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Wedding photography: posing and lighting – a consistent style

February 9, 2015 Neil vN 10 Comments

wedding photography: posing and lighting – aiming for a consistent style

Wedding photography: posing and lighting - aiming for a consistent style

The two images were taken about half an hour apart, with entire different lighting setups - yet there is a consistent look. The photo on the left was shot using video light with an Incandescent white balance. A video light is a small light source, so the lighting is usually quite contrasty - so you need to take care with the posing to have your main subject posing into the light. With a bridal couple, I will nearly always favor the bride for the more flattering light. Hence, I will invariably pose the bride  Read more inside...

Wedding photography – Big bounce flash

December 23, 2013 Neil vN 34 Comments

Wedding photography - Big bounce flash

In photographing groups with weddings, I have a preference to keep the light soft and even. This makes posing a large group easier, since you don't have to worry about odd shadows. A big light source, just off to my side, is the simplest way of lighting this. Previous articles described how to do this with speedlights and an umbrella. (Check links at the bottom of the article.) Often enough though, you'll find yourself in a scenario where one or two speedlights just don't have enough juice, and then you need to bring out something bigger and  Read more inside...

Wedding photography: Positioning your flash for the formals

February 7, 2013 Neil vN 22 Comments

Wedding photography: Positioning the lighting for the groups & formals

In setting up the lighting for wedding formals in the church, the question often crops up - where do you place the lights. How far from your subjects do you place the lights. The photograph above shows how and where I place the flash with the umbrella - about 3 pews in, just behind me or to my left (or right). This is approximate though. Two pews in would be fine. Of course, if you're shooting the wedding formals elsewhere in a different location, just use the same idea. The closer you bring the light,  Read more inside...

A simple lighting setup for photographing the wedding formals

January 23, 2012 Neil vN 46 Comments

A simple lighting setup for photographing the wedding formals

Photographing a wedding can be pretty hectic at times, especially as it so often becomes the photographer's de facto responsibility to keep everything on track. The formal photo session specifically is a part of the day that many photographers find challenging. The other challenging part of the wedding day is photographing the wedding processional. You have a narrow margin to get things just right. No second chance. When photographing the family portraits, you can really help yourself by nailing your lighting. Get it  Read more inside...

Wedding photography: Night-time city lights & off-camera flash

October 19, 2011 Neil vN 28 Comments

Wedding photography: Night-time city lights & off-camera flash

For the romantic portraits, I often take a couple around the venue - the light is just different than during the day. This is where video light comes into its own. Here though, I wanted some of the city lights and light from the traffic outside the venue to appear in the background. The way I envisioned it, was as a stream of cars behind them, but in the first few test images, the cars were too distinct, even at f2.8 and 200mm focal length. Looking at how the approaching cars lined up at the traffic intersection, I  Read more inside...

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