Wedding Photography - The Challenges

[siddr20]

So I have been having some good chats with Richie who also wants to get into wedding photography and perhaps take it as a full-time job one day. The following is to show the challenges you arise as a wedding photographer.

For me currently its sorta the norm, but its still a challenge in a way to 'how to tackle this task quickly and get the best results'.

Now we all know that not every wedding isn't the same or at the same location. Not every client wants a wedding at a proper wedding venue nor will every client want the same style (getting married in a church etc).

I photographed a wedding on Friday and I had one of the biggest challenges:

- How to light a room which is super dark and no where to bounce off.

- How to do the above in the next 5 min's plus get some quick room shots and detail shots before the bride walked in.

The ceiling is black and also not knowing which way the bride was going to enter was another challenge.

Here is a pic of the room:

The room itself was dark and don't be fooled by the lights on top.

F2.8 1/80th, ISO 1600.

So at this stage I thought well no point wasting time with room shots as its dark and im not going to get much handheld. Will do that later with a tripod once the ceremony is over. Cool so saved some time (maybe two mins).

I thought well lets just try it with a flash and see what it looks like:

Flash on camera pointed camera right on top.

^ Hating the harsh shadows and the ambient light is gone

So scrap that idea of pointing the flash up....

Next step is so quickly test the light the other way to make sure it looked good for when the bridesmaids/bride walked in..

Now I didn't know which way she was going to enter so took a quick test shot in the middle. Now knowing the harsh shadows from the previous shot I pointed the flash right behind me (acting more like a fill).

Got this:

Ok little bit better but still looking plain. I can see the bridesmaids at the door and im like oh crap. So quickly ran to my things grabbed another flash and plonked it near a table hoping for the best. As soon as the first bridesmaids saw me, I ran back to my spot and they walked in.

Quickly turned on my trigger and shot the following shots with this lighting:

To me the lighting is much better and adding another light adds a new dimension to a otherwise boring bland photo.

ISO 2000, f2.8, 1/125th. Flash on camera at +1 and external light at 1/8th.

Straight out of the camera.. Will probably edit the shadow of the light top right and maybe do a bit more PP to it once I start editing these photos.

The next challenge was photographing the ceremony which was on a stage with not much working distance. To fit the bridal party plus the celebrant I had to shoot at like 24mm and shot from down up if that makes sense. The guests were literally 30cms behind me.

Anyways the point of this thread was that weddings are not always the same and you need to be prepared. Having the right equipment is crucial off-course but weddings are always unpredictable and you need to think fast.

I always say to myself that the clients have chosen the venue and you cant do much about it. But if you can make it look that little bit better then it sets your self apart.

Now don't get me wrong. I have being using external lights for a long time. But the challenge of quickly setting it up and making that bland photo extra special is always the hard part.

Two light setup: Made it so it wasn't so obvious.. But I had plenty of time to setup my lighting (like 30mins) before the groom walked in.

The point isnt always having two lights, but tackling a challenge.

Perhaps now that you got two lights as your norm, whats your next challenge on top? Did you add 4 lights once? Keen to hear your challenge.

Here is my 3 light setup. One hair light, one on camera and the other in a corner of the room straight at them at 1/32th for extra fill and to light up the people a little.

I had plenty of time to setup the lighting. So yea having external light is a norm as well for me. But I usually have a bit of time to plan it all and get someone to jump in for a test shot.

Other wedding photographers here: Would love to hear your input and perhaps you can share some of your challenges.

[wilorichie]

Good write up Sidd.

Challenges for weddings - Haha a never ending reply should be seen from this question.

I'd say my biggest challenge are people. Everyone seems to never mind walking in the way of a nice shot, even though it is clear, you and your massive camera are looking that way about to take a photo.

I've lost a few good moments from inconsiderate people walking in the way.

The viet weddings have MANY people in a small area. I've only done viet weddings so far and they have that many people in 1 small room, that some invited guests just wait outside and have a ciggy...

Look how packed the place is!

[siddr20]

Yup happens all the time. Nothing you can really do about it

Just make sure you got the front spot.

I would have been much closer. If it blocks one or two people then so be it. If nothing is happening then just duck down.

