# Speedlite vs Strobe for wedding - Big Venue



## lennon33x (May 30, 2015)

Ok, so obviously there are plenty of opinions on this, so I just want to make sure that I'm well prepared for a venue that I will be shooting in two weeks.

I have 4 Yongnuo flashes. I used to use moonlights, but because of their weight, bulk, and AC power requirements, I dumped them about a year ago. I'm going to be shooting a wedding in a giant room, about 80ftx250ft with approximately 50ft ceilings. My second shooter will have a bounce flash, I will have a bounce, and then I'll have my kickers (two YN 560IIIs). 

Here's my question. I want to be able to bounce light up during the reception, so I am wondering if the two kickers aimed up plus a bounce on camera will do it, or if I should purchase a strobe (like an AB400) to do it all in one fell swoop. The advantage is that I like having a my kickers for backlighting but it would be extremely difficult to control those lights if I'm running two systems (I know I could always use slaves). Thoughts? Opinions?


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## tirediron (May 30, 2015)

Bouncing light off of a 50' ceiling is not going to work.  You need a LOT of light to travel 100', and even if you did (and assuming the ceiling was reflective and not dark wood or similar), the beam would be so spread out when it returned as to be useless.  IMO, the easiest (and best) way to light in situations like this is use a VAL*;  have your assistant equipped with a speedlight on a pole with a small (say 30"x30") Ezybox style softbox.  Use radio triggers and simply tell the assistant where you need him.

*Voice Activated Lightstand


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## lennon33x (May 30, 2015)

I saw one tutorial where the photographer mounted the lights near the ceiling with c-clamps. Thought that was pretty ingenious. 


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## tirediron (May 30, 2015)

lennon33x said:


> I saw one tutorial where the photographer mounted the lights near the ceiling with c-clamps. Thought that was pretty ingenious.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Do the math on w/s and beam spread...  that's a big room with high ceilings and is going to need a LOT of light.  Are the guests really going to enjoy 800 w/s strobes popping off all the time?  Ceiling-mounted lights are fine for a smaller venue, or if you have a specific area where you will be taking pictures, but they also require a lot of specialized gear as well.


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## lennon33x (May 30, 2015)

I'm not talking 800w/s. 

I shot a wedding with a 60w/s speedlight bounced off a 60 ft ceiling. Granted it was about 50x50 ft. But that did fine at 1/2 power and ISO 1600 (higher than I wanted) 


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## tirediron (May 30, 2015)

lennon33x said:


> I'm not talking 800w/s....


Exaggeration for the sake of emphasis... to a point.  To shoot at ISO 200 and f5.6 at a distance of 100', you need a GN of 400; thassa lotta light.  If you go up to ISO 800, you're down to a GN of 100, but that's a full power.  Ideally I wouldn't want to be at any more than 1/2 power, and ideally 1/4 for the sake of recycle time, flash duration, etc.  Give the VAL idea  a try; with a little practice between you and the assistant, you will get some great light, and there's virtually no effort.


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## bribrius (May 30, 2015)

tirediron said:


> lennon33x said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not talking 800w/s....
> ...


dont know much about this. But this does seem like the most commonsense simplest approach.. 

how would you go about this if you had no second shooter or assistant?


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## tirediron (May 30, 2015)

Flash bracket.


bribrius said:


> ...how would you go about this if you had no second shooter or assistant?


Flash bracket.


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## bribrius (May 30, 2015)

tirediron said:


> Flash bracket.
> 
> 
> bribrius said:
> ...


you know a lot about this. some day i should find someone that will take me on as a second shooter just so i can learn something of value.


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## Mike_E (May 30, 2015)

An eight foot light stand with a small umbrella box and an ankle weight on the bottom for stability. Just carry it around with you during the reception.

