Having not had any formal training, I 'learned by doing' with some of my later projects at various mission sites and early career weddings. I can say now knowing what I do, someone should not jump right in and start shooting weddings: it is way too much responsibility. That aside, it is happening more and more often everyday on craigslist with individuals getting new equipment and wanting to challenge themselves (or make money by lowballing the other photographers). So hear this now, if you consider yourself a learning photographer, be very careful before jumping in with both feet, get advice on how to protect yourself and how best to minimize your losses 'in the field.' Do it now before you end up losing in court for mistakes that can be chalked up to none other than inexperience, like this guy.
Sorry to delude to my own fears in what could have been, on to our first lesson in lighting!
Before my first job with paying customers, I had at the very least learned what hard light is. If you attach your flash and aim it directly at your subject, you are working with hard light. This creates blown out, over exposed patches, harsh shadows, poor contrast ratios, and if there is a wall behind your subject, an outline shadow: the most blatant clue you are new to this (we want to avoid that ;-)
This is where light modifiers come into play. The first 'light modifier' I purchased was a miniature 'softbox'
My goal here was to soften light, and this is what seemed familiar to me. Only, with the mini softbox, it needs to be aimed directly at your subject resulting in overly harsh light than what you might expect. It definitely has its strengths, but when working quick and on the fly, its a bit much to worry with.
The next modifier I picked up is my favorite, and useful in almost any situation. Bounce diffusers create a 'dome' cap around the end of the speedlite.
I usually set this in a vertical position so the light can then emit from all around. It weakens the light and does a great job of evenly lighting a room with no harsh shadows. It is also strong with evenly lighting multiple subjects in party/reception scenarios.
The next modifier I actually made myself. I wanted to try something new and liked others results. If the picture doesn't give it away, I no longer have it. After hauling it around with me to many different jobs with all my other bags they just didn't make it.
For some reason or another, I did not get the results I had wanted. What I found with the reflector-diffuser was that the direction of light was a bit too direct. The edges of the light on the subject and background were a little too defined, and it created too harsh of shadows. With a bit wider of a template on on the foam backing this could be a very useful addition to your working equipment.
It never hurts to have too many tools, so long as you can carry and manage them. You never know when something will come in handy.
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