bride, consider the bouquet to be a fig leaf. Now, you will never forget where to place it when doing a symmetrical full or half length portrait. When you place the bouquet in this location several things happen. First, you pose the arms gracefully. The elbows are approximately the curvature of a banana, a very graceful shape indeed. Because of this curve to the arms, the brides waistline may now be observed. When you do as many photographers do and allow the bride to hold the bouquet higher than this, several bad things take place. First, you cover the detail in the bust line and body of the dress. Second, you put harsh right angles into the arms. Not graceful or pleasing to the eye. Third and most importantly, you make the bride look shorter and heavier than she really is. In the opposite situation, if you allow the bride to hold the bouquet too low, several things occur as well. First, you make the bride look taller than she really is, (in some situations this may be desirable to a degree), second, you hide the waistline, and third, you make the arms look nearly straight rather than a graceful curve. The most important single thing to remember when photographing women whether it be during a bridal sitting, studio portrait sitting, or even a boudoir sitting, is that they must look graceful and curvy. The rule about making the joints of a woman match the curvature of a banana will help you make women look like the beautiful creatures they are.
Without pictures it may be a bit difficult to describe but there is a way to teach your bride to hold the bouquet so that it will look much better and feel more comfortable than the typical way. First, let’s identify the typical way it’s done. The bride is usually allowed to grip the stem similar to a golf club. This grip places the wrists in a bent and very uncomfortable position. The bouquet is also quite far out from the body to accommodate the hands and looks very unsightly when seen from the side. This is especially true when she walks down the isle. We teach the bride a much better way to hold the bouquet. It goes like this. Take the bouquet and place all three fingers from each hand under the stem. Stabilize the bouquet by placing the pinkie fingers on top of the stem. Now, gently insert the thumbs slightly into the back of the bouquet just above and if possible, resting on the top of the form that holds the bouquet together. Now in this position you have some big improvements. First, the wrists are straight and in a natural position. The open palms may now move toward and nearly touch the body thereby eliminating the unsightly view behind the bouquet from the side. This position produces no pain for the bride and looks graceful and correct.
A couple of other simple rules to follow. When showing the front of the bridal gown, cross light it from the direction of the shoulder that is nearer to the camera. This will insure nice texture across the front of the dress avoiding a blocked up area that will require more expensive printing to bring up detail. Have the bride turn her face back toward the light to achieve short loop or Rembrandt lighting. If you don’t know what short or loop lighting is please feel free to email me and I will be happy to assist you. Also remember to never face the body of the bride directly into the camera. Always keep her at a slight angle. When posing the hands remember the banana rule. Keep the wrist bent as well as the fingers using the curvature of a banana as your guide and you will make fewer mistakes. Elevate the index finger slightly above the others for a graceful hand and always be sure to show the side or edge of the hand and not the palm or back of the hand. Just a note, three years ago, at the end of the week, my Texas School class presented me with a crate filled with 40 pounds of bananas.
I hope this helps with some basics.

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I have a wedding coming up and the bride is quite heavy. What can I do to optimize the situation.
Dan

Dear Dan:
When you have a heavy bride there are probably more don't than do's. A common mistake of many photographers is to allow the bride to hold the bouquet way up high in front of the bust line. This alone will add many pounds to the appearance of the bride. Keep that bouquet down in the fig leaf area and if your bride is heavy, lower it even further. This will add length to the subject. Also, watch the angle of the shoulders. Never allow the bride to have here shoulders square to the camera. Have her turn to approximately a 45 degree angle. Do not photograph her at 90 degrees to the camera. I call this threading the needle through the shoulders. It's not flattering at all and is to be avoided. Find a middle ground that establishes a compromise between a flat to the camera pose and a side view.

If the bride is to be photographed with a man, be it the groom, dad or someone else, you must compare the angles of both bodies. They will of course be angled toward each other but observe carefully. Who is turned in the most will appear the smallest in width. You ALWAYS want the lady to look smaller. Adjust the angle of the shoulders so that the male is wider to the camera than the woman. The last thing you want to do is make the woman look bigger than the man.

Head tilts are another important subject when photographing a heavy bride. Your goal is always to respect and flatter the subject to the best of your ability. Their are two basic head tilts. Masculine and feminine. Masculine head tilts place the head leaning down toward the front of the body while feminine head tilts have the head tilting down over the shoulder toward the back of the person. Always avoid feminine head tilts if your bride is heavy. Stick with a standard masculine tilt. It is safe and will not look out of place. Feminine head tilts are best reserved for the very thin brides.

Lastly, avoid photographing the heavy bride while sitting. You will only emphasize her size if you do so. Keep her standing for all photographs even if it's just a head and shoulders. When heavy people sit, they tend to settle a bit, thereby emphasizing their size. Keep them standing. You will do them a good service if you follow this rule.

If you are photographing a group of people including a heavy bride or lady, keep her standing, turned to reduce her width, bouquet lowered and if possible, place her slightly behind another person so that one leg and one arm are hidden. This is more likely a possibility for an attendant, a mother or other lady than the bride since you must keep the bride in the foreground. The bottom line is to do all the optimizing things that you can in every photograph to flatter the customer.

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I was wondering which film brand and film speed do you recommend for shooting candlelight weddings?
Thanks,
Glenda
Louisiana

Hi Glenda
Since a candlelight wedding is not generally photographed totally by the light of candles, Kodak standard 160 NC is usually the film of choice. If you shot more than a couple of images only by candlelight album would look pretty uninteresting since so many images would have these little islands of light in a sea of blackness. Some photographers like a little extra speed so use the 400 counterpart but I never wanted to use 400 because all of my experience was with the regular film and that is where my brain had been trained. When you hop around, you don't give your brain the opportunity to learn the characteristics of a certain film type. Using the same film over and over and over generates a mental database of knowledge as to how it will perform under a wide variety of situations. Having your brain as the most powerful tool in your bag of tricks is always your best, and wisest choice.

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Scott
In your library I read that you only use ISO 160 film because you have studied and know the characteristics of this film. If you use this film when you are covering weddings, how do you do available light or even capture the backgrounds with out getting images that are blured because to the longer shutterspeed?
Mildred

Hi Mildred:
For twenty years I have used one basic film type for all weddings and studio portraits. First it was the Kodak VPS2, then VPS3 and now Portra160NC. MY standard working ISO for all was about 80 to 100. Your question about available light suggests that someone has told you that it's not fast enough film for this application. Don't believe it. Shutter dragging to 1/8th of a second at f4 to f8 will usually get plenty fo ambient light. Remember that there is a balance between available light and what you are letting your strobe put out. The more strobe output, the more you have to drag the shutter to build up ambient light in the scene. If you shoot everything at f11 or f16 don't expect shutter dragging to do much. That is why you have so many f-stop choices on your lens. Creative choice! When you are doing available light ONLY images at a wedding you are most likely at the back or in the balcony and need to be on a tripod. It's not wise to try and hand hold ceremony back shots. On your tripod you can drag your shutter to many f-stop / shutter speed combinations with perfect results. Many photographers even do their posed images of couples and groups with camera on tripod. It provides a stable platform where you can use shutter speeds that will build a nice amount of ambient light onto your scene. Remember that you never want to over-do the shutter dragging or you will begin to see motion blur
from your subjects.

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