My friends Dave & Quin are always producing work that makes me do a double take and try to break down how and what is going on to get the desired results. At the end of the day, these two have to be some of the best the market has! They are consistently producing WOW imagery on a day in and day out basis.
Recently, I found a gem from Quin's camera...
Quin Writes:
My motivation for this image was complete fear. LOL! The room was extremely dark with horrible lighting, and just plain ugly. I needed a way to simplify the space and easily tell the story of what was going on. When you can't rely on the ambient light, it's so nice to be able to control your own light. I always carry a flash on my belt, using QuiKlips, so within seconds of my initial ambient shot, I placed my flash on the floor aiming upwards on the bride to throw shadows on the ceiling. The flash was triggering in manual mode via Quantum FW10w Transceivers at camera and flash positions. It was divine timing that her bridesmaids came and stood in the perfect position to have their shadows and expressive hand gestures thrown on the wall too.
I've also included a couple other shots in the ladies prep room to show you what it was like at ambient light, then my first attempt with the flash (totally blown before I tweaked my settings) where you can see my flash placement, and the final image in BW.
The Ambient exposure really sets the tone for "What the HECK" am I going to do now?

After seeing this frame and evaluating the one setup shot before this one, I'm thinking she has placed 2 flash units on the subject for the dynamic shadows. I've always used this technique with one flash unit... If my assumption is correct, nice work Quin. Regardless, I'm sure your clients appreciate your creative approach!
WOW, I'm so impressed. I love how you have isolated what really matters in this room. I'd call this complete organization of chaos, which is what we are all faced with when we see a pretty boring room of clutter and are forced to calculate decisions that turn heads. Great work on your toes here Quin.
PS... did anybody catch the cool clip on their belt, the Quick Clips to hang the flash on the belts??? I like their clever branding QUIKlIPS... Thats pretty nifty! Maybe I can get them to send us a set or 3 :) I think Dave may be sending me one of his magic images soon, so I can share that too!
Saludos,
matt
As always, a fabulous and informative post. Whenever I want a bit of inspiration for the next event shoot, I always look up Flashflavor.
As for experimenting, I am all for it. it is my experience that people want that something extra; something out of the ordinary.
best of luck,
Noel
…and I’m sure all these ‘purists’ who criticize you are still shooting on Kodak Portra with direct flash.
I always end up doing something new at weddings - without innovation and taking risks, you’re never going to develop past where you’re at!
Whats wrong with experimenting...great shot
I have no problem with trying new things at a reception. I mean, it’s four hours long. You have plenty of time to get safe shots and try something new/