Dark Weddings...

JohnBiggs · December 10, 2008

Wow, the wedding/reception I shot last weekend was darker than usual. It's like all the lights were dimmed very low.

With flash I had my camera set to about 1/30-1/60th, 1600 ISO, and f4, sometimes even f2.8 but 2.8 was too shallow in many cases.

What do you do in these cases? (Refering to those that shoot weddings regularly.)

In all the backgrounds were darker than I liked.

I use canon /w 580EXII and one of those very popular velcro bounce cards.

Thanks.

jeffreaux2 · December 10, 2008

Well you have to get enough light for a correct exposure right? One way or the other.

For wedding ceremonies I prefer NOT to use flash. This is where communicating with the client and asking them to get the lights turned up a bit can help.

I have shot a ceremony with flash once, but it wasn't in a church and even full on lights werent enough. I used off camera flash on stands to light the ceremony.

Receptions nearly always need flash. Again, I use off camera flash to at least try to get a natural look. For receptions I shoot one handed while holding a monopod mounted flash in the other hand. Extended, I can manipulate the monopods location to squirt light in where I want it while leeping them from having that flash blasted look. In this case, I usually choose ISO800 and F4 or 4.5 at 1/80 shutter speed. This is good for picking up candles or christmas lights in the background and still gives a decent DOF on my 17-55mm lens. The 1/80 is a speed I feel comfortable hand holding, and the flash will stop action anyway.

Below lit with a single 580EXII on a stand at camera left.

A monopod mounted flash exposure.

JohnBiggs · December 10, 2008

jeffreaux2 wrote:

For wedding ceremonies I prefer NOT to use flash. This is where communicating with the client and asking them to get the lights turned up a bit can help.

I never use flash during the ceremony but my 70-200 couldn't keep up. I switched to my 85 1.8 (wish I had the 1.2 now) just to get a little more light.

I hate using ISO 1600, but I also hate the rest of the room being dark too. Thats all I'm trying to avoid.

I guess if there just isn't enough light to somewhat expose the rest of the room, there is nothing that can be done.

davidweaver · December 10, 2008

Depending upon your work flow...
i can pull 1 to 1.5 extra stops of light using RAW processing. Does it add some noise? Sometimes. but if it gets bad I can clean up the noise.

That may help you some.

Cheers,
David

Blurmore · December 10, 2008

My answer for dark receptions is off camera lights. They won't help your focus tracking, but they will push lots of light into the background. I shot a wedding in late November at Overhills Mansion that had an Outdoor ceremony...after dark. Yes it started...after dark. I shot most of it with an Alien Bee through a white umbrella high on a stand to the right and back from the altar area and a sunpak 622 high on a stand left and back from the altar. Both lights were at least 40 feet from the action on full power. It really didn't turn out badly. I mostly used my 17-55 and 85 @ f4.5 ISO 800 1/80th-1/40th.

jeffreaux2 · December 11, 2008

JohnBiggs wrote:

I hate using ISO 1600, but I also hate the rest of the room being dark too. Thats all I'm trying to avoid.

I guess if there just isn't enough light to somewhat expose the rest of the room, there is nothing that can be done.

There are a couple different trains of thought on this. One is to use a wireless network of strobes to light the entire space. That would certainly give you exposure on everything within view.

The other is to offer up enough light to expose your subjects and capture the rest of the space as it is.

Not to be the judge of right or wrong here, but my preference is the latter. My take is that the people there will remember it as a dimly lit event. Surprising them with a brightly lit room in the photographs just isnt my idea of a representative photo.

Of course even with my approach, the use of off camera flash to get nice soft sidelighting is essential.

Dark Weddings...

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