I got the following email from Jeff today:
“I was wondering if you would mind sharing your knowledge on just one topic. At, for instance, wedding receptions and capturing those candid speech shots, do you bounce on-camera flash, or set up your off-camera flash at specific points or do you have a “voice activated light stand” who you direct to specific areas?”
I do pretty much all of the above depending on the situation, first off I never use direct flash unless I’m outside and have absolutely no choice at all. Joe McNally says a man who uses direct flash is a man who has run out of ideas, I agree.
I’ll bounce off the roof, a wall whatever has a white surface area, I did a wedding recently where the reception had a dark wooden roof, they had draped white material from a centre column to the edges of the room (kind of like a star/octopus) so what I did was position myself underneath widest area of one of the drapes using it as a reflector, not great but better than the alternatives, if I can’t use the roof I’ll try a wall if possible.
Teach yourself to be resourceful when it comes to objects you can bounce light off, you don’t have to be shooting… test yourself, walk into any room day or night and ask yourself how you are going to work with it.
If the roof is brown or off-white I’ll still bounce, I’d rather have a colour cast than that nasty harsh direct flash any day! The other thing about direct flash is that the further away you are the more likely you are going to have problems with red-eye so if you are on a long lens then eisch!! (eisch = bugger 
)
I like to shoot the reception on a long lens so I’m out of the way and I can “get to” people who are being mentioned in the speeches, even though I don’t know them it’s often possible to recognise them by their reactions as the speaker mentions them.
If I’m outside I’ll put up a flash on a stand to the side of the camera so it’s off axis… I’ll only use it as fill (if I have to) and push up my ISO if it’s not that dark… when it gets too dark of course there is no choice. I use an umbrella if I can make it look as inconspicuous as possible, most of the case it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Another nifty little trick is to put a flash off camera to the side of the speaker, as in +-90°, give a half+ a stop more than your fill, this creates a contrast and gives the subject a bit of a “movie” feel… (I love trying to break down the lighting in films, once you start you just can’t watch a film the same way again ) the shot below was done like this…
No photographer finds the speeches exciting to shoot but a little extra effort can make them actually look pretty cool!
If I have indeed run out of idea’s I’ll just bash it with direct on camera flash … Yuuuuuck!!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for this very helpful post. These are the things no one tells you about until you are faced with a hundred people in a crowded dark room!
Yes, I agree. Very helpful, thanks. I am guilty of shooting direct flash way too often when faced with difficult lighting. I reckon it is better to get the shot than have nothing to work with
There are ways to soften harsh light in Photoshop, but of course we all try to cut down on the time spend in front of the computer. Will it work to have an assistant holding a reflector to your left or right from which you can bounce off?