Wedding Photographer’s are regularly faced with difficult shooting situations, unlike studio photographers that have complete control over the environment they shoot in. One minute you can be taking photos inside a dimly lit cathedral where the priest frowns upon any use of flash photography and then the next minute you can be outdoors in harsh midday sunlight. It is our job to know how to handle each unique situation quickly and flawlessly. A big part of a professional photographer’s job is problem solving. What can we do to counter act these challenges and produce the best image possible for our clients?
Wedding ceremonies typically take place in a church/cathedral/synagogue. Each of these buildings vary in size and how well lit they are inside. For a photographer these large buildings can be a kick in the pants if they aren’t fully prepared for how to handle them. Last weekend I had the privilege to shoot a wedding ceremony in the Basilica of Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, CT. It was a very beautiful and old church with very tall ceilings. On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being darkest and 10 being lightest, this church was about a 4. Since the ceiling was so high I couldn’t efficiently bounce my flash off of it without killing my batteries in 2 minutes so I had to rely on my camera and ambient light to do the heavy lifting.
I set my ISO to about 1000-1600 and shot at f2.8, the widest aperture the lens I was using was capable of. For my shutter speed I set it as low as I possibly could without getting image blur. How do you know what that shutter speed is? Well, it varies depending on the movement speed of your subjects and the focal length of your lens. During a ceremony nobody is running around movement speed is not really an issue so the focal length is how you will calculate the slowest possible shutter speed.
For Example: You have a 50mm lens on your camera. You can shoot at 1/50th of a second, assuming you are very steady. I like to set it a little bit faster just in case, but this rule works pretty well for me! Give it a shot next time you are in need of some extra light. *Pun Intended* This will give you a very natural look and will not distract the guests with your strobe light show. 😉
In a perfect world we would be given the option to choose what time we get to do the formals outdoors. But, as we know, wedding days are on a tight schedule and whatever time we get to take the bride and groom away from it all is a blessing. Unfortunately sometimes that time is in direct midday sunlight. This is a worst case scenario pretty much. The bride, groom, and wedding party will either be squinting from the sun, harshly lit leaving unpleasant shadows on their face and under their eyes, or back lit.
You have a few options…
- Try to convince the clients to opt for a shaded area instead of their original desired location
- Find a beautiful indoor location
In the case that these are not an option you will have to face that sunlight head on! But as I said earlier, we are problem solvers and there are ways around it.
This picture is a great example of what I am talking about. The couple really wanted to take a shot in this location. The sun was at a rather unpleasant angle which left really deep shadows and super bright highlights on their faces and bodies. This is where the handy dandy speed light comes into play. Expose the shot for the scene, making sure there are no clipped highlights. Then you can set up a speed light on a flash stand off to the side or even on the hot shoe of your camera to fill in the shaded areas. You can set your flash manually if you like, but the TTL setting usually does an OK job as well. I usually set my TTL to about +2/3 in a situation like this just to get a little more fill.
Keep in mind this is a worst case scenario. Ideally it would be best to get this couple in the shade or put their backs to the sun of course.
In this shot I was able to use the shadow from the wedding venue to my advantage. I exposed my shot for the ambient light and then used my flashes to fill in the subjects. Keep an eye on the blacks of the tuxedos as well. Make sure you are getting all of the details in the suit and they are not underexposed.
Getting your subjects in the shade can really improve a shot. Light is everything in a photograph after all!
This last photo was taken about 5 minutes after the first example, but indoors, which resulted in a much more pleasing photograph. Windows are a great source of soft, ambient light that is extremely useful for portraits. These are all options that you have at your disposal as a wedding photographer. Being prepared is the best advice I can give to anyone interested in this line of profession. Know your camera, know your options, and know your light!
If you have any questions concerning this topic or any topic related, please do not hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment below. I am more than happy to help!
-Bill Fritz
bill@fritzphotographyct.com
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