Best Flash for Wedding Photography-Rebel XT

[SHavard]

I have recently been asked to do some weddings, some outside, some in and one at night. I feel like I need an external flash & diffuser for my Digital Rebel XT camera.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a flash system good for wedding photography?

Thanks for your help!!

Sarah
San Antonio, TX

[TheObiJuan]

First, Howdy! from a fellow Texan.
Excellent would be two 580's on a flash bracket.
Great would be a 580EX on a flash bracket. You could get the best value out of the Sigma 500 super. The 420EX would suffice and is also pretty cheap.

[D70FAN]

I have recently been asked to do some weddings, some outside, some in and one at night. I feel like I need an external flash & diffuser for my Digital Rebel XT camera.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a flash system good for wedding photography?

Thanks for your help!!

Sarah
San Antonio, TX

Seems like Canon users are getting good results with the Sigma EF 500 DG Super and DG ST. Beyond those are the Canon 420EX 550EX and 580EX. But there's a lot more to it than a good flash.

You might want to talk to Jamison (jamison55) a bit more on wedding photography.

[SHavard]

Thanks so much!! I really appreciate all the models you've listed. I'll look into those options and contact Jamison for more information.

Thanks,
Sarah

[TheObiJuan]

As for diffusers, lumiquest offers many different options. All are good, but vary in use. The 80-20 I like.

[SHavard]

First, Howdy! from a fellow Texan.
Excellent would be two 580's on a flash bracket.
Great would be a 580EX on a flash bracket. You could get the best value out of the Sigma 500 super. The 420EX would suffice and is also pretty cheap.


Uh oh, An Aggie!!! Just kidding my father, grandfather and brother are all Aggies. I went to every muster growing up...but I ended up choosing SFA and loved it!

Thanks for the advice. Any advice on an online resource you use to purchase equipment. I'm not sure if we're allowed to talk about that on the forum or not.

Sarah

[D70FAN]

Uh oh, An Aggie!!! Just kidding my father, grandfather and brother are all Aggies. I went to every muster growing up...but I ended up choosing SFA and loved it!

Thanks for the advice. Any advice on an online resource you use to purchase equipment. I'm not sure if we're allowed to talk about that on the forum or not.

Sarah

Sure, B&H and Norman Camera are 2 that are trusted and listed at the top of the page, under the LINKS tab.

P.S. you might want to give your local camera store a shot at this as well. ;)

[SHavard]

I just ordered some reflectors from B&H so far so good...GREAT! Thanks for all your help!

Sarah

[aparmley]

Sharvard-

I am actually discussing with Jamison the same type of stuff. So maybe we should just direct him to respond here, that way if he answer one of questions it might cover us both, I know he is a busy man. But he is very helpful so I hope this will save him some time.

I too am looking at a flash for an upcoming wedding. I too don't have a clue. I am considering the Sigma Super 500 and the 580EX. with the flash and bracket its going to be easy to lose the XT .. wheres the camera, oh, there it is, you can see it if you squint! LOL

But my main question now is this - With a flash bracket, is it possible to rotate it to fit the type of shot, what I mean is, Say switching from landscape shots to portraits, is it something that a bracket can handle or am I going to have to stop set everything down, break out my tool box, get a couple of open ended wrenches and reconfigure the bracket for portrait, or do they just flip around to compensate for the different styles of shooting?

And a question about diffusers, when to use them, when not too, for use with bouncing indoors, how about outdoors for fill flash, I think I recall the last WP I saw in action leave a diffuser on the entire time.. ??

[jamison55]

Hi Sarah and Andy,

First off congratulations on your upcoming weddings. Careful though, when you see how exciting it can be to photograph a wedding, and see that it's not as hard as everyone would lead you to believe, and see that you can make your hobby pay for itself, you might never have your weekends back...

First off, Sarah, you are definitely thinking in the right direction. A good flash system is the single most important piece of equipment you'll need at a wedding. Plan to budget for the flash, a bracket, and a Canon Off-Shoe Cord II.

I use a Sigma EF 500 DG Super as my primary flash, on an inexpensive Stroboframe Quick-flip bracket. The Sigma has all of the features of the 550EX for a small fraction of the cost, and is quite powerful. The bracket serves two purposes: It moves the flash further away from the lens to make it even easier to avoid shadows behind your subjects, and it flips, allowing you to always have the flash positioned above the lens. I recently had the plastic feet that attach the off shoe cord to the bracket break on me at a wedding, and had to shoot the wedding with the flash in the on camera hotshoe (and thus to the side of the lens for portrait oriented shots). Imagine my surprise when I started flipping through the images from the wedding and discovered...redeye!

