Last week, I wrote about the idea for Reflections blog posts. I got this idea by thinking back to my recent wedding and addressing how I handled a particular situation. The wedding I was headed home from was Gladys and Chris' Sonoma wedding, and since I was shooting at a winery, I knew limited light was going to play a serious factor. I was able to move details (like the dress, shoes, etc) to photograph in natural light (which is my preference), but bridal prep photos were going to be inside, in a windowless room.

At this point, I'm thinking to myself, OhSweetBabyJesus.

A few things played into my reaction: 1. I hate tungsten lighting; 2. I don't like shooting with flash; 3. Gladys is a photographer herself, so I wanted to make sure her wedding photos resembled my normal portfolio…which is partly why she hired me. So I had to reassess the situation. With Gladys' permission, I'm posting the entire process as a way to help other photographers who might be stuck in the same situation.

This is the bridal prep room at Viansa Winery…

For a while I thought I'd be able to shoot in the room, but when I saw that overhead lights were creating hot spots and scattered light (overhead lights specifically cause raccoon eyes…which is not a good look for brides…obviously) I darted out of the room and saw a different option.

Lucky for us, the barrel room is adjacent to the bridal room, so once Gladys put on her dress, I asked her and her ladies to step outside to a spot I discovered. A spot that was illuminated…but not by me…
50mm f/1.4 1/100 2000iso

I noticed a niche in the wall containing a light. I asked Gladys to stand facing the light, then stepped back and let everything else unfold naturally….
50mm f/1.4 1/100 2000iso

The barrel room was extraordinarily dark, but simply using that one available light, I was able to use my camera to compensate without having to resort to flash…
Dress: 50mm f/1.4 1/100 2000iso
Shoes: 50mm f/1.2 1/100 3200iso

The nice thing about placing the bride in the light was that everyone came to her so I didn't have to say another word once things got going and candid moments were able to remain candid…
50mm f/1.4 1/100 2000iso

50mm f/1.4 1/100 2000iso

I hope this helps a little bit. When I first started, I worried about asking brides to move from their original location of dressing/preparation….but that came at the cost of the photos. Now, I am confident in asking because I know it's best for the bride and helps me stay true to my vision, style, and aesthetic.

Happy Thursday!