04th Jan 2008
merry new year
merry new year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have been traveling and traveling and I have landed in Atlanta for a week for a wedding. We are headed back to the Mayan Riviera on the 8th though, this cold weather stuff is not for me!
I wanted to share my new christmas present with you all, a box of goodies that every photographer likes to see under the tree.
We picked up a few more lenses, but I am most happiest about my new 85 1.2 and my new 35 1.4! How much fun and exciting is this!!!!!!!!!!! We are actually training another associate photographer and most of this stuff is for his camera bag…all the zooms and such. But nonetheless, can’t wait to try out my new 85 tomorrow. I am shooting a wedding in a big beautiful church tomorrow and a reception to follow in a HUGE Biltmore hotel ballroom! Images coming soon!
end of the year present 
And for a little flash flavor:
I shot this wedding back on 11/3 in Atlanta. Last wedding of the year in US actually. This setup is all about mixing the ambient and your strobes so that you can emphasize keylights on our subjects and keep MOOD and ambiance in the room while at the same time, concentrating on strong compositional choices. The gentleman in the center is the bride’s father and was singing “The way you look tonight” with his buddies, a song that the groom requested that must be “played” by the band.
I set up 2 speedlights on 1/4 power, triggered by my sturdy Pocket Wizards. I had strong ambient light coming from camera right and from the band’s stage lighting. I wanted to balance those lights so that my strobes, set to bounce, could come down a tad softer on their jackets but also bounce far enough to light up the bride & groom, sitting 20 feet away, watching the performance.
Her is the best I could do with my images to tell the storytelling of the evening:
Canon 5d | ISO 500, 2.8 1/80th on ALL frames.
Here is my frame showing the placement of the 2 speedlights. Notice the strong band light coming from behind the speaker. The band’s light was my friend I used a PJ technique to add emphasis to the frame, layering the subject, waiting for the perfect moment where the bride & groom looked at each other with smiles. The bounce light is just barely reaching them and adds a keylight on their forehead…
This one from the other side, using the same layering technique.
Here is a better shot to showcase the results of my lights.
This one was just for fun, shot with my 200. I wanted to isolate dad on this one.
Ok, thats it for now. Hope this inspired you to shoot a room with more than one light, and consider the mood as well as compositional choices to make your storytelling dramatic. Remember, any HACK can put 2 lights in a reception hall. Telling the story is with your lighting and composition by preserving mood and ambiance is the way to go
Please share you compositional lighting storytelling at Flash Flavor Flickr image pool. Or drop us a comment here and show us por favor!
Cheers & have a happy new years!
Oh, man… that box is like CRACK for us photographers! JEALOUS!!
This associate is getting the ROYAL treatment!
Great shots bro!
I tried a little flava at my last wedding w/o wizards and it was tough. I had one that hit and about 7 others that missed. But oh the one that hit! Thanks for pushing the rest of us to not rest on the day of the wedding.
I hope you are able to enjoy married life, I wonder though with all the shooting you two are doing. Happy New Year
-KB
What an awesome Christmas gift! I’m excited to see the results of your new acquisitions!
That box is quite the goody bag….
I’m surprised to see the SB800s in the box with all the canon gear, any reason for that?
yeah, the bag is crack for us too
Kevin, you are right, its been tough enjoying married life working so much, but we are working towards a goal of enjoying life more!
I use Nikon slaves for ALL my remote speedlights, usually older Nikon Sb-28’s but in this case, we picked up a few more powerful 800’s.
thanks again for taking time to say HOLA
Mteo
I love all the “L” glass with the sb800’s…..
I/m so JEALOUS :’(
Happy new year thaks for sharing with your work with us.
Wow - that is totally a porn shot for a Canon shooter.
Talk about a good Christmas…jeesh! Can I get a napkin for my drool puddle?
Your site is great.
Rob Jaudon
WWW.Jeezopeezo.com
Damn, Santa showed some love to the Adcock family! You are going to love the 85. At 1.2 that depth of field is so razor thin!
See you soon hombre!
Chris
santa is good to us, but we work hard for santa’s love, for sure!
We will have a new website up in a few weeks or so, with our associates work! Keep your eyes peeled?
Nobody had any thoughts on the flash flavor in this post?
Hi Matt, Loving this blog and finding a lot of inspiration in these posts. Thanks for taking the time out to do this work. One question I have is that with all the kit you are using how do you carry it about and what is your standard Kit on a wedding. I have like you just got the 50 + 85 fixed lenses and am finding it hard to carry the kit and Swap round lenses. We just don’t seem to get the time from our clients.
Not to take anything away from your photography, but my eyes were fixed on that box - I couldn’t peel my eyes off it. I think everybody commenting on this post is fixated on that box.
With that said, I absolutely love the last couple of images.
On another note, I’m really envious of your associate… I’d like to apply. =)
Steve,
We wear belts with lens pouches and change every lens a zillion times a day. We really don’t use a specific kit, just a variety.
Luis,
Thanks for commenting on the images… I don’t think anybody
The box is nice and the assistant got hooked up. We don’t necessarily think that having the best equipment will guarantee us the best photos, but it sure doesnt hurt. We are very committed to excellence and thus the best of the best for our staff. The investment comes back in a “pay it forward” type mentality.
I was beginning to wonder if anybody paid attention to the content written about FF or now
I am still waiting for my box….I guess I will need to track it with UPS.