Cave Wedding - Abi and Phillip

stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
edited October 9, 2012 in Weddings
Thought I would share a few from a wedding I shot earlier this summer. It had to be the most unique setting I have ever shot in and presented challenges I had not considered before. The setting was to be in a private cave on a farm in TN. I did not know what the lighting would be until the day of (the B&G did not know either). The only light were 500 candles lit that barely allowed the human eye to see. Very beautiful setting and made for a memorable day. Of other interest, both are animal lovers and the bride is a DVM. So the ring bearers were their dogs which wore the rings around their necks and were called to their respective master at the appropriate time. To get to this cave, one rode in a mule drawn carriage through the woods and through pasture to a staging area and then down temporary steps built which led to the cave. I will try to show some which convey a sense of what it felt like there. Enjoy! -Jon

1. Leading down to the cave

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2 The Bride arrives on her horse

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3.
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4
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5 The ring bearers
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6.
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7 Introducing Mr. and Mrs.
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8.
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9.
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10
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11

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and a few from the reception which was held at another farm, a very beautiful setting

12 arriving at the reception

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13
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14
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15
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16 father and daughter
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17 son and mother
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18
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19 as the sun set
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20 virtually dark now
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21 off for their honeymoon
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Comments

  • Matthew SavilleMatthew Saville Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,352 Major grins
    edited September 16, 2012
    Gorgeous images, however in my opinion it is a shame and a loss if you had to use flash for 100% of the cave images. Did you not shoot anything at all with natural light? Even from a tripod? There's enough candles there that I bet you could have pulled off something with a 1.4 prime on a full-frame body.

    I dunno, but in this situation I would have rented a 24 1.4 or a 35 1.4, and a full-frame body if necessary, and at least brought a tripod for a couple clicks. I would have of course used flash for many / most images too, but I think the ambiance is totally lost when using flash and I would have loved to see what the scene "truly looked like"...

    =Matt=
    My first thought is always of light.” – Galen Rowell
    My SmugMug PortfolioMy Astro-Landscape Photo BlogDgrin Weddings Forum
  • coolpinskycoolpinsky Registered Users Posts: 211 Major grins
    edited September 16, 2012
    such a great location - nice pics too - good job !
  • stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
    edited September 16, 2012
    Matt, I had a full frame and a fast prime as that was my goal (natural light). However much darker than it appears in the photos as the ceremony was far back in the cave. My solution was to bounce of the ceiling (did not want direct flash). Even with the flashes up all the way, I was still shooting iso3200 at slow speeds and using a monopod. Hence the unique challenges this wedding presented :)

    Thank you both for the kind words on the images.
  • Matthew SavilleMatthew Saville Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,352 Major grins
    edited September 17, 2012
    Matt, I had a full frame and a fast prime as that was my goal (natural light). However much darker than it appears in the photos as the ceremony was far back in the cave. My solution was to bounce of the ceiling (did not want direct flash). Even with the flashes up all the way, I was still shooting iso3200 at slow speeds and using a monopod. Hence the unique challenges this wedding presented :)

    Thank you both for the kind words on the images.

    I would have still had a tripod to grab some 100% ambient shots, even if the people in the shot were blurry it still would have captured what the human eye was seeing.

    =Matt=
    My first thought is always of light.” – Galen Rowell
    My SmugMug PortfolioMy Astro-Landscape Photo BlogDgrin Weddings Forum
  • huffmanhuffman Registered Users Posts: 19 Big grins
    edited September 17, 2012
    Loved the sense of joy in #13.

    Bill
  • babowcbabowc Registered Users Posts: 510 Major grins
    edited September 17, 2012
    Definitely an interesting place to have a wedding!
    -Mike Jin
    D800
    16/2.8, f1.4G primes, f2.8 trio, 105/200 macro, SB900.
    It never gets easier, you just get better.
  • stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
    edited September 17, 2012
    Thank you huffman, i agree.

    Babowc, interesting location it was. I was super excited to have this opportunity and challenge.
  • sphyngesphynge Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 172
    edited September 20, 2012
    I agree with Matt's suggestions, that being said I have to say I loooooooooove #4.
  • AgnieszkaAgnieszka Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,263 Major grins
    edited September 25, 2012
    Dang, more power to you! I had a wedding in Mexico this year and the bride told me she was interested in a TTD shoot .. she said that she got a cave for a couple of hours and that they would provide lights .... sounded great to me ... cenotes are really pretty, so HEY, why not. When we got there I got the shivers (despite the ugly high temperatures that morning). There was only one light, and it was pitch black. I didn't even see where I was focusing, that's how bad it was. One part was also only lit by candles ... I almost poopsed in my pants when I saw the ... admittingly ... very romantic spot (that was set up for weddings). I promised myself right there, right then that I'd never shoot a cave wedding. I did take a few photos ... gotta say, lighting a cave is a nightmare as you can't bounce your flash (esp when the ceiling is low - which it was in my case) ... shooting my flash at the couple was also not an option as it only created nasty shadows on the "wall" behind them ... all I had left was a long exposure shot and pray the couple wouldn't move too much....

    Here's what we got (told the bride to not get any big canvas prints of if, oh boy!)


    i-w5Zx53W-L.jpg

    This one was only lit by candles and the cave entrance quite far behind me:
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  • joshhuntnmjoshhuntnm Registered Users Posts: 1,924 Major grins
    edited September 29, 2012
    wow. very nice. I'd adjust the curves on several of these to get the blacks black. This may be just an issue of taste.
  • stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
    edited October 2, 2012
    Thank you Angie and I can relate to your experience. One does not understand what true darkness is without being far back in a cave. It provided a unique challenge. Luckily, I had high ceiling for bouncing. The ceremony moved fast so I shot the way I did to ensure a useable end result.

    Josh, thank you for the kind words. I understand your point of the black points and it is a matter of taste (processed this way on purpose).

    -Jon
  • dawssvtdawssvt Registered Users Posts: 413 Major grins
    edited October 4, 2012
    Interesting wedding location! Great captures!

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  • jonathanlord31jonathanlord31 Registered Users Posts: 37 Big grins
    edited October 4, 2012
    Good location it is wondering to work in like this set. Good job. Like the snaps.
  • stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
    edited October 9, 2012
    Thank you dawssvt and jonathan
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