Weddings Wedding Photography - How to achieve amazing images

[Colman]

I'm retired from shooting weddings but I though I post a few of my favorites. I was asked if I could describe my lighting techniques so read on for how I lit each photo.

For this image, the key was shooting the shot just after sundown. During the reception, I would keep an eye on the sky and when the light was right, I went outside with two lights. I set them up and then brought out the couple. The last thing you want to do is keep your bride and groom waiting while you set up and test your lighting. (Pro tip: If you want to set your lights and adjust the power without a subject in the shot, make a fist and hold it in front of you where you plan on placing the subjects. Shoot a test shot using a wide angle lens and look at the light on your fist. This will give you a good idea of what your lighting will look like once the couple is in place.)

I used two flashes ( I use Cheetah lights...also sold as Fashpoint or Godox brands) One light was set to camera right and fired thru a medium size umbrella. The second light was placed behind the couple aimed towards the camera, and fired with a bare reflector and grid ( to tighten the beam of light and prevent too much light spill) These lights are powered by lithium ion batteries and will recycle nearly as quick as studio strobes. I use an umbrella to soften the key light. I like to use umbrellas or folding soft boxes and have several in various sizes. (pro tip: the larger the apparent light source, the softer the light will be)

I set my exposure first for the building then balanced my lighting power so as not to over or underexpose the couple in relation to the background. I wish I could have tuned on more lights in the building but I didn't have full access to all the rooms, nor the time to do so.

All my lights can be controlled from my camera so it makes adjusting the power much quicker and easier.

 

[Colman]

This image was shot in the lobby of a hotel and done rather quickly. I set up my Cheetah light behind the couple and fired thru a reflector with a grid attached aimed at the background. This makes a small circle of light. The rest of the light on the background was a window behind the shutters.

I always carry a small string of led lights (powered by two AA batteries) with me and held the lights in front of my lens. This created the warm out of focus lights. I set my camera color temp to 3400k. This makes the flash (color temp of 5400k) look "blue". Of course, if you shoot in raw format you can do the same while editing the photos but if you shoot in jpeg, you have to do this in camera.

 

[Colman]

One of my favorites. I had the luxury of time when shooting this image. It took me about 10 minutes to create this image. This is one of a few images where I used a tripod. But again....timing is everything when it comes to shooting at night. This was shot just after sunset.

I first turned on all the lights in the house. I placed the bride and put my light behind her aiming towards the camera. Again, I used my Cheetah light with a reflector but no grid this time as I wanted the light to spill a bit more.

I placed a second light fired thru a larger soft box on camera left, aimed at the house. I took a photo and told the bride not to move. I then moved my light to camera right and repeated the shot. Since the camera was on a tripod I was able to blend the two exposures in photoshop to create one image.

 

[Colman]

Floating bride. This shot is a good example of blending available light and flash. The bride was placed in position and I set up two lights, one on each side of her in hallways just out of frame. No light modifiers were used, just bare bulbs and reflectors. The appearance that the bride is "floating" wasn't planned. rather it was a happy coincident due to my lights illuminating the floor on each side of her while the the rest of the floor behind her is in shadow.

 

[Colman]

Sunset at the venue. This is the same venue as the first photo but looking towards the sunset rather than the house. Two lights again, one fired thru an umbrella and the other a bare bulb and reflector. Bare light behind the couple and softer light on camera right. Balancing the ambient light with my lights was key to this photo.

 

[Colman]

Santorini bride. I took my wife with me to Greece for this wedding so she became my "light stand" as I wanted to travel light. I only took one small Sunpack 383 light and a small umbrella. The Sunpack light is a cheap strobe powered by four AA batteries. I triggered it using pocket wizards. My wife held the light and umbrella combo just off camera right. It took nearly all the power from this little light to give me sufficient fill.

Normally I bring two or three lights, modifiers, and stands with me when I do destination weddings but my wife and I were planning on spending some time in France on our way home hence the reason I traveled light on this wedding. Plus it was just the couple and my wife and I so I knew I wouldn't need a lot of lights.

