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Working in low light | Winter Wedding Photography Training Course

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:19:08 +0000

Winter weddings can be great to shoot because of the quality of light. It’s soft and flattering but it can also be a bit weak. It can be lacking on contrast. So here’s a few quick things that were covered in part of the course that relates to he 12 pictures in the gallery below. The lighting levels were very low and the weather cold!

1. Shot of the groom against the wall. Natural light from camera left and modelling / shadow coming from the wall.

2. Shot of groom against the wall. Kicker light from camera left , balanced for ambient.

3. Groom against the pillars. Kill the ambient and turn day to night. High contrast from flash gun off camera.

4. Window light that acts as a giant softbox. Use the direction of the subject’s face to control shadows.

5. If you’ve set your exposure relative to the direction of the light, shoot away in manual, with confidence.

6. Making sunshine with off camera flash to add contrast and remove some of the flatness of the ambient.

7. Dark, dark churches. Using off camera flash to mimic where light is coming from but is too weak to make the photograph without some help. First light is the backlight which lights the red carpet and mimics the direction of light from the window. Second light from the the side as fill. The third shot mimics the backlighting from the tungsten lights overhead.

8. Imagine it’s raining outside – so make use of whatever you can. This is a curtain to the left of the altar. Shadows can be used to hide anything unsightly and strong directional lights adds drama and contrast. If you’re at a venue with little in the way of attractive backgrounds it’s your lighting that will save you.

9. 10.11.12 Ambient light can still be a bit tricky depending on how you shoot with it. A large diffused light sourced can be flat – but by placing the subject under cover (as in picture 12) see how the highlights appear on the hair and shoulders and modelling comes into the face.

If you’re interested in learning more about lighting and camera skills training, please do get in touch.

Working in the shadows – when the light isn’t there for photographers

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:37:13 +0000

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There’s a real mixture of pictures in this section because I wanted to talk about the importance of shadows (not ignoring the role of highlights too). The key image above was taken in a lounge full of furniture and soft light from some large windows. Directional light produces shadows and it’s the shadows that do the work in that picture. But without shadows, life can get difficult. The architectural shot of the New Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury is as flat as a pancake because there is no sunshine, no shadows to really make the excellent design come to life. The stage shot of opera singer Rosie Aldridge from Glyndebourne testing the acoustics on stage in the main auditorium relies on a shadow cast by a speedlite hidden in front of her (in the absence of stage lighting!). Again, the shadows do the work.

The shot in the church – the darkest church I have ever been in – is a speedlite faking the direction of the window light and thus creating shadows. The shot of the groom on the steps at Mount Ephraim is packed full of interesting shadows – a speedlite creating a harsh light and the ambient lifting the shadows.

Nice day for a wet wedding Part 1 – lighting for photographers during a Kent summer

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:05:49 +0000

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I’ve always been keen to recce a portrait location or wedding venue prior to a shoot for practical reasons and to get some ideas on where to shoot certain sequences. More and more I find that having a plan “B” is not enough, and the changeable weather of this summer has made me glad to have had back up plans, creative alternatives and studio lights in the car! If you check the position of the sun prior to the day (imaging beautiful back-lit veils and long shadows) what do you do when it’s overcast and raining? So my approach these days is more free and works around a simple three point plan:

1. Natural light – look for where the light is painting the picture already and follow it:side light, rim light etc.
2. Reflected light – where are the plain surfaces that will work for you, placing your subjects close to them
3. Flash light / artificial light – don’t be afraid to use them to boost the natural light or be the dominant light

So, using examples from the last few weeks – (i) flat lighting and a cluttered background meant shooting a couple on the running board of the car, subtle side lighting against the deep tones of the paintwork; (ii) at Knowlton Court intense sunshine meant looking from diffused cross lighting and rim light, some fill in from flash; (iii) at Winters Barn, Canterbury and Salmestone Grange – overcoming rain by showing some of the outdoor location under cover; using natural wrap around lighting from a window and white table cloths as giant reflectors; closing curtains to make light directional and also a zoomed speedlight to create shafts of light or accent light for shoes, flowers and veils. If you’re looking to become more consistent in your photography or would simply like some refresher training, do please get in touch.

Kent wedding photographers – what is reportage anyway?

