I am going to be shooting a party this weekend. My wife has volunteered to be my VAL. I have never used this technique though so I'm hoping for some helpful tips.
Background:Friends of a friend are renewing their wedding vows and throwing a party at their house to celebrate. They want someone (me) to photpgraph their event making sure to "capture the moments". Since I'll be moving around a lot I plan on using on-camera flash (sorry strobists [] but I'm still building my lighting kit...and skills!).
Setup: 50D,EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and580EX II with Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce. (I will have a number of other lenses at my disposal but this setup will be my go-to. I will also havean EF 50mm f/1.4 mounted to an additional body for available light stuff). My personal experience with this setup is that it provides a very soft and predictable light (maybe boring, butwell suitedfor this application []). What I was considering though (since I'll have an assistant) was to mount a 430EX to a monopod and have my wife run around in hopes of providing some rim/subject separation. Thoughts???
Triggering: Since I am still waiting for my CTR-301Ps to arrive I will be using Canon Wireless IR via my on-camera 580EX II. This should work fine indoors in close quarters.
What am I looking for: Settings...I was thinking of setting a 2:1 or 4:1 ratio between the on-camera 580EX II and the monopod mounted 430EX? Placement...my original thought was to cross light so since my key is on-axis I was just thinking of placing the VAL behind my subjects or perhaps get crazy and have her at a 45 to the subjects?
Thanks in advance everyone!