Light Up Your Life. How to Capture Great Photography in Any Lighting.

Let’s start this post with a big congrats to Mary & Michael! They are such a lovely couple and I’m so honored and pleased to be apart of their lives. 

Today I want to talk more to photographers curious about wedding photography. And to potential couples looking to hire a wedding professional that can get the shot no matter what. 

A wedding photographers job is so much different than a portrait photographer.

The wedding day is a whirlwind of chaos. LOL. You need to have not only the right personality to roll with delayed timelines, make up lost time, organize and reorganize the timeline, but the know how to get the job done and not miss any moments. Besides the fast paced environment the biggest challenge a portrait artist would struggle with is the vast difference of lighting situations on a wedding day.

Today’s wedding is a perfect example of any lighting scenario.

We started in a dark hotel room, went to a contrasted but bright hotel room, I shot portraits right at midday 11am-1pm, then went into a dark ceremony with no flash and minimal movement allowed, into the hour before sunset, and then into a dark reception room. SEE!

Best post ever for a blog about Lighting. 

The best tip I can give you is: understand your light and know what it can do for you. 

Understand where it comes from, what time it’s coming and the angle, understand how to work with your light source. Research the style you like and see if you can practice until perfect.

Every photographer has a different style they are trying to achieve and a way they like the images to turn out. 

• I love a combination of light and airy while retaining contrast and sharp imagery. I don’t like blurry lines, but I like blurry soft backgrounds. For this reason I shoot backlit during harsh lighting and when I’m outdoors, and I shoot front lit in dark rooms with a light source.  Everyone likes a different style, so you need to practice until perfect for your desired affects. 

• For no flash allowed dark situations you need to know how to stop up your ISO and make sure your clients understand their images in that situation will be grainy (or noisy). FYI I recommend overexposing when shooting with a high ISO (camera sensor) because if you underexpose and have to post process the image brighter it will pull out that grain so much. If you have to overexpose darker your images will not loose any quality. That is a personal preference. 

• For flash during the reception. The biggest question I get asked is “did you know your flash is the wrong way” LOL. I assure you… I know what I am doing and I’m bouncing my flash off available surfaces on purpose. I’m not a fan of direct flash, I avoid it at all costs. Some situations it’s so dark I just have to… but most of the time I choose to fire my flash at a nearby wall or ceiling that is hopefully neutral colored (so to avoid color casting). This way it will bounce off and light my subject softly without that direct flash. Direct flash does all sorts of things I don’t like. I don’t like the background being stark and boring, I don’t like the overexposed cheekbones and skin tones. I love to soften my receptions when possible to achieve a more balanced image. 

So these are my tips friends! 

I can assure any potential clients that I can handle any lighting situation… maybe even a totally pitch black closet, if I bring the right gear! haha. Simply make sure you choose a photographer who can achieve the look you want. Pick an artist who already synces with you. Check out their work in similar lighting situations. Simply because a photographer can do great portraits, it doesn’t mean they can roll with the punches or a busy wedding day with constantly changing lighting scenarios. 

And any photo enthusiasts reading, may these tips & tricks guide you just a little. They are my own personal tips to my style and love of light. If you are interested in learning more I teach photography courses. I offer many classes, anything from shooting manually, lighting, tablescapes, landscape, learning small business, workflows, time management and more! Check out my workshops here.

May this post light up your life! 

Light Up Your Life. How to Capture Great Photography in Any Lighting.

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