 

[Colman]

B/W at dusk. Did I mention that dusk/sunset is my favorite time to shoot? This shot was created with one light, placed behind the couple and aimed up at the top of cupola. The house was lit by the streetlights. Streetlights put out an ugly green or yellow light so I simply did a B/W conversion in lightroom for this shot.

 

[Colman]

Bride getting ready. Same house and bride as the above photo. One light placed camera left, behind the wall shooting towards the bride was used. No modifiers except for the reflector. The light on her back came from a window. Balancing the window light and my strobe was the key to making this appear "natural".

 

[Colman]

The boys at the table. Another time where I used a tripod to get the shot. This one took me about 5 minutes to set up and shoot. I had an assistant with me as well.

I positioned the guys and told them not to move during the shot. My camera was on a tripod and I set my aperture to f/8 if I recall. (normally I shoot a lot of shots wide open or maybe f/4 at the most but I needed the depth of field for this one)

I had my assistant hold my light with a small octobox attached, aimed at each person from about three feet away. She held the light the same distance away from each person as I shot multiple shots. I then blended the shots in photoshop, removing the assistant and light.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

I'm retired from shooting weddings but I though I post a few of my favorites.

I'm glad you did, Colman. These are fantastic!! Those couples must have been over the moon with these images. Wow!

 

[gjl711]

Very nice indeed.

 

[Colman]

I'm glad you did, Colman. These are fantastic!! Those couples must have been over the moon with these images. Wow!

Thank you! If anyone has any questions about what I used, and how I lit the photos I'm happy to answer.

 

[West Coast Birder]

I will edit your posts to display your images in full size. Fantastic work!

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

Thank you! If anyone has any questions about what I used, and how I lit the photos I'm happy to answer.

You know what would be absolutely wonderful? If you could write a piece on how you do these fabulous images. We could pin it as a sticky. Would you be interested in doing that, Colman?

 

[Colman]

You know what would be absolutely wonderful? If you could write a piece on how you do these fabulous images. We could pin it as a sticky. Would you be interested in doing that, Colman?

I'd be happy to. I'll let you know once I've completed it and you can tell me where to post it.

 

[Greg_8]

“Not the norm” is so right. Each of these Coleman photos deserves a long look. Unique in concept, then perfectly executed.

 

[Levina de Ruijter]

I'd be happy to. I'll let you know once I've completed it and you can tell me where to post it.

That is wonderful! Thank you very much!

 

[gokusan1972]

Excellent work colman, congratulations.

 

[Colman]

This one of the lights that I used to create most of the images. It's a great light that is in between "speed lights" and studio lights. The reflector is removable so you can use it as a bare bulb with soft boxes. I have four of these lights but usually only use two for most shots. During the reception I will often use all four lights.

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With a grid attached




With the battery and light stand.

 

[Colman]

I thought I would also share some images from wedding receptions and tell you how I went about lighting them. Many reception venues can be difficult to light and often the new photographer struggles to get nice, clean images. Some excellent photographers I know will only use one flash and still get wonderful images, but I leaned my lighting skills in film and video work so I like to use a more "cinematic" approach to lighting. This style of lighting is not the easiest to master and it does require the use of three or four lights instead of just one. But the results can be worthwhile if you take the time to learn and master the art of multiple lights.

This particular Indian wedding was held in a huge venue. Fortunately the walls were painted off white, which allowed me to use "bounce" lighting. I used three lights, one behind the camera and one on each side of the Mandap. The light behind me was aimed at the wall behind me while the other lights were set back against the far walls and aimed at the Mandap. I think I probably put grids on the side lights but it was several years ago and I don't exactly recall. The bounced light behind the camera gave me a nice spread of soft light. The two side lights helped to give the scene some depth.

I always try to keep the power of the lights as low as possible so as to not annoy the guests with powerful bursts of light. This means that I often shoot at ISO 1600 or 3200.

Wide shot of the venue. You can see one of my lights on the far right. Some people my ask "why not just shoot it using the existing light?" Good question. This wide shot was taken with a slow shutter speed. Using my flash allows for the action to be "frozen" a bit so that camera shake doesn't spoil the image. Also, venues are notorious for dimming the lights at the wrong time. Hence I prefer to use my lights for just about every venue.