Wedding Reception Flash For Dummies | Easy Fail Proof OCF System To Photograph Wedding Receptions!

How to photograph wedding receptions with this easy flash for dummies type set up! My completely non-technical just "turn them on and try it" technique has proven to be practically fail proof in my 7 years of being a wedding photographer.
Does the idea of flash photography make you cringe inside? Maybe you want to learn more about OCF but have no idea where to start and the creative side of you feels like you're reading another language when you find out just how technical flash is? I'm here making speedlights easy for you! Do not let OCF or dark wedding receptions intimidate you! Try this technique and then comment below and let me know how it went your first time!
Demb Flip-It: amzn.to/3K6LscB
Flashpoint R2 (Canon linked): www.adorama.com/fplfsmzl2ca.html
Cheetah Stands C10: www.cheetahstand.com/product-...
Flashpoint Equivalent Stands: amzn.to/3x3jKtB
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My Website: www.fivefourteenphoto.com

[@thequietTy]

OMG THANK YOU!!! This helps sooooo much and it’s so simple!!!

[@jessicalowell]

Yassssssss!!! I'm a big fan of simple! Hope it helps!

[@marybrown1848]

Oh my goodness thank you so much for these videos! I can’t appreciate them more

[@jessicalowell]

You are so very welcome, Mary! Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see! Would love to make it happen!

[@bwesnofske]

Great Tips! Really appreciate all your videos; they're very helpful.

[@jessicalowell]

Thank you!

[@marcwill8270]

Awesome! Tips!

[@jessicalowell]

Thank you so much, Marc!

[@justesmond]

Outstanding video. I will try this technique!

[@jessicalowell]

Let me know how it works for you!

[@nazfenix]

Awesome video. It inspired me to keep learning how to use flash!

[@jessicalowell]

Ahhhh this makes me so happy!!! Go get it 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

[@SP-do5sm]

Thank you Jessica.

[@danielbabinski9932]

Thank you so much! Direct and easy to understand explanations. Greetings from Brazil!

[@jessicalowell]

and it works!!! You are most welcome :0). Thanks for watching!!!!

[@myhappygecko2895]

You speak the least scientifically of any photography KZbinr I have ever seen in a quiet delightful everyday language. Absolutely perfect advice, I needed a refresher it's been years and love that flip card thing you reccomended.

[@jessicalowell]

Awe, THANK YOU!!!! I love to keep it simple - it makes flash waaaaaaaay less intimidating!

[@sherylW315]

Hey girlie!! Hope you are well. Heading off to a wedding .. needed this today 😊

[@jessicalowell]

ahhhhh hope it was the best one yet!!! Sending my love

[@webstermickey69]

Would be helpful if you show how to use it visually but you did a great job. Nice video.

[@satiyorum]

Thanks a lot.....😊

[@mikemike2627]

You are good and you are beautiful,subscribed !

[@jessicalowell]

You are so kind! Thank you for watching and subscribing!

[@melodyphillips2388]

Can't wait to try this! I see you shoot with an R6, as well as the Godox version of your flash (also have a smaller Canon flash as well). Have you seen any issues with your hot shoe coming loose as some have described?

[@jessicalowell]

In all honesty, I've had 3 R6's and 2 of them have had to have hot shoe replacements :/ It happens because of using a full size flash on my camera nearly all day or whenever I'm indoors. So, I've switched it up and now try to use the smaller one designed for mirrorless cameras, when I can! It's this mini one here: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1341877-REG/godox_tt350c_ttl_mirrorless_camera_flash.html

[@PeteTaylorPTI]

One of the best things about that flash unit is that you can store the lithium ion battery INSIDE the flash backwards! That way you're never really losing charge if stored, and you don't have to go gathering things when it's time to shoot. You always know the battery is in there, fully charged! No "Oops, I left the battery at home!" unless you left it on the charger! And yes, the life is amazing. I've never run out of juice for a wedding/reception.

[@jessicalowell]

Ha, I never realized this until I thought one of my flashes was broken... turns out I just had the battery in backwards. I thought, "why on earth can I put the battery in backwards?!" :P

[@PeteTaylorPTI]

@@jessicalowell But it's so great because it means I never leave the batteries behind!

