Whether or not to use flash during a wedding ceremony in a church, is a tricky decision to make. You have to weigh the solemnity of the occasion, with the contractual and artistic requirements to create awesomely awesome images.
When to use flash during the church ceremony?
- when there aren't specific church rules against using flash, and
- the light levels are too low to give correct exposure for the shutter speed, aperture and ISO combination we need.
The decision to use flash, and how to use flash, strongly depends on Read more inside...
Melissa & Dennis - their wedding day from Neil van Niekerk on Vimeo.
review of the Nikon D3100 video capability
Nikon recently released two very interesting D-SLRs - the Nikon D3100 (B&H) and the Nikon D7000 (B&H). Improving on several of the entry-level Nikon D-SLRs, they also offer HD video capability (1080p at 24 fps), and even does so with full-time auto-focus capability.
So when B&H sent me a Nikon D3100 for review, I thought what better test than to start in the deep end, and use it during a wedding to shoot HD video. The intention was to use the HD Read more inside...
using a variety of lighting techniques for wedding photography
This recent post on lighting ideas for the romantic wedding portraits, showed that I like to mix it up a bit, and not rely on one specific technique. Not every situation we're going to encounter can be solved with one specific approach only. Mixing it up in terms of lighting also helps to provide my clients with more variety in the look of the final selection of images. In addition, it also keeps it interesting and fresh for me. Constantly adapting to challenges is part of the process of growing to be a better Read more inside...
Comparing those two images, you should notice two things immediately:
- the sky is brighter in the top image.
- the grass in front of the group is more lit in the bottom photo. In other words, the accent is more on the guys in the top photo, since grass in front of them are less well lit.
Both images were lit by a single off-camera softbox, using a speedlight. My on-camera speedlight was set to Master, but with its output disabled. Therefore only the Slave flash (in the softbox) was lighting the group. I liked the exposure on them Read more inside...
lighting the romantic portraits of the bride & groom
Scouting around the location during dinner time, I peered over the edge of this spiraling staircase and thought it would be a good idea to get some light on the couple, seated on the couch. I posed Melissa so that she lounged back with her head on Dennis' lap. There is no way to get light on them from my position with on-camera bounce flash, and definitely not if my intention is to get light only on them. It needed off-camera flash.
To add some variety, I also thought of a few other things to try with the lighting, using Read more inside...
New Jersey wedding photographer - photojournalistic style
Drawing from a story-telling photojournalistic sensibility; and also from the classic style of wedding photography; with a dash of Fashion flair; and Romance ... the intention is to give you images that will forever recall this fantastic day.
The images on the New Jersey wedding photographer blog will show you the style and consistency of work that you can expect for your own wedding. As an author of several books on photography, I’m definitely serious about this stuff!
The domain name I chose for me wedding & Read more inside...
I hope that no one thinks that the flash photography and lighting techniques that I describe on the Tangents blog are only applicable to wedding photography. In a recent post I described where I photographed a model in an alley way when I noticed a splash of sunlight (reflected from a window) falling onto the wall. In recognizing that interesting splash of light, and using it, I got an image which was different than I would've had if I had just used the even shaded light in the alley.
I used this very same idea at a recent wedding in Read more inside...
From a technical point of view, photographing a bride in her dress can be a challenge ... depending on the lighting. If everything is under your control as the photographer, and you're lighting the formal portraits with off-camera manual flash, then it is essentially a study of the zone system.
The simplest way for me then to get accurate exposure, is to use the histogram. I place my brightest relevant tone at the edge of the histogram. All the other tones will fall into place. (It is clearly explained in that linked article, Read more inside...
When possible during a lull in the wedding reception, I like to sneak the bride and groom away for a few minutes to do romantic portraits. Since time is usually tight, and the couple wants to enjoy as much of their reception as possible, I like to work efficiently. Jessica and Michael had their reception at a venue where I hadn't worked before, so during dinner time, I quickly went around the venue with my assistant, to scout a few places to photograph the couple.
In the basement of this venue, I noticed the light shining through gates ... Read more inside...
Photographing wedding portraits in bright sunlight
Hard sunlight overhead is some of the most difficult light that you can find yourself shooting in. When you aren't able to position your subjects, then your options are limited - fill-flash or working with the RAW file in post-processing.
However, when you're able to move your subjects, but don't have the opportunity for off-camera lighting, then your best two options are:
- have your subjects turn their backs to the sun,
- use the light from the sun so that there are no harsh cross-shadows.
Here are typical examples of Read more inside...
