Wedding Photography Kent

Here's part two of a selection of photos from Nicky and Michael's wedding that I shot last week at the Ashford International Hotel. Shots with flash were taken mostly with a 5D, without with a 5D Mark II. I didn't warm up my flashlight with gels for this wedding in order to keep the warmth of the ambient light.

manual, 1/50, f/3.5, ISO 1000, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

The big group photos were the most demanding shots of the wedding. The room was very poorly lit and space was limited. I had to get the best man and ushers to move, and keep, the guests back to give me room to work. I used three 580EX II Speedlites to light the above shot. One was on camera, set to master, with my usual flash bracket and Lastolite micro Apollo softener, and the other two were on stands, set to slave, and softened by Lastolite EzyBoxes. All flashes were left in group A. Flash ratios were controlled by adjusting flash-to-subject distance. I could just squeeze everyone in with a focal length of 16mm - not ideal due to distortion at the edges of the shot but better than no shot at all. Focus was achieved using the AF-assist beam on the Speedlite.

manual, 1/50, f/3.5, ISO 1000, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 24mm

Taken with the same set-up of Speedlites and softeners.

1/200, f/1.4, ISO 1250, +1 EV, 35mm

Taken with the 5D Mark II and 35mm f/1.4 L prime. Aperture priority with +1 exposure compensation to take account of the candles and reflective white table cloth.

manual, 1/50, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

The reception room was pretty dark too. I set the camera to manual with the above settings which was about 2 stops underexposed for the ambient light. Subjects were then lit with flash.

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 6400, +1 EV, 200mm

A chance to check out the high ISO performance of the 5D Mark II - I've discussed this shot in a previous post. I've just read a review of the 5D Mark II in Practical Photography (Feb 2009) which states that, 'ISO performance has improved, although not significantly'. I reckon it's at least a 2-stop improvement - I suppose it depends what you define as significant. It may not be as good as the Nikon D3 or D700 (although the latter appears similar in a comparison test at Photography Bay), but the 5D Mark II allows you to shoot low-noise shots at ISO 6400, perfect for very low-light wedding photography.

1/50, f/2.8, ISO 6400, +1 EV, 125mm

Again the subject is lit by candlelight. You need to keep a careful eye on the quality of light falling on your subjects - you can't just switch to ISO 6400 and imagine that all shots will turn out well.

manual, 1/50, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, -1 FEC, 16mm

Back to the 5D in manual mode with softened flash on the camera bracket. A close-in light subject with a dark background causes the flash to overexpose, so I dialled in -1 stop of flash exposure compensation.

manual, 1/50, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 27mm

E-TTL II copes well when the subject is further away, and with a more even distribution of tones in the shot (I've burnt in the corners here in post-production for a vignette effect).

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 63mm

1/50, f/2.0, ISO 800, -2/3 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm

Taken with off-camera flash. I connected an ST-E2 wireless transmitter to my 5D Mark II and then held a 580EX II Speedlite, with a StoFen omnibounce diffuser fitted to mimic a barebulb, in my left hand. Shot in aperture priority mode with -2/3 exposure compensation.

1/50, f/4.0, ISO 1600, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 1600, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 100mm

The Speedlite was supported by a voice-activated light stand (a guest!) and triggered by the ST-E2.

1/60, f/4.0, ISO 3200, -1 EV, 0 FEC, 70mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

On-camera softened flash with the 5D. Back to manual mode.

1/25, f/2.8, ISO 6400, +1 EV, 16mm

Ambient light only with the 5D Mark II. Exposure compensated for the lit background.

Any comments welcome.

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Wedding Photographer Kent

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

1/125, f/4.0, ISO 1000, -1 EV, -1/3 FEC, 35mm (35mm f/1.4 L)

1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1000, -1.3 EV, -1 FEC, 35mm (35mm f/1.4 L)

1/60, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 24mm (24-70mm)

1/200, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 24mm (24-70mm)

1/80, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 24mm (24-70mm)

1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 58mm (24-70mm)

1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 70mm (24-70mm)

1/160, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 24mm (24-70mm)

1/320, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 70mm (24-70mm)

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 48mm (24-70mm)

1/80, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 24mm (24-70mm)

Here's part one of a selection of photos from Nicky and Michael's wedding that I shot last week at the Ashford International Hotel. Light levels in the foyer and ceremony room were good and allowed me to shoot at ISO 1600 with a reasonable shutter speed. The challenging part came later on!