For the wedding you might want to learn to shoot one handed so that you can hold the flash in the other along with a diffuser. This actually works pretty well and allows for some creative lighting on the fly. Having the flash on a strap attached to your wrist helps alot to. (think Velcro here)


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## Big Mike (Jun 1, 2015)

What I like to do, is mount one, two or three monolights around the room.  If there is a balcony or access to the ceiling etc, then I don't mind mounting one up there, pointed down.  

I usually have at least one that is 6-10 feet off the ground.  Either mounted with a clamp or on a stand (I duct tape the stands to the ground so nobody knocks it over).  The location will completely depend on the layout of the room.  Ideally, it's bounced into a corner so that it's not directly flashing anyone in the face.

I also have a camera mounted speedlite.  

So as I'm moving around and shooting, the on-camera flash is usually bounced, but I'll fire it directly if the room isn't suitable for bounce.  The key is to position myself around my subject and one of the remote strobes.  Sometimes the strobes are a back/hair/kicker light, with the flash for fill.  Sometimes the strobes are the only light, for a more dramatic light.  

Sometimes I move the lights around.  For example, I end up getting lots of shots of the speeches, so I like to have a strobe in a position to light the podium and head table.  After that part is over, the best photo opportunities usually happen on the dance floor, so I might move the light(s) to a position where they light the dance floor better.  Of course, finding an unused power outlet and a 'safe' spot is usually the determining factor.


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## lennon33x (Jun 1, 2015)

It's a square room with a balcony on three sides so I was thinking mounting three flashes on each side pointed up


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## errol (Jun 18, 2015)

Take a look at godox witstro ad360 hybrid speedlite/ strobes.
They are quite small, portable and extremely powerful with a guide number of 85 @ iso 100.
Got mine today. Looks great and the build quality is awesome.


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## lennon33x (Jun 18, 2015)

Actually went with three speedlights mounted to the banisters plus an on camera bouncing straight up. Plenty of light. 


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## Braineack (Jun 18, 2015)

tirediron said:


> Flash bracket.
> 
> 
> bribrius said:
> ...



that's actually a pretty boss bracket for the price.  Thanks for the link.


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## tirediron (Jun 18, 2015)

Braineack said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > Flash bracket.
> ...


 Of all the ones I've tried/have, it's my favorite.


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## Braineack (Jun 18, 2015)

and it's not offensively overpriced for a camera-rotating bracket.  Plus: the remote button is slick--since I like it on that side to be able to zoom with my left hand, the telescoping height is slick, being able to mount the camera/flash on a light stand is slick, and being able to use an umbrella mount is slick.

It looks like it would be _*very*_ useful and to use on a lightstand for a photobooth vs just using an on camera mounted flash, while still being very portable.

Next time I'm shooting an event, I'll highly consider picking this thing up first.


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## tirediron (Jun 18, 2015)

The only slight negative is that the telescoping "stem" for the speedlight mount is a bit sketchy at full extension; that said, I've never used it more than about half-way.


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## billydoo73 (Aug 10, 2015)

I use a strobe (used to be AB B800, but now Profoto Acute B2 pack and head).  I simply either aim the strobe up or diffuse at down towards the dance floor.  Works well if I don't have an assistant holding a monopod with SB910 roaming for me.  Trigger with PWs, but Phottix makes nice triggers that allow TTL pass-thru and channel/group selection if I use 2 lights.


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## billydoo73 (Aug 10, 2015)

tirediron said:


> lennon33x said:
> 
> 
> > I saw one tutorial where the photographer mounted the lights near the ceiling with c-clamps. Thought that was pretty ingenious.
> ...



Guests at 10pm tend to be semi-drunk and music is blasting.  Using an 800ws strobe is not a big deal IMO.  It is the only time I get aggressive with flash.


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## lennon33x (Aug 10, 2015)

This was actually almost two months ago, so here's what I ended up doing. 

Three speedlights, one on each banister velcroed, and then pointed toward the ceiling. I also had one on camera and all powered at around 1/4 power to 1/2, and ISO was around 3200. Plenty of light and the guests didn't complain.


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