Night and Low-light Photography Photo Workshop

that many times the lighting is lower on the

guests and the wedding party than it is on the

couple. When this happens, it is fine to overex-

pose the couple, especially the white dress, to get

the wedding party or the guests in proper expo-

sure. You just don’t want to forget to switch the

settings back for when you are photographing the

couple again. Using a wide-angle lens allowed

photographer Kenny Kim to capture not only the

bride and groom but the wedding party as well in

Figure 5-5. Notice how the detail in the dress is

lost as it goes very close to pure white. The win-

dows in the background and the lights in the ceil-

ing are already pure white with no detail, but

since they are actually sources of light that is

just fine.

The reception

Wedding receptions are celebrations — a celebra-

tion of the couple starting their life together —

one that they want to share with their close

friends and family. The reception offers a great

many photo opportunities, from the entrance of

the couple as husband and wife to the couple

leaving to spend their lives together and every-

thing in-between. There are fewer rules when it

comes to using a flash at receptions, and many

times it is a good idea to use not one, but multiple

flashes to light up the subjects and the room.

Shooting with a single accessory flash is a great

place to start, and once you are comfortable with

that, adding a second (or third) flash is easier. A

downside with using a flash is that the images all

look like they were taken with a flash and the

light source was right at the camera. This can

leave the images looking more like snapshots

than great photographs. There are some things

that you can do to make these images look better:

■   The first look. There is a very special

moment when the groom sees his bride for the
first time. The problem is that often the
groom is standing forward of where he will be
standing during the ceremony, which may
have even less light than his position during
the ceremony. The only real advantage you
have is that he will not be moving, so a slower
shutter speed is an option.

■   Ceremony. Knowing when the vows and ring

exchange are going to take place will allow
you to be in position to capture these impor-
tant parts of the ceremony. If you have a lens
in the range of a 70-200mm f/2.8, then you
can zoom in and still use a wide aperture to
help in the low light. If you don’t and only
have a prime lens with a shorter focal length,
then you will need to physically move in
closer to the couple to be able to get the
details of the ring exchange.

■   The first kiss and walk up the aisle as hus-

band and wife. Many ceremonies end with a
first kiss and the newly married couple leaves
together. Using a longer focal length will
allow you to capture the kiss, but many cou-
ples practically run down the aisle. This is
also the time when you may be able to start
using a flash, so it is possible to have one
ready to help illuminate the scene if needed,
but make sure you check with the venue
before using a flash.

If possible, try to also get photos of the wedding
party and the guests during the ceremony. It
shouldn’t take more than a few seconds but can
really help tell the story of the day. There will be
a chance to do this later, but it never hurts to get
a few during the ceremony. The challenge here is