As for diffusers, I have used quite a few. I started with a Lumiquest Pocket Bouncer (not much better than direct flash), then moved on to an Omni Bounce (a little better), and most recently a Flip-it! (still testing it, but I like it the best). The bottom line is that indoors, your best bet is just to bounce the flash off of anything you can find. If you have a nice light ceiling, point the flash straight up and shoot away. Near a wall, bounce the flash off the wall. Near a person with light colored clothing, bounce the flash off him/her. It doesn't take much to get enough light onto your subject. Don't believe me? Try this: Point your flash straight up and take a picture of someone. Then take the same picture, but hover your hand about a foot over the still pointed up flash, at a 45 degree angle to your subject and take the same picture. See the fill that was produced by using your hand as a diffuser? Also play around with angling your flash head in all sorts of different ways to direct light more creatively at your subjects. The only time I use direct flash is for outdoor fill, and during the processional/recessional in large churches.

More indoor flash tips:
- Use "P" (Professional Mode :) ) when using a flash - you'd be surprised at how many pros do!
- Bump up the ISO to 400-1600 to allow more ambient light into the backgrounds.
- If your backgrounds are still dark, switch to "M" mode and try shooting at f4-5.6, and adjusting your SS between 1/15 and 1/60. Decreasing your shutter speed brings in more ambient light, but it's a balancing act because subject movement can introduce "ghostly" blur to the edges of your otherwise sharp subjects.
- Change your camera setting so that the histogram displays automatically with shot review. It will indicate the areas that are overexposed (they'll blink at you), allowing you to adjust your flash output via FEC.

Outdoors, you just need the flash to fill in the shadows and add catchlights to your subject's eyes. I either use direct flash, or the new Flip-it! I just bought. Outside you should be able to shoot in AV mode, with the flash firing just enough to provide the fill.

In addition to the flash tips, I'd suggest the following:
- Buy, rent or borrow a backup of every important piece of equipment you bring (especially the camera body and flash). Remember, this is a one-shot deal, and if any of your equipment dies, you and the couple are S.O.L. For my first few weddings, I brought an old EOS 650 (which I purchased on EBay for <$100/w flash). It, along with 10 rolls of 400 speed color and B&W film, were ready to go if my primary digital camera failed!

- Make sure you have plenty of memory and batteries. I carry 5 sets of AA rechargables for my flashes, and two batteries for each camera. I also carry 4 gigs of memory spread over 6 cards (so if one of them gets corrupted, I don't lose all of the pictures from the day). I also wrote my name, phone number, and "reward if found" on the back of each card.

- Have at least one really fast lens in case you get into a situation where flash is not allowed. Many churches these days ask the photographer not to use a flash during the ceremony. In fact, after the processional I turn my flash off and shoot with fast lenses and available light for every ceremony I shoot. The 50mm f1.8 is a cheap lens that is worth it's weight in gold. (and it has a side benefit of working quite nicely on the film body, should your digital go down).

- Bring a tripod. Per the last point, if you are forced to shoot without a flash in a church, you might need the steadiness that a tripod provides. I commonly set mine up in the balcony with my 80-200 attached by the tripod collar. As soon as the bride and groom have made it to the front, I scurry up to the balcony to shoot most of the ceremony. Officiants love me, because I am not a distraction!

Hope this short novel helps! Mastering good flash photography technique is one of the most challenging skills to develop, so be sure to practive lots on your dog/child before the wedding date. Best of luck to you both, and be sure to post pics of your excellent work!

[Rhys]

I have recently been asked to do some weddings, some outside, some in and one at night. I feel like I need an external flash & diffuser for my Digital Rebel XT camera.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a flash system good for wedding photography?

Thanks for your help!!

Sarah
San Antonio, TX

I'm in the same boat (almost) and I decided on the Canon 420 flash. Its guide number (metric) is 42 which is a pretty good flash. The best flash is the Metz 70 with a metric guide number of 70 (imperial 210) but I figure the 420 will meet all my needs.

[aparmley]

Thats all you have for us? ...


LOL :D J/K - Thanks alot great info! So the StroboFrame (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=52728&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation) seen here would do the trick, eh? That's easy on the wallet! And then this sync cord for the flash seen here (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=12972&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation)
No can the BG-E3 battery grip be used in conjunction with the stroboframe flash bracket?

[24Peter]

Once again Jamison, thanks for the excellent post. I found it very helpful and I don't even do weddings! (Yet... :D )

[jamison55]

Once again Jamison, thanks for the excellent post. I found it very helpful and I don't even do weddings! (Yet... :D )

Don't know that you need much help Peter, seems like you have fill flash pretty much mastered. Your Caitlin shots are top notch. Making any money at it yet?

[jamison55]

No can the BG-E3 battery grip be used in conjunction with the stroboframe flash bracket?

I used a BG on my 20D for two weddings, then sold it. It was a bit awkward with the bracket, but by turning it backwards I was able to make do. The wing nut that attached the bracket to the grip also dug into my hand when shooting with the vertical shutter button.

In the end, I decided that I didn't really need it since the battery life on the 20D is so good without it. I usually shoot about 800 shots on my 20D (and 400-500 more on my DReb or 10D), and almost never have to change the battery.

[aparmley]

thats true, I suppose just an extra battery would do the trick... I was hoping to balance out the camera a bit with the battery grip but... well see... I was just thinking about if the battery grip has a tripod mount at all???

[SHavard]

WOW!!!!

