Shooting a wedding using Holga and Ilford 3200 -- what to expect?

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

Hi y'all --

My friend is getting married next week and I wanted to shoot a roll or three. The wedding reception is going to be at a barn outside, but will probably have similar lighting to, say, a dark street at night with street lights, or a dimly lit restaurant. I have some rolls of 120 Ilford 3200 sitting around and I thought it would be fun to try to shoot them at the wedding, but my understanding of this film is very minimal and I haven't shot it before. Note that I am not the actual wedding photographer, so this is pretty low stakes, but it would be cool to get some nice images out of it. Is there, for example, a precise EV amount that I can look for given that I have to shoot at f8 or f11 and 1/100? Doing some calculations using a sunny 16 calculator, it looks like I should be good for 9-11 EV, does this seem right? Is this even relevant?

From what I have read, I should:

Meter using ISO 1000
Set the aperture I want (Holga only has two, and I'll probably use f8)
Use whatever speed the meter tells me to (has to be 1/100)
Develop "normally", i.e. just drop it off at the lab and don't request anything special.

Because the Holga has very limited control over shutter speed especially, my plan was to just sort of wing it. But can anyone give me any recommendations for what may or may not work? Is this a total fool's errand? I have 3 rolls of this film and am not very precious about "wasting" film, so may shoot all 3 if I am confident enough. Don't have enough time to run any tests, sadly.

Thanks!

gbroadbridge · May 20, 2023

I would expect disaster

Assuming you're not the official wedding photographer I would over expose rather than under expose;.

You can pretty much bring back an exposed piece of film but if you did not expose enough there is nothing to recover.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

With these settings (f8, Ilford 3200 at 1000, 1/100, lit interior space), do you think that this is a recipe for underexposure? I ask because I haven't ever shot with anything near these settings before, so I have no intuition for how this would turn out. If it is really unadvisable I may just bring an SLR with Portra 800 to be safe, but I'd like to try this out if it *may* turn out well.

I hear you on overexposing, but with the Holga I have so little control, that really all I can do to give more exposure is to use f8 instead of f11. So I am wondering if that is *enough*, or if it is pretty much a moot issue and I shouldn't even try it. Thank you!

Andrew O'Neill · May 20, 2023

Too bad you didn't have time to practice... I'm pretty sure though, that you will likely have something useful on the roll. Good luck!

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

Andrew O'Neill said:
Too bad you didn't have time to practice... I'm pretty sure though, that you will likely have something useful on the roll. Good luck!

Thank you! That is the main thing -- the Holga is experimental anyways, so I try to go in with few expectations. If I get at least some kind of cool photos, I'll be happy. I think I will err on the side of shooting 3 rolls there just to make sure I get something cool, since this isn't a situation that will be replicated again, and then use that to better understand the film for later use.

jeffreyg · May 20, 2023

Do a test roll at each exposure setting. You will have to process quickly since you only have a few days. That will leave you
two rolls but a better chance of getting decent results at the wedding.

Sirius Glass · May 20, 2023

You will need all the exposure you can get. Expose and develop for 3200. Do not play games exposing at 1000 and under developing.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

jeffreyg said:
Do a test roll at each exposure setting. You will have to process quickly since you only have a few days. That will leave you
two rolls but a better chance of getting decent results at the wedding.

I don't have enough time -- I have to fly out there before the wedding, and my local lab will not develop it that fast.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
You will need all the exposure you can get. Expose and develop for 3200. Do not play games exposing at 1000 and under developing.

I can't really do anything with metering since the Holga only has one shutter speed and 2 aperture settings, so I am pretty much just going to shoot at f8 and 1/100, meaning I'm not gonna be metering because it wouldn't make a difference since I can't control any settings. So for developing for 3200, will that require telling the lab to push it to 3200, since it is actually rated at 1000, or to just hand the film in and let them do their thing? I have never had a lab push or pull, and I am confused a bit about whether I should just *rate* the film at 3200, or whether I need to also tell them to do something or other when they develop. Thanks!

Sirius Glass · May 20, 2023

-persimmon-tree- said:
I can't really do anything with metering since the Holga only has one shutter speed and 2 aperture settings, so I am pretty much just going to shoot at f8 and 1/100, meaning I'm not gonna be metering because it wouldn't make a difference since I can't control any settings. So for developing for 3200, will that require telling the lab to push it to 3200, since it is actually rated at 1000, or to just hand the film in and let them do their thing? I have never had a lab push or pull, and I am confused a bit about whether I should just *rate* the film at 3200, or whether I need to also tell them to do something or other when they develop. Thanks!