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High ISO performance of Canon EOS 5D Mark II

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 6400, +1 EV, 200mm (70-200mm f/2.8 L IS)

I shot part of a wedding with my new Canon EOS 5D Mark II last week. I had the opportunity to check out its performance at high ISO when taking candids of the guests during the meal. Light levels were very low, with illumination provided primarily by candlelight.

In my opinion, noise levels at ISO 6400 on the 5D Mark II, under these conditions, are equivalent to about ISO 1250 on the 5D, an improvement of over 2 stops. Zooming to 100%, the noise is visible, as shown on the left in the image above. The result of running the image through NeatImage, using the custom noise profile I created for my camera, followed by sharpening in Photoshop with an unsharp mask, and then a minor tweak to brightness, is shown on the right. A nice improvement in image quality.

The post-processed image is shown above. Noise levels increase considerably when moving to ISO 12,800 and 25,600. However, ISO 6400 in combination with a fast prime lens and a Speedlite will allow you to get great results in the darkest of venues.

It would be interesting to see what the images from this sensor looked like at very high ISO if it only had 12 megapixels, as in the 5D. I'm sure I'm not the only one to wonder this!

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Microadjustment of Canon lenses

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II allows you to microadjust the autofocus system for each of your lenses. I followed the method described by Keith Cooper on his excellent website. It's based upon moire patterns produced by interference and is very straightforward to carry out.

These are the results I obtained for my lenses:

Canon EF fisheye 15mm f/2.8 -4

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L -2

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L +10

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L -2

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L -4

Canon EF 170-200mm f/2.8 L 0

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 0

All minor tweaks except for the 24-70mm zoom. I then shot a test image, with and without the microadjustment, for each of the lenses to see if there was any visible difference.

I used the above test card which came free with an issue of Digital Camera magazine. It was firmly clamped, to ensure no movement, and the camera was mounted on a tripod, triggered by remote shutter release, with mirror lock-up activated.

Above is an enlargement of the card from shots taken with the 24-70mm zoom lens, with no microadjustment on the left and with the +10 adjustment applied on the right. The image on the right is clearly the sharper of the two. It took about 90 minutes to adjust and test all my lenses and was well worth the effort.

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Kent Photographer in Bromley

We met up with friends in Bromley last weekend, and since I knew there would be lots of photogenic children there, I took my camera with me!

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Kent Wedding Photographer in Deal

1/200, f/5.0, ISO 400, -1/3 EV, 40mm (24-70mm L)

1/400, f/2.8, ISO 200, 0 EV, 24mm (24-70mm L)

1/100, f/4.0, ISO 500, -2/3 EV, 34mm (24-70mm L)

1/50, f/3.5, ISO 1600, 0 EV, +1 FEC, 25mm (16-35mm L)

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, +1 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, +1 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, +1 FEC, 16mm

1/40, f/2.0, ISO 3200, 0 EV, +1 FEC, 35mm (35mm f/1.4 L)

1/8, f/2.8, ISO 1600, +1 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm (16-35mm f/2.8 L)

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

manual, 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 16mm

1/40, f/2.8, ISO 3200, +2/3 EV, 16mm (16-35mm f/2.8 L)

1/60, f/3.5, ISO 3200, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm (16-35mm f/2.8 L)

I had the pleasure of photographing Kerry and Simon's wedding at Deal Castle on Saturday - check out their wedding gallery. The weather was fantastic, incredibly mild, and the sunset was magnificent.

Light levels inside the castle were very low so I put the camera into manual mode - 1/50, f/2.8, ISO 1600 - and used flash, with appropriate FEC, for lighting. I pushed the ISO to 3200 for some of the shots at mealtime, turned the flash off, and used just candlelight!

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