I cannot thank you enough for the amazing detail and advice!! I'm going to print your comments out and carry them with me everywhere!! You should write a wedding photography book! My cousin is not a publisher, but a literary publicist in Austin if you're interested!! :) If you could recommend a wedding photography book I'd appreciate it!

I know what you mean about the weekends; they are already getting booked up. Some gigs are paying, some are TFP (Time for Prints)which is really helpful to build up my skills and portfolio.

I realize good equipment is really key. I'm a little worried about backup equipment and the cost there, but I have a manual 35mm Nikon FM10 and another digital camera that I'll have just in case.

One other question. I saw on e-bay a flash bracket adapter for about $40. I have a Vivitar Flash 2000 with a tilting head. Is it okay to use that flash with an adapter with my Rebel XT? One photographer was telling me if I attach it directly to my camera is can eventually compromise the electronics... Just wondering if that is even an option. The last thing I want to do is ruin my camera investment trying to save money on the flash.

Thanks again for all your help!!

Sarah

[SHavard]

Thats all you have for us? ...


LOL :D J/K - Thanks alot great info! So the StroboFrame (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=52728&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation) seen here would do the trick, eh? That's easy on the wallet! And then this sync cord for the flash seen here (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=12972&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation)
No can the BG-E3 battery grip be used in conjunction with the stroboframe flash bracket?

aparmley

The equipment you looked at is listed for 35mm cameras. Can you use it for the Digital Rebel XT or am I confused??

Thanks,
Sarah

[aparmley]

Perhaps it is I that is confused?? I really don't know... Stroboframe only has two brackets under the digital photography>flashes for digital>brackets... ?? And I do not see a sync cord from canon anywhere under that digital photography sections... Maybe none of that will work, which is why I posted that hoping someone would say "No no no those won't work." or "Yes, thats what you need"

Thanks

[SHavard]

I found the sync cord at B&H for about $50.

Canon CASC2OC
Off Camera Shoe Cord 2, 60cm (2ft.), TTL Off-Camera Flash Cable

I see what you mean, it gives you an option for med format and 35mm. Since the SLR is basically a digital 35mm I suspect it should work fine.

I think I'm going to go with a 420EX for now and eventually upgrade to the Sigma 500 Super and use the 420 as my backup.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I found everything you suggested at B&H for around $300 total!

Sarah

[24Peter]

Making any money at it yet?
Yes, a little :D And having fun...

[jamison55]

Perhaps it is I that is confused?? I really don't know... Stroboframe only has two brackets under the digital photography>flashes for digital>brackets... ?? And I do not see a sync cord from canon anywhere under that digital photography sections... Maybe none of that will work, which is why I posted that hoping someone would say "No no no those won't work." or "Yes, thats what you need"

Thanks

The bracket is just holder for the flash, so if it will work for a 35mm it will work for digital. The "Canon Off-Shoe Cord II" is the correct cord.

[jamison55]

... I have a manual 35mm Nikon FM10 and another digital camera that I'll have just in case.

...I have a Vivitar Flash 2000 with a tilting head. Is it okay to use that flash with an adapter with my Rebel XT? One photographer was telling me if I attach it directly to my camera is can eventually compromise the electronics... Just wondering if that is even an option. The last thing I want to do is ruin my camera investment trying to save money on the flash.


Happy to help. The FM10 will serve fine as a backup, as long as you are proficient in its use. The Vivitar 2000 will work fine on the Nikon, but don't under any circumstances, use it on your XT. This link discusses sync voltages on common flashes. http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html Usinfg s flash with too high a sync voltage can fry your camera. The 420 will serve you well and won't fry your camera! You can also control it wirelessly from a 550/580 or Sigma EF500 Super for a nice portable 2 flash setup when you upgrade.

[aparmley]

Jamie-

Thank you again for all your help! :)

[camerafox]

Happy to help. The FM10 will serve fine as a backup, as long as you are proficient in its use. The Vivitar 2000 will work fine on the Nikon, but don't under any circumstances, use it on your XT. This link discusses sync voltages on common flashes. http://www.botzilla.com/photo/strobeVolts.html Usinfg s flash with too high a sync voltage can fry your camera. The 420 will serve you well and won't fry your camera! You can also control it wirelessly from a 550/580 or Sigma EF500 Super for a nice portable 2 flash setup when you upgrade.

Jamison, thanks for the link-the info there seems to imply that my old but functional Vivitar 3500 (originally purchased for my Pentax ME Super) should work with my Rebel XT. I guess I will have to decide if I am brave enough to see for myself.

[aparmley]

Not really sure this fits but -

I successfully cleaned my sensor last night - I used a few pieces of steel woll, a few drips of fresh, ice cold, beechwood aged budweiser. Worked like a charm! LOL - ya, thats not what I used to clean my sensor, Just a $3.99 lens blower/brush with the brush removed. It removed the specs that would show up, since day one, in the picutes of the sky. They are gone! You know whats funny? The guy at my local camera store tried to sell me a small can of compressed air to clean my sensor, right... As if I needed another reason not to shop there. :D