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Tech Tips : Wedding Reception Lighting
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A few months ago, I started an installment of Tech Tips, an opportunity for me to answer questions directly related to technical aspects of my photos. One of the questions I received the most after last week's wedding was dealing with the reception lighting, specifically what I use and how I do it. I've blogged about the photography gear I use as well as my off-camera lighting set up, so you can read about that more in detail if you'd like.
Last week Lyndal asked for lighting/flash tips during receptions and Inca followed with this question: did you use flash in the indoors section at all? Or is it all with the ambient light? I could not find sharp shadows, but the depth of field is wide enough to suggest you are not shooting with 2.8. Maybe then, high ISO with the new Mark III? The first thing I do when I walk into a reception is find a location I can place my off-camera light, as to not be noticed. Most of the time it's by the DJ's speakers, but the layout at my last wedding would've drawn too much attention to it, so I hid it in a corner of the ballroom (this ballroom had small niches/alcoves that served as multiple corners in the room as seen in the right photo below). |
| Left photo: 50mm f/2.0 1/60 640ISO (only off-camera flash used)
Right photo: 50mm f/2.5 1/100 640ISO (only off-camera flash used) I always place the light toward the dancefloor since that's where most of the evening's events take place and I don't move it for the rest of the evening. |
| 50mm f/2.5 1/60 640ISO (on-camera flash and off-camera flash)
In the photo below, the off-camera light is directly right of the bride and groom (you can see highlights on the bridesmaids' hair on the right side of the photo). I felt comfortable shooting with wide apertures during the First Dance because the couple is what I call hug-dancing. Part hug, part dance, all love. Because their faces are pressed next to each other, only one person will need to be in focus (because the back of the head of the opposing person needn't be tact sharp). I always ask in advance if there'll be a choreographed First Dance because that'll change how I approach the first dance (I usually stay away from shooting wide open and I ask where the couple will end the dance and facing which direction...this is so I'm ready to capture the inevitable Dip that comes at the end). |
| 24mm f/2.0 1/60 640ISO (on-camera and off camera flash)
Sidenote: I shoot almost exclusively with the white bounce card that comes in my Canon 550EX Flash...it really helps provide softer illumination. |
| 24mm f/2.8 1/60 640ISO (on-camera and off camera flash)
In the photo below, you'll see the niche I placed the off-camera flash. I love the light because it adds dimension to the room and provides the type of depth I prefer in my photos... |
| 24mm f/2.5 1/50 800ISO (on-camera and off camera flash)
So here's a moment when JD anticipated a moment and was ready...I seriously love that guy. The cake was rolled out, but was positioned in such a way I'd lose the off-camera light (due to distance and angle of the room). JD brought out a video light and illuminated what was a very dark portion of the room... |
| 35mm f/2.5 1/80 1000ISO (ambient light, no flash, just a video light JD held while simultaneously shooting...he's like a Hispanic Chuck Norris.)
I was given the option to shoot with a wide aperture because the bride was consistently looking at the groom, so my focal point was primarily on him. I've learned to anticipate the ebb and flow of a groom's speech, so when I thought he'd toast his bride, I rotated my focal point to her (to capture her reaction), while JD kept his focus on the groom. Whew, that was a doozey. I hope it made sense and if you have questions, leave them in the comment box and I'll try to respond tomorrow or if others care to join and help the conversation, that'd be awesome! Stay Fabulous, j* Edited to Add: Here are the answers to your questions!! @Dawn &Michael Mitchell: The light is roughly six feet tall on the tripod and the power setting for the off-camera flash is set at 1/16th power so it recycles quickly and proffers just an easy pop of light. @Orsi: The off-camera light is sitting in a soft box to diffuse the light. @Brenda Landrum: Yes, I'm pointing my flash straight toward the ceiling, but use the bounce card with the flash to reflect the light onto my subjects' faces. @JC: When working with Pocket Wizards to fire my flash, I've never had a problem being too far away. Considering a reception is usually in a ballroom, the trigger distance hasn't been an issue. @Sarah D: Yes, my flash is always pointed at the ceiling (with the bounce card) or I'm bouncing it from a nearby wall...I can't remember the last time I pointed my flash directly at someone. @Adam: My flash is set to ETTL. @Tony: I clean my camera every other month or so. @Debbie: This is the video light I use. @Tony Whitmore: I use my off-camera flash at every reception...in fact, I love it so much that if I couldn't use it, I might cry! ;) @Prema Buck: I change my lenses quite a bit and each swap takes me less than three or four seconds, so I'm not worried about missing a moment during the First Dance, especially since my second shooter is also shooting at the same time. @Evie Perez: Once I set up my off-camera light, I don't move it...so the detail images I posted were tables close enough to the light to pick up its effects. |
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Tech Tips : Getting the Above Angle
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I walked downstairs and announced I was in a mood. I went into the kitchen, grabbed a glass of water, but before I could escape upstairs, JD stopped me and asked what was wrong. I itemized a few things (ending my list with and there aren't enough unicorns in my life!) and JD said it'd be okay. I stood in the hallway and swished the water in my glass. I admitted to wanting/needing change and he replied, So does that mean you're going to dye your hair?
