While shooting a wedding, you have to be prepared for all types of lighting throughout the event. You will be taking photos outdoors, in rooms where the bride and groom are getting ready, during the ceremony and at the reception. All of these photos are in different places, at different times of day, with different amounts of natural light or even the lighting dimmed inside the venue.
You need to be prepared for every type of lighting scenario so you can be sure to capture every wedding photo of the bride and groom and their wedding day in the best possible way. Today, we want to share with you 3 wedding photography lighting tips to keep in mind when you are photographing a wedding.
1. Use Off Camera Flash For More Creativity
It’s easier to balance exposures with off-camera lighting and you get better skin tones when you do so which is so important when taking wedding photos. Perhaps you can start with speed lights and then and then advance to studio systems with light-shaping tools such as softboxes, grid diffusers, and umbrellas. If you know you will want more more flexibility while shooting, you can use wireless triggering systems to fire your camera and flash.
Photo credit: Jasmine Star
2. Set Up Proper Light For The Reception
When it comes to a wedding reception, you really need to bring extra lighting. Many times the reception is in a dark reception or outdoors in the evening when the sun has already set. If you want your photos to turn out at all, you need to learn how to use strobe lighting. The easiest way is to use a bounce flash where you simply use the flash on top of your camera angled towards white walls to create soft directional light on your subjects. You could also use kicker lights placed throughout the reception that are behind the subject you are shooting to help light them up from behind and make them really stand out.
Photo credit: Secureeshop
3. Find A Good Place For Your Off Camera Lighting Near The Dance Floor
Most of the important events throughout the reception take place on or around the dance floor. The bride and groom's first dance, the toasts, the bouquet toss and all of the fun dancing goes on there. Finding a spot that is off to the side and out of the way that also faces the dance floor is probably the best option for your lighting placement.
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