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:41:05 +0000

There are numerous ways of describing wedding photography – contemporary, traditional, reportage etc. Reportage is sometimes used as shorthand for “relaxed” and “informal” or “documentary” with no intervention from the photographer. Where there is absolutely no intervention you are really looking at wedding photojournalism. For now I’m going to stick with reportage for a moment. Some photographers prefer to rely on capturing the moment only and there’s nothing wrong with that. But sometimes there needs to be a little nudge here and there to make something come together where it might not have done so and this is what I call “styled documentary”. This is a subtle difference but doesn’t rely on hoping that everything will just happen in front of you. More often than not it will be looking for where the light is and moving something or someone closer to it. It might involved tidying something up – from flowers, table decorations to where hands are placed. It might mean choosing a different background to avoid something out of place. It’s helping to tell the story but not writing it for you. If you would like to get in touch and look at some portfolios of this style of wedding photography it would be great to hear from you.

London wedding photographer – photography south and north of the River Thames

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:30:58 +0000

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A hot June day. A ceremony that began in Hackney, a lunch reception at Fredericks in Islington. Then some photography by St Paul’s, The Millennium Bridge, More London and the Blue Print Cafe near Butlers Wharf. The very dark church interiors were boosted with some cross-lighting whereas the outdoor locations were about working with the intense sunlight (as a backlight, a kicker, a rim light or using s bit of fill flash in the shadows).

Winters Barn ceremony – wedding photographers in Canterbury

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:23:25 +0000

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Winters Barn is located just outside south Canterbury and having only opened as a venue a few years ago, it has grown to become a much sought after location for weddings. The weather during the spring and early summer can be pretty much anything (except snow, but not ruling out hail stones) but for my last wedding there is was harsh sunlight for first half of the day and then a rapid fall off as the clouds came over. This means that when you’re shooting pictures you’re either working with or against the sun, and using the shade when necessary.

A spring wedding in Kent – photography at Fairseat near Wrotham, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:14:14 +0000

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The day after the Royal Wedding I was shooting a wedding in Fairseat not far from Sevenoaks & Tonbridge. It was a church ceremony followed by a reception at a private house with a marquee. The church in the village was a small one – creeping out through the tiny vestry after the first hymn to then shoot the vows from the back of the church. We took some pictures in the woods surrounding the house – very harsh sun but once in the shade this can create some nice back lighting!

Canterbury & Faversham – Harbledown church wedding and Shepherd Neame reception

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:12:55 +0000

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This was the first time that I had photographed at Shepherd Neame for a wedding and the staff there are really, really good. Have I stressed that enough?! They’re great. It was fun to climb up amongst some of the pipework in the brewing area to get some good angles. The light on the day was a mixture due to sunshine / showers – working quickly at the church to beat the rain and then working without flash for most of the day.

Pre-wedding shoot in Canterbury for Karen & Martin

Fri, 06 May 2011 08:43:40 +0000

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I can’t emphasise enough now enjoyable and important pre-wedding shoots are. They’re a great time to talk with couples about possible shots on the wedding day, get to know each other and identify blink rates, height differences and the faces the photographer pulls behind the camera! In the midst of a full-on wedding it’s great to be able to say calmly “remember when we did the shot of you sitting close in by the steps – let’s do that now”. It’s not to recreate what we shot on the pre-wedding shoot, but it’s a way of picking up from me some short-hand in terms of direction, pose and expression. It relaxes you as a bride and groom and gives you confidence. Engagement or pre-wedding photography is included as standard when you book me for a wedding in Kent or London – so why not get in touch about your wedding day?

Faversham weddings | couple’s pre-wedding shoot, Faversham Creek, Kent

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:36:48 +0000

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Great to spend an hour this morning with one of this year’s wedding couples for their pre-wedding photo shoot in Faversham, Kent. For technical info please see further down the post and if you’d like to come to the next Camera Skills Workshop on April 16th in Canterbury, you need to book now! http://cameraskills.eventbrite.com/

Shooting after 10am, the sun was climbing steadily and so the shadows were escaping fast. The first scene by the large warehouse doors near Creek Creative off Abbey Street required making our own shadows because the sun was behind the building. Light stands, radio triggers, both lights at full power and using their distance to set the ratios (it’s faster when you’re dodging the traffic because one of your stands is in the road!). ISO 100-200 and F4-F5.6 at at least 1/125th for the 24-105L, 1/250th for the 70-200L lens. UV filters off because I was shooting partially into the sun. The remaining scenes were without flash, looking for backlighting where possible and at 90 degrees to the prevailing light. If you’re interested in shooting urban street-based portraiture, please do get in touch for a training session.