He knows me so well. Speaking of change, shall I change the subject to photography? Well, alrighty then... |
| f/1.4 1/4000 160 ISO 35mm
After posting Shannon and Bill's Orange County engagement session, Janet Cruz asked: Hey Jas, (I feel like we're friends, so if we were hanging out, I'd call you Jas, unless you asked me not to) anyway..... Wow,,,, beautiful! so, do you climb trees to get that "from above angle"? Inquiring minds want to know! Janet (you can call me "J") Hi J! I get asked this question a bit, considering how short I am. The best way to get an above angle to have clients sit on the ground and the photographer and I position myself to crop out unseemly positions of the subjects' arms or legs. However, whenever I have the chance to stand on something to make me taller, I absolutely will do it. Here's an example of what I mean: |
| In this case, there were 2-foot wooden blocks acting as a parking partition, so I climbed on top of one and asked the couple to stand close to me, so I could hunch over and get the shot I wanted. You can see the wooden blocks in this picture to give you a better idea: |
| Standing on something to get a different angle is a great way to diversify a portfolio, especially when given an environment like a field. When everything looks the same and the background is identical, a photographer must rely on his ideas and posing skills to maximize the location. Hope this helps!
Happy Thursday! |
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Tech Tips : Natural Reflector in Harsh Light
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W e woke yesterday morning and took Polo on his morning walk. The humidity left water droplets on the windows of our bus, but we ventured out in thick of the thickness. Ten minutes into our walk, the skies broke and it poured. We ran in search of coverage--our flip-flops dragging up water as we sprinted--and hid in an open-air garage for ten minutes as thick puddles formed at our feet.
I'd seen it happen before: a couple gets caught in the rain and then they laugh, they make out, then splash each other in slow motion. Isn't how all the movies work? Well, in real life we hid and hoped we wouldn't be stuck for too long. When we finally ran back to the bus, we shook ourselves off and covered the dog in towels. It was then when I missed my chance for movie romance and asked JD for a do-over. Can we get stuck again so, like, we can make out and stuff? Too much information? Yeah, sorry. How about more information in regard to photography? I'm sure many of you are taking a huge sigh of relief! |
| 85mm f/2.8 1/800 100 ISO
After posting Laura and Adam's Malibu engagement photos, Sarah asked: You gotta tell me how you do that! Especially the shot of Laura and Adam under those lights with the shadow stretched out in front of them. How do you ensure that they don't end up underexposed with that amazing light behind them? Like I mentioned on that blog post, it was extraordinarily bright in Malibu Canyon that day and the sun was higher in the sky than I normally like to shoot, but it was great because it created a distinctive natural reflector. If the sun was lower in the sky, their faces would have been more underexposed, but light was being reflected from the ground in front of them. And brightly so. This light was what made this photo possible. The Solution This photo is verrry close to how it appeared SOOC (straight out of camera). I added +1 red to color balance since the tones were cool and used the Dodge tool in Photoshop to lighten their skin by creating a duplicate layer of the original, then dodging the areas of their skin I wanted to highlight. I used the Burn tool (set at 15%) to slightly darken the corners of the photo...and that's it. I wish I did fancier things in order to sound impressive, but that's all I got...and I hope it's enough. Happy Monday! |
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Tech Tips : White Reflector
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Y esterday I woke up from being under anesthesia for four hours and started hugging strangers. Why was I under anesthesia? It's a long and boring story, but let's just say I got in a fight with a lion with my arms tied behind my back. And won. When I awoke, JD rubbed my shoulders and asked if everything was okay. I smiled and asked if we got the discount. What discount, he asked and then I hugged him. And if what he tells me is true, I started hugging everyone around me.
After I was placed in a wheelchair, I asked to hug my doctor. Twice. Apparently, I was UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF LOVE. Seeing how I'm a fan of spreading love, I'm thinking today might be a good day to launch a new segment on the blog called Tech Tips. Every so often, I'll dissect a photo someone asked me about and walk through the process of how the photo was captured and corresponding meta data. If this is a bad idea, I'll simply blame the anesthesia and pretend it never happened. If you think it's a good idea, I'll probably hug you. |
| 50mm f/2.8 1/400 125 ISO
After posting Helen and Eric's Los Angeles Biltmore wedding, Carrie Joy asked, I ADORE the invitation in the window. Could you share what lens you were using? Were you shooting wide open? Part of the reason I was able to capture this photo was because it wasn't too bright outside of the hotel room. It was an overcast day, but still gorgeously illuminated. Of course, it was brighter outside than inside of the hotel room I was shooting in, so once I placed the invitation in the window, the face of the invitation became underexposed (almost shadowed, if you will). If I exposed for the invitation, then the background would become overexposed (and blown out) and the cityscape wouldn't be visible. The Solution: I needed to find a way to shed light on the invitation in a way that looked natural. I didn't want to use flash or a metallic reflector, so I looked around for something white I'd be able to use to bounce natural light. I noticed that the hotel curtain was white, so I simply stood in front of the invitation, grabbed the curtain with my left hand and pulled it behind my head, then took the photo holding the camera with my right hand. Essentially, the curtain became a white reflector and I was able to expose both for the face of the invitation as well as the cityscape in the background. Feel free to let me know if this makes sense and/or ways to make Tech Tips better in the future...I appreciate it! Happy Thursday! |
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| © 2013 Jasmine Star Photography | Blog by infinet design |
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