What a fantastic 3 days in west Wales on the Pembrokeshire coast, teaching and shooting stunning brides and grooms with the photographyworkshop delegates. The weather held fine for us with just enough cold wind to bites with its teeth or lash out with its tail.
My exposure on this shot was 1/3200s at f/4.5 - ISO 200 with a 30mm lens
Lighting was ambient plus a reflector
The first 2 days were about the business of wedding photography with a number of location shoots, including a pier that had seen better days. Fortunately the tide was out (proper planning) and the weather fair so of we pranced, fully loaded with kit and a model.
We tried a number of shots just using a reflector as the skies were clear and the sun bright so the micro mini would work well, silver side from about 4 meters, set about 45 degrees left of the camera position. I chose f/4.5 because I wanted to allow the background to diffuse slightly so the larger aperture worked well. There were some white buildings in the background that I did not want in the shot so camera position and viewpoint were quite critical.
We tried a number of shots just using a reflector as the skies were clear and the sun bright so the micro mini would work well, silver side from about 4 meters, set about 45 degrees left of the camera position. I chose f/4.5 because I wanted to allow the background to diffuse slightly so the larger aperture worked well. There were some white buildings in the background that I did not want in the shot so camera position and viewpoint were quite critical.
Another shot with a reflector
We moved on to using speedlights for the later shots to demonstrate the art of balancing with the ambient light. In conditions like bright sunlight, close to noon, speedlights may struggle with their output, trying to match and balance f/22 when you are limited to your flash sync speed as we were, not having the latest gizmos that help resolve that issue.
1/200 s at f/16 ISO 200 with a 40mm lens
Under the pier there was no opportunity to use the reflector effectively so pulled out the trusty Nikon flash heads in the interfit strobies XS brackets, triggered with the elinchrom universal skyport receiver and transmitter.
After about one and a half hours, covered in mud we returned for some well earned lunch and a chance to review the images.
Once the two day training was concluded, after covering marketing, planning, preparation, shooting the wedding and perceptive vision, finishing with digital workflow and presentation options including albums, we planned for the 1 full day of shooting on the 3rd day.
We were traveling a few miles south to Bosherton ponds and Broad Haven where there was a stunning beach setting, with a short stop over at the church.
With everyone loaded with kit, including elinchrom Quadras, speedlights, stands and cameras we walked down to the ponds to a location I new had a low bridge and maybe some swans.
The other advantage was the shelter it provided from the biting south westerly.
We worked around the many walkers crossing the single lane bridge, including a labrador who decided to take a swim, as long as he did not shake himself over the dress. The exercise was designed to teach the use of camera flash as a fill, using flash compensation.
After about one and a half hours, covered in mud we returned for some well earned lunch and a chance to review the images.
Once the two day training was concluded, after covering marketing, planning, preparation, shooting the wedding and perceptive vision, finishing with digital workflow and presentation options including albums, we planned for the 1 full day of shooting on the 3rd day.
We were traveling a few miles south to Bosherton ponds and Broad Haven where there was a stunning beach setting, with a short stop over at the church.
Shot with a speedlight and a soft box positioned high right to provide sufficient illumination to light both bride and groom
With everyone loaded with kit, including elinchrom Quadras, speedlights, stands and cameras we walked down to the ponds to a location I new had a low bridge and maybe some swans.
The other advantage was the shelter it provided from the biting south westerly.
We worked around the many walkers crossing the single lane bridge, including a labrador who decided to take a swim, as long as he did not shake himself over the dress. The exercise was designed to teach the use of camera flash as a fill, using flash compensation.
The wind was starting to destroy the brides hair, however not time to get the hairdresser. The swan is a nice touch despite drawing the eye away from the bride. There are times when I like the swans and time when I will clone them out. It would have been nice if it was swimming towards us. I love the lighting on this shot.
It is possible to take these off-piste shots if you plan correctly on the day and if it's what the bride wants then make it happen. This shot needs a little bit of work to remove the people in the background on the bridge, oh the joys of location lighting.
At last no walkers, a simple shot of the groom with available light and a small amount of fill flash
We moved on after 30 minutes to drive to the beach and a short buffet lunch. Our hosts provided a superb buffet lunch which included welsh teacakes - yummie.
The second half of the day was spent on the beach and cliff top working with the Quadra. We needed the 400 w/s the quadra pushed out. The wind was blowing straight onto the beach, funneled by the cliffs, causing significant problems with the veil. If a bride is wearing a veil it is advisable to shoot any veil shots early as she is more than likely going to bin it after the groom has stepped on it several times and the wind makes it a bit of a handful.
We completed the shoot with some images on the cliff top, shooting from a low angle and balancing the f/22 ambient light with the quadra.
Should you be interested in joining us on our next wedding course or just the one day portfolio course then please email terry@terryhewlett.com
Next wedding course 29/30th April
Portfolio course 1st May
Boudoir Photography 2nd May
Wedding album design 3rd May
