A lighting solution for photographing a wedding ceremony in a barn
An endearing image : the somewhat shy ring-bearer had to be coaxed by the bride and groom to bring the wedding rings to them.
Most often, the lighting that I use isn’t for dramatic, artistic purposes … but instead for problem solving. Since it was raining on the day, the outdoor wedding ceremony was moved inside to this large barn. There was very little light inside, and there was strong backlighting. I needed even light, and I also needed to use a telephoto zoom to take photos from further up the aisle. On-camera bounce flash was out of the question. But I still wanted nice clean lighting on everyone in the front.
The solution – bounce the light from two off-camera Profoto A2 flashes (B&H / Amazon), one on either side, to create a large light source coming in from the left and from the right.
Just the right solution with portable unfussy flashes. Where I did get lucky though, was that the sides of the barn wasn’t made of wood, but a material that is a more neutral color. This made bouncing the flash more possible. If the sides had been wood, I would have used umbrellas on the flashes.
I also want to mention the Hobolite Avant carbon-fiber light-stand (B&H). These light-stands needs to be held and maneuvered in person to actually realize how fantastic a design it is. It is light, and folds up very compact … BUT has a surprisingly large footprint. I have two of them that I keep in my car as part of my default off-camera lighting, along with the Profoto A2 flashes (B&H / Amazon).
Camera settings and camera gear used for this sequence of photos
- 1/250 @ f/3.2 @ 1600 ISO
- (2x) Profoto A2 flashes (B&H / Amazon)
- Hobolite Avant carbon-fiber light-stand (B&H)
Related articles
- Creating dramatic studio lighting with Profoto A2 flashes
- review: Profoto A10 flash
- Off-camera flash with the Profoto A1, A1x, A10 flashes
- review: Profoto B10 flash
That’s a magic shot that underscores your enduring talent Neil, and highlights how simple techniques – when used correctly – generate such wonderful results.
Thank you for the lovely compliment, Roy.
What an amazing image. If I didn’t know I might have thought it was posed – everyone is in just the right position, with the right expression,the right body language and you were in the right place, ready to capture it all.
How often does it happen that magic moments occur and the image is not captured either because the photographer is busy taking another photo or is out of position or it happens so fast that it’s over before there is time to react?
I did get a bit lucky here, in that there were two frames (including this one), where everything in the frame was perfectly balanced in a dynamic way … with the story being told.
But then, as Louis Pasteur said, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” I was ready, and got the shot. As you mention though, this doesn’t happen often enough.
Crazy how well balanced the light is!