Dont be afraid to get into the action. You are getting paid to capture these moments.

[wilorichie]

There are photos from when I am closer of course. I was showing an example of how packed it can be. But you wouldn't be able to get much closer - you would only be able to move in front of those 2 people in front of me.

The people in front of those two are all part of the ceremony and have a large roll - and you don't want to be standing in the middle of something highly important, you only get in the way.

You can even see people BEHIND the bride and groom there is that many people in that room. They have no where else to be lol. Packed!

[siddr20]

Dont worry I shoot a lot of Indian weddings so I know how packed it can get

But now you have mentioned the challenge where is the result of it? How did you improve your situation? Maybe might be a weak example of people coming in the way as you can just move.. But yea just looking for other challenges you have come across and how you went about it.

[GTR-N1]

Would one of those totally-adjustable ladders help Sidd?

Whilst it acts as a barricade, you could lower it and sit on it whilst lots of Vietnamese are relatively shorter: you could use it as an apparatus to heighten it and get overhead pics: you could attach one of your fill-in flash units to it in a dark ceiling room yaddayadda.

Reasoning:- I'm thinking that crowds, no matter how dense, are conditioned to make way for a pram or wheelchair; so why not a devised barricade? My 2c

[siddr20]

Guests know that you are the main photographer so just make your way to the best spot and ask them to move. If its an elderly person then off-course don't be rude about it or use another angle.

But yea a small step stool or a chair will help get higher ground, but do you really want to take pics from top down all the time.

I still reckon you need to push your way to the front.

I had a bit of a break at one of the weddings and I was chatting away to the video guy and he was saying that some of the guests at a recent wedding he was at were so rude and coming right up to the front of the bride and groom snapping away that it was actually stopping him from working. So he physically had to push them all back (in a nice way). But in the end he just refused to take video, told the bride and groom that this is not acceptable. The MC at that wedding was snapping away as well. The bride and groom were stunned.

[Astonish]

this might sound ridiculous, how about wearing a hi-vis vest of some sort with your business name plastered on the back.

[siddr20]

So I came across another challenge:

I photographed a wedding In Canberra yesterday for another member here and we didn't finish the ceremony at the chapel till 6pm. The bride and groom had a location in mind which was about 30mins away from the church. By the time I got in my car to head over the location spot it was already dark (that is no sun at all out). By the time we got there it was 6.30pm.

The client wanted some shots of the big bell tower in the background so we headed to that spot.

Its 6 degrees according to my iPhone app and very windy so you can imagine how cold it must have been.

My hands got num instantly!!

There is no lights coming from any buildings in the background etc etc.

You wont be able to shoot this with high iso trust me.

So here is what I did:

Two lights. Einstein in beauty dish to light up everyone plus a bare 430exii in the back to separate the heads from the blacks.

Just a random shot...Pretty much straight out of the camera. Just white balance correction, +5 contrast, +5 blacks.. +5 saturation. Thats it.

[GoldZilla]

Excellent solution to the problem, Sidd!

Good work for your quick, on-the-spot thinking.

[dan_the_man]

So I came across another challenge:

I photographed a wedding In Canberra yesterday for another member here and we didn't finish the ceremony at the chapel till 6pm. The bride and groom had a location in mind which was about 30mins away from the church. By the time I got in my car to head over the location spot it was already dark (that is no sun at all out). By the time we got there it was 6.30pm.

The client wanted some shots of the big bell tower in the background so we headed to that spot.

Its 6 degrees according to my iPhone app and very windy so you can imagine how cold it must have been.

My hands got num instantly!!

There is no lights coming from any buildings in the background etc etc.

You wont be able to shoot this with high iso trust me.

So here is what I did:

Two lights. Einstein in beauty dish to light up everyone plus a bare 430exii in the back to separate the heads from the blacks.

Just a random shot...Pretty much straight out of the camera. Just white balance correction, +5 contrast, +5 blacks.. +5 saturation. Thats it.

. You did good

[siddr20]

Cheers guys

[dkbcleaner]

Awesome shot! Love the problem solving

[siddr20]

Cheers