Sparklers!

[Caserz1986]

Hey all!

Shooting a friend's wedding tomorrow, and at first the exit was bubbles, but there's been a last min change to sparklers.

I have NO clue where to begin to shoot these suckers. In fact, I don't like them much, have been injured by one, and is now traumatized. lol Therefore its never been in my best interest to practice shooting them. lol

Lenses I will have with me:
70-200mm
18-55mm
35mm 1.8
24-70mm
50mm 1.8


Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated!!!




Thanks so much!!

[brad]

Actually, they give off a great deal of light and makes for a nice exit light when there are a bunch of them... they are pinpoint bright, though, so expect harsh shadows.

[LadyShutterBug]

my favorite sparkler wedding was with a dialed-down off-camera flash... combined with a wide aperture.

[Shuvo]

Actually, they give off a great deal of light and makes for a nice exit light. Is your friend creating an archway? Plus, they can even make it extra special by lining the walk way with 36 inch sparklers. That would be the maximum brightness you would probably need. But, beware of some harsh shadows too if the walkway isn't lit. By the way, you can get 36 ' sparklers and how to use them in a wedding at Skylighter--Fireworks, wedding sparklers, pyrotechnic chemicals

[The Loft Studios]

MY NUMBER ONE RULE when doing Wedding Reception Exit Shots with Sparklers.....

1.) Find the person in charge of the sparklers and make sure that they have guest light sparklers "literally" at the very last minute. I'm talking about when the Bride and Groom are finished talking with guest and are not being disturbed any longer and are at the exit door ready to leave. Why? Because sparklers leave behind a ton of smoke, and if lit too early (even 30 seconds too early) all you have is the Bride and groom walking thru a lot of smoke and you'll also find it hard to use your auto focus due to all of that smoke.

.....and pray for a non-humid semi-windy day, that seems to help with the smoke also.


EDIT:
Your 24-70 at an f-stop of 2.8-4.0 using an ISO of 800-1600 will do the trick.
For a more dramatic look, don't use fill flash..... but for that safe shot, use a little fill flash.

[brad]

Went and dug up this one...

[Jake]

I have a love/hate relationship with the sparkler exit. On one hand you can get really great photos, but a lot of time you are surrounded by a bunch of drunk pyro's.
Anyway, we always use a little off camera fill flash.

[mmuhlenkamp]

I'd say use your 35 f/1.8 since you have a crop camera. I was at a cousin's wedding and they did a sparkler exit. Some fill flash would help, but I was doing a simple setup since I was just shooting as a guest (5D and 50 f/1.4) so I didn't have my flash with me. I need to go back and edit these, my WB is all off, but I think the sparklers help make for fun photos.

f/2, 1/1600th @ 3200 ISO

[humminboid]

Expose for the happy couple...let the sparklers fall where they may. Dialed-down aux. flash is good!

[Some Idiot]

Actually, they give off a great deal of light and makes for a nice exit light

(i just wanted to say that to mess with Brad)

[brad]

Originally Posted by Some Idiot

Actually, they give off a great deal of light and makes for a nice exit light

(i just wanted to say that to mess with Brad)

Heh, of course. Everyone else does.

[r0xikat]

I think I just ran out and set my camera on auto, since we were all rushing around at the end of the last wedding I was at. came out pretty cool, but no where near as awesome as all these previous pics ;] I guess I got lucky and the sparklers were bright enough to take on the low lighting outside that night.

[Caserz1986]

Wow! Thanks for all the feedback!! Funny this was, they bought the wrong sparklers, and they only lasted literally seconds. haha I did manage to get one great shot, though! =]