5

CHAPTER
NIGHT AND LOW-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY / Weddings, Concerts, and
Other Events

all three, but you need to be able to at least

capture the person making the toast and the

couple. A zoom lens works great in this situa-

tion because you can get in close and get a

wider view without having to change posi-

tion. When changing what the subject of the

image is, for example from the person giving

the toast to the reaction of the guests, make

sure you adjust the exposure settings as well.

You can easily do this by increasing or

decreasing the ISO. In Figure 5-7, the groom

is toasting his bride to the great joy of the

guests. I used a flash to add fill light to the

scene, as well as a slower shutter speed of 1/50

second so that some of the background could

be seen.

    ■   Cake cutting. The cake cutting is actually

one of the easiest parts of the reception to

photograph, as long as you have set up for it

and are ready. It is important to be positioned

so that you can get the cake and the couple in

the frame, which usually means using a wider

focal length and being in close so that none of

the guests get between you and the subjects.

This means that the angle of the flash needs

to be adjusted so that the light doesn’t hit the

cake and subjects straight on. Making sure

that the white balance is set correctly here

ensures that the wedding cake looks the right

color in the final photos. Many times the cake

is white or close to it, so it picks up the color

of the light used to illuminate it. An off white

ceiling can cause the cake to look off white

instead of white. Or using rear curtain sync

can let the ambient light influence the cake’s

color. For example, if the light in the room is

tungsten and you use a slow shutter speed,

then the light in the photo will be a combina-

tion of tungsten and flash and it becomes very

difficult to make the photo look good later.

All these methods work great with a single acces-
sory flash attached to the camera, and they work
great if you add another flash off the camera to
act as a room fill light. Because the photos at the
reception are usually taken from a variety of
places, the ideal setup is a second flash on a light
stand that can be placed off to the side, aimed at
the ceiling or the background and fired remotely
from the camera. This second flash can be placed
in the best possible position when you know what
is going to happen and when.

The following list outlines some of the moments
that you should set up to capture. Each likely
takes place in a specific area, so you can set up
before they happen and be ready with the right
lens and camera settings:

■   The first dance. During this dance, the cou-

ple is usually surrounded by the guests on the
dance floor, but with enough space to get a
nice clean shot. This is also a perfect time to
use the rear curtain sync with a longer shutter
speed to show the emotion of the couple
dancing. The longer shutter speeds enable the
dancing couple to move a little in the frame,
then the flash fires at the end freezing their
last movement. This can give them a pur-
posely blurred edge and show the movement
of the dance. Angling the flash at the ceiling
or over their heads creates a more natural-
looking effect than if the flash was just aimed
directly at them.

■   Toasts. During the toast, you should make

sure to capture the person giving the toast,
the bride’s and groom’s reaction, and the
guests’ reactions. As the wedding photogra-
pher, it is tough to get in position to capture

Sync speed is covered with more

detail in Chapter 4.

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