finding the light
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This web article was first posted in April ‘06 on the DWF, as a tongue-in-cheek reaction - or sarcastic response then, if you will - against the numerous articles and seminars where we photographers are urged to just look for the light.
What triggered me to write this article in the first place, was that there seems to be a trend where use of flash is disdained in favour of only using available light.
As if it is always that simple.(This article was also published in the Sept ‘06 issue of Rangefinder magazine.)
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Finding the light …
I’ve been so inspired recently by the various photographers at seminars and magazine articles, telling everyone to just look for the light and to find the light.
So many photographers just use available light, and make the rest of us who aren’t blessed with perfect light like they have in la-la-land, feel so inadequate. It is our failing as photographers if we can’t find the light and use it properly.
I felt I had to rise up to this and push myself as a photographer, and just look for the light. It is there to be found! Inspired like that, I approached this very colourful Hindu ceremony (April 2006), with a fresh mindset …
The temple itself is beautiful and imposing from the outside, in a blocky New Jersey kinda way.
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The late afternoon light was incredibly harsh, and I knew I had to do something here so that my portraits wouldn’t look like the few candids I had to shoot outside in the sun. So for the portraits, I moved the bride (and others) into the open shade between the pillars in the front. The strong vertical lines behind them helped to make the simple portraits more striking.
Speaking of striking - isn’t she an incredibly beautiful bride?
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Well, I was happy at this point. I was able to get lovely portraits using the light and the setting … but walking inside of the room where the guests were going to dance, my heart sank.
The ceiling was high, with only fluorescent lights, which meant the light was top-heavy and dim.
Light levels were low - 1/60th @ f2.8 @ 1600 iso.
Hmmm .. just not enough to stop action. And the client wouldn’t be too happy with hundreds of impressionistic colour smears for photographs.
But .. I just had to look for the light.
Nevermind that this is a dimly-lit New Jersey room, and not a brightly lit la-la-land venue.
This would be MY failing for not looking for the light,
and finding the light,
and finally .. getting to USE the light.
I scoured the place … and .. sure enough .. there it was .. light!
But .. was it available light?
I looked around .. and sure .. no one else was using it.
It was available! I could use the light!
I saw it and found it, and now I could use it! 
And boy! Am I impressed! Just look at the light! Look at the colours pop!
People were dancing around me, and I could stop the action if I chose to, and have faces recognisable. The bride would be able to recognize herself and her friends and family.
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So, a genuine thank you to everyone here who inspired me so to rise above my own inadequacies as a photographer, and just frikkin LOOK for the light. 
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Neil van Niekerk
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technical info:
The additional strobes that I put up in the corners of the room, were Quantum T2 strobes. They were powered by Quantum 2×2 batteries, and triggered by Quantum 4i radio slaves. The stands are Red-Wing stands. These strobes were run in manual mode, and at 2/3rd stops down from full output, to ensure consistency in exposures in faster sequences of shots.
I also used an on-camera flash which was turned around and slightly bent backwards, with a Stofen with the top cut open. This meant that most of the light from my on-camera strobe was thrown upwards and slightly back .. but because of the Stofen, enough light spilled forward, to ensure there were no raccoon eyes, and that the lighting was as even as I could make it under the circumstances.
Exposure info .. all shots at 1/125th, and 800 iso.
The aperture varied between f4 and f5.0
I diallied the flash exposure compensation down in certain areas of the room.
The on-camera flash exposure was varied from +0.3 to -1.0 EV.
The on-camera strobe was in TTL mode.
Cory Ann Ellis Said,
September 12, 2007 @ 3:23 am
So freakin’ funny. Love it! Thank you.
CA
david Said,
September 30, 2007 @ 11:50 pm
Very well done. The strobes provide pleasant soft ambient light, even with this difficult, highly reflective floor.
sharad Said,
October 19, 2007 @ 4:43 am
very good photographs special indian people photographs
sharad
Serge Said,
October 21, 2007 @ 5:55 am
Wow, you solved that problem just perfect. But I’m wondering how these strobes where strong enough to give you enough light, considering the large room? Or are the pictures you show mainly lit by the on-camera flash?
Neil Said,
October 21, 2007 @ 7:12 am
Brian Said,
November 16, 2007 @ 8:48 am
Neil,
Thank you for a good laugh first thing in the morning!!!!!!
Your work is inspirational..
Brian
Someguy... Said,
December 19, 2007 @ 12:25 pm
Great work ! Outstanding. Very inspirational. Very innovative.
I’m wondering what the attendees thought of the strobes going off while they were dancing, every time you took a shot. Did they find it disrupting ? The whole room got lit up, right ? Did they complain ?
Thanks for sharing this.
Neil Said,
December 20, 2007 @ 11:10 pm
Justin Said,
December 24, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
Neil,
This is great - I liked the terminator look, so have managed to fit my camera with all sorts of weird and wonderful brackets: it is great if you want to take pictures of people looking confused or scared.
Fancy doing a course in London?
Rob Oresteen Said,
January 26, 2008 @ 8:20 pm
Neil - maybe a dumb question - but why did you not need 2 strobes on the other side of the dance floor? Isn’t the light more intense near the source and trails off way across the floor?
Thanks,
Rob
Neil Said,
January 27, 2008 @ 12:12 am
Singh Said,
February 11, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
Dear Neil,
Can you please explain how did you setup the remote strobes to trigger thru the wireless, while your on camera flash was in the TTL mode. Its my understanding that when on camera flash is in TTL mode it emits pre flashes, this pre flashes results in the pre-mature triggering of the remote flash whether its optically triggered or thru radio wirelss. Please elaborate on how to use this combination of on camera ttl with remote flashes (I know Nikon CLS flashes can do that bit you did not use it).
Thanks for your input..
Singh
Very Wirawan Said,
February 17, 2008 @ 4:02 am
Dear Singh, you missed this:
“The additional strobes that I put up in the corners of the room, were Quantum T2 strobes. They were powered by Quantum 2×2 batteries, and triggered by Quantum 4i radio slaves”.
They triggered by Quantum 41 radio slaves, so pre flashes won’t affect them.
IMHO
Singh Said,
February 18, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
Neil mentioned “The on-camera strobe was in TTL mode.”
I am still sure the on camera strobe in TTL mode will emit preflash, and even if the remote quantum flashes are triggered by 4i radio slaves the pre-flash may result in pre-matured triggering of the remote flashes. (I have Nikon strobe and it does emit pre-flash in iTTL mode, that causes remote trigger to fire early)
Neil, can you please describe the actual settings of the on camera and remote strobes and their mode and connection settings in detail.
Thanks for your detailed articles. These shots were really beautiful.
Singh
Neil Said,
March 11, 2008 @ 11:07 pm
Robert Said,
April 6, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
Neil,
What would have been the best approach/technique if you had shot this wedding and were limited to one on camera flash? I am shooting an event in a similar room(big room /high ceilings) and limited to one flash and no battery pack. My thinking is to diffuse my flash and shoot direct (allowing me to conserve power/recycling time) off camera via an sc-28 cord; the cord giving me some control of direction of light.
Is my thinking flawed?
Robert
Neil Said,
April 11, 2008 @ 3:30 am
Mike Murillo Said,
April 11, 2008 @ 4:41 am
In regards to the Indian wedding setup for the reception, would Canon wireless ST-E2 and a couple of 550’s or 580’s work for the volume of light required by that large reception hall? I’m trying to avoid investing in PW’s as well as the IR system.
Neil Said,
April 11, 2008 @ 9:15 pm