[@jessicalowell]

@@PeteTaylorPTI Yes! Love when no detail is missed :)

[@roncemine4948]

Thanks helpful video..just wanna clarify do you mean shooting on camera flash w/ bounds card tilting the flash left or right? or it remains at the center 90deg.?

[@wendystumbaugh695]

I would LOVE to see the pictures you get at your receptions!!!

[@jessicalowell]

Hey Wendy, thanks for watching! Sure - you can find a variety of images in my wedding blogs but I picked out some from venues with dark spaces or black ceilings for you to see here: fivefourteenphoto.com/550-trackside-wedding-pictures/

[@jessicalowell]

Hey Wendy, thanks for watching! Sure - you can find a variety of images in my wedding blogs but I picked out some from venues with dark spaces or black ceilings for you to see here: fivefourteenphoto.com/roswell-mill-club-wedding-photographers/

[@skipheart4]

Thanks for the straightforward information. I would be afraid to shoot moving subjects like dancers at 1/200. It seems like it would be a recipe for motion blur and camera shake.

[@jessicalowell]

Hey! Thanks for watching! I love the way your brain is thinking but that rule actually does not apply with flash because the flash freezes motion. I can easily catch sharp pictures of subjects “gettin low-low-low” 🎶 at 1/100. The speed of flash (think speed of light) is technically 1/200 so if you have a faster shutter speed than that, you won’t catch the flash (it cancels it out basically). That’s the best non-technical answer I have; hope it helps. Try it!

[@jeffpeterson5528]

Like Jessica says below...you can shoot at 1/100 and freeze motion with flash. But anything over 200 shutter speed will force your flash into HSS and you will lose tons of flash power and wear your batteries QUICK which will also heat up a flash as well. I use a similar way to this video, but I'm shooting at 1/128 OCF and on camera one stop up.

[@jessicalowell]

@@jeffpeterson5528 thanks for the help Jeff!! ❤️❤️❤️

[@MyDearEighthNote]

that was very easy to understand - thank you! I don't have multiple flashes. Do you recommend TTL or manual mode for on camera flash, with those settings?

[@jessicalowell]

Thank you for watching!!! I keep my on camera at 1/16 also but TTL can be just as useful. Just be mindful TTL can sometimes take longer to fire or recycle depending on the settings it choses.

[@samxlovegod]

God bless you sister and much much success in your God-given talents👍its always great to find believers sharing there Gift🙏

[@twobytwophotography4860]

Great video as always!!!! Jessica, the way you have your flash on your camera around the 9:05 mark. Is that how you keep it when shooting vertically as well? Or just horizontally? Robert

[@jessicalowell]

Robert, yes but I rotate the camera where my hand is on top so then the flash is still in the right direction (upwards and towards the subject) so, rotate your lens in the direction that it would still be right when you rotate your camera vertical! Hope that answers your question!

[@twobytwophotography4860]

@@jessicalowell - Since I am a visual person you may have to take a photo to show me what you mean. :)

[@waynosfotos]

Thanks, i do think the problem with flash is not that people are scared, but the time it takes. Your solution is great for a room senario, but if you are shooting at multiple locations you need to expose for the background and then add the fill flash. This takes time. And time is not always your friend. 🤔

[@jessicalowell]

So true! I think it also depends on how you're wired. If you love technical things and figuring out tech, flash seems to be a breeze. But many creatives are more big picture focused and learn all the tech they need to just get by - this was me for a long time! But finding this "happy place" to start gave me the confidence I needed to learn more. Which is what I hope this video does for those who are stuck, unmotivated, or intimidated (or don't have the time). Thanks so much for watching - and for your tip on exposing for the background! Hope that helps anyone who reads it :0) .

[@hgrgrnd1206]

Kinda late to the party but curious, how far in or out do you set the zoom on your flash head…Narrow or wide ?

[@kristyadams5633]

I just had all the mind flash bulbs going off in my head. You made this make sense in a way I never could understand. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

[@jessicalowell]

Ahhhhh this is so wonderful to hear!!! I can’t wait to hear back when you put it to practice!!! Go you!!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@jennifers9389]

Would Auto ISO with exposure compensation work well for this, Jessica? I'm thinking about how we sometimes get closer or farther from a subject in a quick moving situation like open dancing.

