With the right lighting, you can capture stunning wedding photos and videos, worry-free, every time.
For various obvious reasons, weddings pose one of the toughest assignments a photographer/videographer will ever face. Stress can build throughout the day and emotions can become increasingly heightened on both sides of the lens in short order.
Some factors are simply beyond your control, but lighting is the one realm over which you can execute complete mastery, stay calm, cool and collected, and always save the day.
LED lighting
LED lighting is a no brainer for wedding videos, but they also come in very handy – in lieu of strobes – when shooting stills too. Today’s LEDs pack a lot of punch into a very small package, making them easy to transport and carry around on wedding day.
Continuous light eliminates the startling pop and annoying flicker of a flash and requires no recycle time. A continuous light source lets you shoot in the kind of low-light settings that weddings often present, but without the need for additional flashes.
The ability to control an LED’s colour temperature offers additional advantages when shooting both stills and video, creating a more natural look and matching the ambient lighting conditions of most given situations.
And, of course, they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from on-camera hot-shoe LEDs like the Rotolight NEO 3 to the Nanlite Forza 60B II spotlight and the larger LumiPad 25 bi-colour slim soft light LED panel, giving you unparalleled flexibility to meet every challenge on wedding day.
On- and off-camera flash
While you can count on the abovementioned LED solutions to deliver continuous and consistent light, a flash might be the better choice when you want to inject a bit of drama into your shot or create a greater sense of depth for everything from close-up details – think wedding rings and floral bouquets – to portraits and group shots.
Regardless of your distance from the subject, you can set the off-camera flash at 45-degree angle for consistently reliable results.
Popular on-camera models like the Godox V1 are available for most of the big camera brands and can also function off camera when used in tandem with the wireless trigger (sold separately). The round head delivers a soft even light, and it can be angled both forward and backward to create your desired effect.
If you think certain scenes of your wedding shoot are going to require greater intensity, the latest on-camera model from Godox – the V100 – delivers an unprecedented 100Ws power at maximum output within similarly compact, lightweight proportions.
Natural light
Never underestimate the power of natural light and its ability to imbue your wedding shots, both photo and video, with a warm, romantic look.
If you have the luxury of shooting during the so-called golden hour, you’ll be able to get even more flattering shots of your subjects. Correctly positioned, you can harness natural backlighting to create an ethereal look to match the mood of the occasion.
However, it’s not cheating to employ diffusers and reflectors to enhance the effects of natural light. In fact, these are indispensable tools of the trade. You can use them to redirect natural light to soften shadows and highlight facial features, as well as bounce artificial light produced by a flash to similar effect.
These combinations can also be put to good use indoors to overpower unflattering ambient light.
The Westcott 5-in1 reflector is a perennial favourite and solid choice for its versatility when shooting everything from portraits to small groups. You can use it to block or diffuse harsh sunlight, add warm tones and contrast, fill neutral shadows with colour and more. It collapses down to a third of its open size and fits snugly into the included travel case to protect it when you’re on the move before, during and after the big day.
