"Making A Forth Of July Exit"
© David A. Ziser
This image is one of the last images I made during this past weekend's wedding. Just like her brother's wedding a little over year at ago, the bride decided to make the grand exit with her groom with sparklers a-blazing. Everybody was holding the extra long, giant size variety which would assure that the sparklers would stay lit for the entire exit.
This can be a tricky photograph to set up. The reason for that is twofold. First, I want to be sure that I record the sparklers adequately. Next, I always like to add the back-lighting to the scene which just adds a greater sense of the dramatic to the scene.
I had my assistant, LaDawn in this case, hold my Quantum strobe which was set at 1/4 power. Next I figured that I could get by with a higher ISO and chose 6400 ISO. I figured that high ISO would easily capture the sparklers for my exit photograph. In retrospect I'm thinking maybe the power setting on my backlighting was a little harsh but, I went with it anyway and this is a photograph that we got.
I think it captures the spirit of the event perfectly – the bride and groom full of excitement heading off on their honeymoon. The sparklers also echoed the upcoming Fourth of July holiday which was only a few days away. All in all, I think it makes a great wrap up photograph for a terrific wedding coverage.
Camera specs: Canon 5D Mark III fitted with Sigma 12–24 mm lens at 12 mm, F6.3 @ 1/80 second, ISO 6400. Enjoy! – David
Agreed, backlight dominated the entire scene but you still managed to capture the best shot for the moment. Curious, does your Quantum flash work as E-TTL on Canon cam? I know you shoot mostly in M to have full control but there are times when you need quick shot and particularly when you need more lights and shallow DOF, high-speed flash sync has become great tool for me.
ReplyDeletePhil
Great shot David. What was the light source for the bride and groom's face?
ReplyDeletetoo flashy... rear curtain sync with a dragged shutter would have really captured the moment: sparklers would have been full, a little pop of light to see the expressions.
ReplyDeleteI only see a nuclear blast burning the backs of their heads. On the dance floor, this light setup is awesome. With fireworks, not so much for me.
delete this if not appropriate.
Chris, he already yanked up 6400 ISO. I guess since he was shooting w/ slow lens, ~f/4-5.6, the background was still dark. If he had used a faster lens at f/2.2-2.8, he would gain 2+ EV which could resulted in a better ambient light.
ReplyDeletePhil
Agreed with 'rear curtain sync' option too :)
ReplyDeleteVery nice, i really like your decision to use backlight!!
ReplyDeleteErwin