[@jessicalowell]

Hey girl, great question!!! I never recommend auto settings (unless its white balance :P ). The distance won't really affect the results as much as you think. If you take a shot and it needs to be adjusted, you just do on the fly like you would on a day the clouds just rolled in. 2-4 flashes is enough to fix just about any minor exposure differences in post, too! Hope that helps!

[@momentsbyron]

Do you set the zoom on the flash on wildest or zoom to it's max and do you set your camera metering on spot, mid or wide?

[@jessicalowell]

Hi Ron! Thanks for watching :-) I do not set the zoom on my flashes at all I found it doesn't really make a difference. And when I'm using flashes I don't depend on the meter on my camera. It's more of the "chimping" method: take a photo, play it back, adjust settings as needed, take another to check - and once its set, "set it and forget it" because for the most part the lighting doesn't change at a reception once it starts. You may have to adjust here and there or for different spots of the room if you have a huge ballroom for example - but that's all I do! Exactly how I describe it.

[@momentsbyron]

@@jessicalowell thanks 🙏

[@anverabrahams]

Jessica what set up do you use if the walls and roof is not white ( ie thatch roof )?

[@lawrencesimela3748]

She has her flashes pointing slightly downward, she is not bouncing light off the ceiling so the colour of the ceiling has no effect.

[@jessicalowell]

Hey Anver! Thanks for watching :). I just point the flashes towards eachother or the dance floor (all the way bent over as far as they bend); I almost never point them up because I rarely have all white ceilings. Hope that helps!

[@jeffpolk4800]

Do you have a problem with those flashes overheating I have the Godox version and they overheat.

[@jessicalowell]

Hey Jeff thank you for watching! No, I’ve never had that issue. I do always keep mine on 1/16 when I’m firing them a lot (like receptions) and that seems to be a happy place for them, though. Do you find they overheat at a higher power possibly?

[@Go_Nkosi]

Im new in photography and recently bought a Godox TT60 for indoor shoot,it been a nightmare because sometimes i get nice pictures shooting with 1/16 then the following they are terrible

[@jessicalowell]

Hmmmm this could be a variety of things. Are you shooting in manual mode or any of the auto modes?

[@mdketter]

Why do cameras have flash speed settings of auto:1/60-1/200? And is this choice ever good to use? Or if ever using flash....always use 1/200 setting? (I have the canon R5 & trying to learn flash!) Thanks!

[@jeffpeterson5528]

copy and paste this into youtube...The BEST animated explanation of HSS and shutter and flash. Mark Wallace Adorama TV... kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6SUe4CrlNCbmNU

[@jessicalowell]

Hey Denise, thanks for watching! So basically if you go faster than 1/200 then the flash won't have an effect because your shutter is then faster than the official speed of light (of your flash). So think of the speed of light of your flash as the fastest it can keep up is 1/200, if you put your camera at 1/250 then it runs a faster race, it crosses the finish line first so there will be no flash light at the finish line (or in your pictures). It's technical and that's the best way I can answer and keep it simple. I hope that helps!

[@sheilangongbo1774]

If you get a flash with high speed sync you can go beyond 1/200 up to even 1/8000.

[@jessicalowell]

@@sheilangongbo1774 Yes, exactly! These flashes do, too! I tried to keep my explanation as basic as possible for the purpose of this specific video. Maybe I should make a "Flash for dummies part 2 - the next steps" video? :P Thanks for watching by the way and helping answer questions! You're amazing!

[@sheilangongbo1774]

@@jessicalowell you’re very welcome. I had that same question to someone else when I was still learning so I’m glad to help.

[@lidiasanchez7044]

Can u send the link to the flashes

[@jessicalowell]

Hi Lidia - they’re linked in the notes. “Flashpoint R2” they also make them for Sony and Nikon so make sure you get the right one for your camera :) .

[@daletowers3788]

You give advice but you don't

[@jessicalowell]

Dale thanks for watching! This video’s goal is to help those who are intimidated by flash with a bare-bones and non-technical approach that actually works! One that gives them a starting point until they get more comfortable to venture out into more advanced and technical uses. Don’t knock it till you try it! Ive been using this method for 7 years at wedding receptions and it’s fail-proof! ❤️