2009-07-20 TWU Chapel in the Woods (test shots)

SoftBox001 is shot at 1600 ISO, f/2.8 with a 1/80 shutter. The soft box takes away some of the natural tint of the room but that tint can be added back in during post processing (refer to SoftBox001a). Two soft boxes using continuous lights were used hidden in both doorways. The light should not be any more distracting to those folks in the pews than the normal window lights from the rooms off the altar.

The advantage of using soft boxes is obvious when comparing SoftBox003 and NaturalLight002. The natural was shot at ISO 3200. Although it looks acceptable I was taking these test shots from about 25 feet. From the balcony (or the rear of the Chapel) there would be a dramatic difference.

FlashOffCamera is a perfect example of why I don't like using a flash. Although the facial characteristics are clear, all the colors are washed out on the background.

I took several shots from the balcony using a 10mm lens and a slow shutter speed. Nice results but any movement at that shutter speed would be a blur.

The Strobe999 is password protected. It is shot using an AlienBee 1600 with an umbrella. Without a question the best option for getting facial detail but strobes and churches don't mix well during a wedding ceremony.

I've got several more test shots to try:

- strobe with the umbrella at 1/16th power in one of the rooms off the altar;
- off camera flash powered down;
- soft boxes (same setup as before), 200mm lens from balcony and rear of the Chapel;- soft boxes with brighter bulbs (drop the ISO, what is the visual consequence).