Wednesday 28 October 2009

Wedding photography at Cooling Castle

A selection of images from Vanessa and Jonathan's wedding, photographed on Sunday at Cooling Castle, with key EXIF data. Please check out their wedding gallery.

1/800, f/1.4, ISO 50, -1 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

The shot features a lot of dark tones so it's time to dial in negative exposure compensation. For beginners this can seem daunting but it really doesn't take long to get the hang of it. It becomes completely instinctive.

1/1250, f/1.2, ISO 50, -4/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

The sun was incredibly strong for late October so I took these shots in open shade. The term open shade refers to the fact that there's plenty of soft reflected light available. The area under trees can often provide beautiful light but you may have to deal with a slight green colour cast.

1/60, f/2, ISO 400, -1/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/250, f/1.2, ISO 640, +1/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

Candids are such good fun. It's a bit like wildlife photography - try not to disturb the quarry, though I do occasionally get rumbled (see two shots above!) I should fashion a wedding photographer's hide to make the job even easier.

1/60, f/2.8, ISO 1600, +2/3 EV, 16 mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

You can see how bright it was outside from the windows. I prefer not to use flash during the ceremony so, again, it's down to exposure compensation.

1/200, f/1.4, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

I dialled down the exposure compensation for this one as the little girl was standing beneath a spotlight. Shooting in RAW has allowed me to diminish the difference in light intensities around the room in post-production.

1/80, f/2.2, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/200, f/2.8, ISO 800, +1/3 EV, +1/3 FEC, 20 mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

Out with the flash for this one - softened with my trusty Lastolite Apollo and mounted on a Digital ProM Custom bracket. You could just get the shot with exposure compensation but there's not a lot of direct light falling on their faces so it's better to add some. I added a small amount of flash exposure compensation and added even more to subsequent shots.

1/125, f/2.8, ISO 2000, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 24 mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

No FEC required for this one. If the background has been any darker I would have had to dial in negative FEC. The E-TTL II system can be fooled by close subjects and dark backgrounds. It attempts to light all of the scene which can leads to your subjects being over-illuminated (aka 'nuked').

1/2500, f/1.4, ISO 200, -1 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

1/1250, f/2, ISO 200, -1 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

Aunties just can't help themselves...

1/400, f/4, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

Groups of this size take a minute or so to set up. I prefer to put people in a single line but there were too many for the nice shady spot I'd found (with Jools Holland's pied-a-terre in the background). Shorties to the front, people on the back row between shoulders - no hiding!

1/3200, f/1.4, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

AF systems are very impressive. She ran in, tweaked the brides dress and then ran off. But the 5D Mark II captured her sortie.

1/500, f/2.5, ISO 200, -1/3 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

I actually moved the bride forwards after this particular shot to remove the shadow on the right hand side of her face being cast by her friend. I included this shot on the blog because I love their expressions (after a particularly cheeky comment I made).

1/3200, f/1.2, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/3200, f/1.6, ISO 400, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/800, f/2.5, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/2500, f/1.2, ISO 200, -2/3 EV, 85 mm, 85mm f/1.2L II

I love the 85mm f/1.2 L lens. Bit of a learning curve to get the most out of it but well worth the journey.

1/3200, f/1.4, ISO 50, -4/3 EV, 35 mm, 35mm f/1.4L

One of the classic shots at Cooling Castle. They were being illuminated by the setting sun whilst a lot of the image remained in shadow. A good dose of negative exposure compensation prevented their faces being burnt out.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or queries.

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