Working with a minimalist amount of gear, I had my two Nikon D3's, each fitted with a Nikon SB-900, plus one remote SB-800 on a Bogen 3333 stand I had used earlier for group photos.
I set the SB-800 off on camera right, zoomed to 70mm to concentrate the beam of light on them. I took the SB-900 off one camera and flipped it to remote mode (I LOVE how quickly you can switch modes on the 900 vs. the 800). This one was placed behind the couple for a rim light. I positioned Erin & Jason so that the street light in the distance was behind her veil. And there's some landscape lighting on the famous Pineapple Fountain I liked.
To pick up the ambient light of the moon, street lamp, and landscape lighting, I used ISO 1600, f2.8. Even so, I was at 1/30th of a second. I was using the D3 with the 70-200. I had no tripod with me. So you're probably thinking at that slow a shutter speed, this image is going to be blurry, right? Well, by carefully placing Erin & Jason so that all the ambient light was behind them, the couple was pretty much pitch black at this point. The only light hitting them from the camera side was the off-camera SB-800. This is VERY IMPORTANT! By doing this, I am essentially using the high-speed burst of light from the strobe to FREEZE them in place. At this point, the shutter speed of the camera is only affecting the ambient light, it has nothing to do with the exposure of the main subject. So even hand-holding that long lens at such a slow shutter speed, Erin & Jason are as sharp as a tack!
And that's how you use Flash Freeze to save your behind when you don't have a tripod with you! :-)
18 comments:
Great stuff as always Chris. Awesome use of light!! Thanks for the explanation as well. Love this shot!
OMG! This is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! Also thanks for the explanation! That is just gorgeous!!!
Ok I didn't understand most of that, however, it is a BEAUTIFUL shot and you are amazing!
- Linda
Yer KILLIN' me!
Tony
Beautiful! I hope to see that on the cover of something!
Vicki
huh? I just point and shoot... the only drama in my photos is my kids throwing temper tantrums.
Jennifer
Is it cool for me to say that I hate you? ;-)
Seriously though Chris... Yet again, you amaze me.
Mike
Chris, did you have the SB900 set on TTL or M 1/1, or ???? One more question...you managed not to light the grass, so did you just have that 800 sitting up high on the stand? Thanks for the insight!
Kelli
Thank you, Chris! That gives an official term to the reason I cannot drag the shutter and use my flash for movement effect at the same time! It has all come together.
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! You are truly an artist! Are you going to submit the image?? That's a cover image!
Chris, I really enjoy your wedding photography cause i learn some thing important every time. Well you know i am not a wedding photographer as I am very much in to Wild life. But these dramatic shots make the appetite in me to shoot some shots like these. I rather prefer to give a try. But at this moment i don't have that magical lens 70-200 VR. And i am waiting impatationaly till Nikon market the 70-200 VR II f 2.8 with Nanocoat to buy. Once again thank you very very much. You are truly a teacher to me.
Prasad
Okay I only understood every other word of that explanation, but the image AMAZING! Wow...
Tamara
I watched someone do that same technique in studio. This was a LONG time ago when they were using slides to project a background onto the wall. The strobe "froze" the subject. The metering was the only really tricky thing...it's a cool effect. Well done!!!
- Susan
absolutely GORGEOUS!
Amy
WOW... just WOW. Kelli is right... this is a cover.
- Liz
wooooooow!
Teresa
Way cool! And beautiful too!
Lisa
The talent you have! That's how you took those dramatic shots of Rachel & Brandon with no sunset!
- Vickie
Very nice. The moon is really hard to incorporate into people photography. Well done.
Nathan
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