Hi everyone,

On occasion I have been hired to shoot some events and the results have always recieved positive comments but to me the photos have been rather generic,not very artistic. I think I have wanted to make sure I made good exposures so I have stuck with the Program mode,which I never use any other time, when using a flash.

Tonight I am shooting a reception at the U of M Landscape Arboritum for a couple that was married recenty in another state. I would like to step it up as far as results go and use some of the skills I have aquired while shooting just for myself. Mostly I'm talking about DOF. I normally shoot in AV,some times in Manual but am not totally confident using a flash in these modes but I know that needs to change to accomplish what I want. I guess I am just looking to see how you folks use your flashes in these modes. Any suggestion would be appreciated. I use the 430EX flash.

Thanks,
Bruce

Well Bruce, to be honest, I wouldn't recommend doing something out of your comfort zone at this short of notice. You don't want to be experimenting at someone else's expense.

That said, in my opinion you're not going to get much different results using a different mode with on camera flash. You really need to get that flash off camera. Either way, If I'm shooting with flash I usually use Aperture mode and dial my flash down about 1 stop to just act as a fill flash.

I don't know how much help that is, but I wish you luck. Using flash creatively is a whole new can of worms.

Thanks Mike,

My intentions were to still shoot 90% the way I usually do. I just was going to play around a little. I also have shot some in AV and dialed down the flash,so I will probably just do a little more of that tonight.

Well, I didn't see this in time for any input. How did they turn out?

While I'm still a Canon newbie (50D with the 580EXII), I've had mixed results shooting in AV/ETTL mode. In brighter situations, using HS sync, it works great filling in the shadows. I usually have it set for -1/3 to -2/3 FEC. Inside in dimmer conditions, I've had better luck using it in manual.

Hey HawgTide,

Just saw your post. It went very well and the clients were very happy. After they saw the images on my smugmug page they included a $100 tip. Most of the images were quite generic just to document the evening and to capture most of the guests in attendence. I played it safe most of the time but did some experimenting a bit with exposures and dialing down the flash to try to match the conditions. I did a few shots from outside looking in that went over quite well and they also like some of my long ghost like exposures during the dance. The food was great and they had my favorite beer(Honeywiess)so everyone was happy.

Hey CG! I'm glad everything went well. I have a small wedding to shoot next July and I'm hoping that I have as good a result as you.

By the way, that cheesecake looks awesome!

It tasted great also,as did the Filet Mignon.

With your skills that I've seen here I have no doubt you will have great results. Anytime I hear the question coming "Do you do weddings" I stop them mid sentence. I want no part of weddings. I did two of them years ago for freinds who refused to hire pro's, but I now tell people to hire photographers who do it for a living so they can have special images of their special day. It's one thing to be able to take good photos of animals ,landscapes,flowers and people,it's another thing to be a good wedding photographer.