Ask them to develop at ISO 3200.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
Ask them to develop at ISO 3200.

thank you!

gbroadbridge · May 20, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
Ask them to develop at ISO 3200.

Not often we agree, but I'm with you 100 percent on this.

Over expose and overdevelop.

A lot can be salvaged in post.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

gbroadbridge said:
Not often we agree, but I'm with you 100 percent on this.

Over expose and overdevelop.

A lot can be salvaged in post.

So to confirm:

1. Shoot at f8 and 1/100 (my only options, may shoot some f11 if there is some natural light out).
2. Give it to the lab and have them develop it at 3200 iso (box speed)
3. ???
4. Don't profit, but hopefully enjoy some nice photos of my friends.

brbo · May 20, 2023

5. Bring your SLR. It probably has 4 stops faster lens and shutter that can give you at least one additional stop of light. And Portra 800 is only 2 stops slower in worst case.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

brbo said:
5. Bring your SLR. It probably has 4 stops faster lens and shutter that can give you at least one additional stop of light. And Portra 800 is only 2 stops slower in worst case.

I want to experiment with that Holga-specific look, and I think a wedding party is a cool context for that look, plus I am into the graininess I have seen in 3200 on medium format, so I specifically want to use this setup *unless* in is pretty much impossible to get good photos, but it seems like it is at least viable to experiment with.

brbo · May 20, 2023

Experimentation is on thing. F8, 1/100s, Holga, dimly lit room and good photos is another...

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

brbo said:
Experimentation is on thing. F8, 1/100s, Holga, dimly lit room and good photos is another...

Well, the missing ingredient to that description is 3200 ISO film. I think I will try it out, although you may very well be proven right. I don't know how much light there will be at the event itself, but I know I will be in enough well lit rooms to get additional photos over the days that I am there. We will see!

AnselMortensen · May 20, 2023

Does your Holga have a hot shoe for flash?
If so you could use a small automatic flash unit with a few layers of diffusion as fill light.

Bronson Dugnutt · May 20, 2023

This may be a dumb question as I'm not familiar with the various Holga cameras, but is flash or bulb mode an option? Shooting some or all frames that way would have it's own challenges, of course.

Try recruiting a handful of 'assistants' to use their cell phone flashlights for some ad-hoc lighting.

Edit: aaahhh jinx @AnselMortensen

jeffreyg · May 20, 2023

Another thought back up with some with your phone as well. All kinds of apps to play with.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

My Holga does have a hotshoe and I have a friend with a flash that I can borrow, I totally forgot about that. I feel like shooting 3200 with flash would be WAY too bright though, no? Will definitely try the cell phone light thing for a few shots.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

Bronson Dugnutt said:
This may be a dumb question as I'm not familiar with the various Holga cameras, but is flash or bulb mode an option? Shooting some or all frames that way would have it's own challenges, of course.

Try recruiting a handful of 'assistants' to use their cell phone flashlights for some ad-hoc lighting.

Edit: aaahhh jinx @AnselMortensen

Also bulb is an option and I have a friend who can definitely let me borrow a tripod, it may be cool to get shots of people dancing with some motion blur, but I am worried about overexposing the shots.

Bronson Dugnutt · May 20, 2023

-persimmon-tree- said:
I feel like shooting 3200 with flash would be WAY too bright though, no?

Possibly, but if you have a manual, adjustable flash (the Godox Lux Junior for instance) you can dial back the flash power to a small fraction of full. It makes the flash less obnoxious too.

If not adjustable, as @AnselMortensen just mentioned, bounce the flash with a card or tape some coffee filters over it to lessen the output.

Edit: Once flash and/or bulb mode come into the discussion Delta 3200 sure seems FAST again

Don't overcomplicate things too much... a Holga is supposed to be simple after all. When in doubt and indoors, over-expose, especially in ambient light.

BrianShaw · May 20, 2023

Personally speaking... I'd leave the camera at home and just enjoy the wedding. Y'know... eat a lot, drink a lot, and dance a lot with your friend's bride.

-persimmon-tree- · May 20, 2023

Bronson Dugnutt said:
Possibly, but if you have a manual, adjustable flash (the Godox Lux Junior for instance) you can dial back the flash power to a small fraction of full. It makes the flash less obnoxious too.

If not adjustable, as @AnselMortensen just mentioned, bounce the flash with a card or tape some coffee filters over it to lessen the output.

Edit: Once flash and/or bulb mode come into the discussion Delta 3200 sure seems FAST again

Don't overcomplicate things too much... a Holga is supposed to be simple after all. When in doubt and indoors, over-expose, especially in ambient light.

Good advice, thanks!

Shooting a wedding using Holga and Ilford 3200 -- what to expect?

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