Nighttime Wedding Photos | Night Wedding Photos
Capturing Beautiful Images without flash
Photographer Robert Knapp
Nighttime Wedding Photos | Night Wedding Photos
Capturing Beautiful Images without flash
Photographer Robert Knapp
Learn how to make your night wedding pictures stand out with these professional tricks for shooting stunning photos in low light situations.
Capturing a night wedding by taking photos in low light can be a challenge, but it is possible to achieve beautiful results with the right tricks and techniques. Discover how to make your night wedding pictures stand out and have that dreamy look with these professional tips.
Capturing a night wedding by taking photos in low light can be a challenge, but it is possible to achieve beautiful results with the right tricks and techniques. Discover how to make your night wedding pictures stand out and have that dreamy look with these professional tips.
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment With Camera Settings.
Experimenting with your camera settings is a great way to help you achieve night wedding photography success. With digital cameras, you can take multiple shots of the same subject or scene and have a greater flexibility in the results you can produce. Spend some time testing out different shutter speeds, ISO values and aperture combinations to find what works best for the scenes and subjects you are working with. With a proper light meter you can get a reading for the light you have and know all the proper light settings for your given situation. From there you can easily select the setting that gives the depth of field you prefer to keep for the scene.
Experimenting with your camera settings is a great way to help you achieve night wedding photography success. With digital cameras, you can take multiple shots of the same subject or scene and have a greater flexibility in the results you can produce. Spend some time testing out different shutter speeds, ISO values and aperture combinations to find what works best for the scenes and subjects you are working with. With a proper light meter you can get a reading for the light you have and know all the proper light settings for your given situation. From there you can easily select the setting that gives the depth of field you prefer to keep for the scene.
Take Advantage of Natural Light Sources When Possible for nighttime wedding photos.
Different sources of natural light can be great tools when shooting night wedding photography. If possible, take advantage of the moon, street lights and other light sources nearby like candles on tables or the lights from the DJ. When shooting in extreme low light settings use longer shutter speeds to capture the ambiance and feel of a night wedding. With a longer exposure time you can capture multiple light sources and blur any motion from guests or wind.
In the extremely dark settings auto-focus will not function. You will need to shoot with the greatest possible depth of field for your lens. If you are photographing a person you can take the long exposure and freeze the subject into the frame with a single flash burst.
Most city settings for night wedding photography will offer plenty of ambient light. You can usually shoot with a high iso and have a grainy night photo or if you like to bump your quality significantly you can add a tripod and keep your iso at 100 and increase your shutter time to 30 seconds or so. Stop and you should have very little grain.
Most night time wedding photography outside the city will offer very little man made ambient light. Tripod and a shutter release cable to reduce camera shake are going to be very important. This is great for stars and capturing the scene but people do not like to stand for a three minute shutter. I suggest popping the flash at the begging of the exposure and letting them stand in place.
Different sources of natural light can be great tools when shooting night wedding photography. If possible, take advantage of the moon, street lights and other light sources nearby like candles on tables or the lights from the DJ. When shooting in extreme low light settings use longer shutter speeds to capture the ambiance and feel of a night wedding. With a longer exposure time you can capture multiple light sources and blur any motion from guests or wind.
In the extremely dark settings auto-focus will not function. You will need to shoot with the greatest possible depth of field for your lens. If you are photographing a person you can take the long exposure and freeze the subject into the frame with a single flash burst.
Most city settings for night wedding photography will offer plenty of ambient light. You can usually shoot with a high iso and have a grainy night photo or if you like to bump your quality significantly you can add a tripod and keep your iso at 100 and increase your shutter time to 30 seconds or so. Stop and you should have very little grain.
Most night time wedding photography outside the city will offer very little man made ambient light. Tripod and a shutter release cable to reduce camera shake are going to be very important. This is great for stars and capturing the scene but people do not like to stand for a three minute shutter. I suggest popping the flash at the begging of the exposure and letting them stand in place.
Nighttime Wedding Photos | Night Wedding Photos, Secrets to Capturing Beautiful Images
Capture and Utilize Some Shadows for Depth in Your Pictures.
Don’t forget to pay close attention to the way that shadows and light play off each other in the setting of your night wedding photos. Using shadows can add intrigue to your photos and create greater depth. Use them to draw attention to expressive features of your subject, like someone’s face or hands in a portrait shot for example. Highlight how the shadows define your subject's features and embrace the interplay of darkness and light in order give your photos an added element of emotion.
Don’t forget to pay close attention to the way that shadows and light play off each other in the setting of your night wedding photos. Using shadows can add intrigue to your photos and create greater depth. Use them to draw attention to expressive features of your subject, like someone’s face or hands in a portrait shot for example. Highlight how the shadows define your subject's features and embrace the interplay of darkness and light in order give your photos an added element of emotion.
Set up Lighting and Use a Flash.
Lighting is key for night wedding photography, especially when you’re shooting indoors. Set up lighting with your flash or other lights to give your subjects direction and depth. You can also use bounce cards to reflect some of the light up onto certain areas in need of brighter exposure. Depending on the look you want to achieve, you can use lower light levels for a softer mood or add more intensity with brighter lighting. A bit of trial and error will help you find the most complementary lighting for your photos.
Lighting is key for night wedding photography, especially when you’re shooting indoors. Set up lighting with your flash or other lights to give your subjects direction and depth. You can also use bounce cards to reflect some of the light up onto certain areas in need of brighter exposure. Depending on the look you want to achieve, you can use lower light levels for a softer mood or add more intensity with brighter lighting. A bit of trial and error will help you find the most complementary lighting for your photos.
Invest in Quality Gear.
A good camera and lenses will greatly improve your night wedding photography. Invest in quality equipment to ensure the best photos possible. Look for cameras that are designed for low light photography, and lenses with fast apertures. Additionally, you can use speedlights to capture crisp lighting effects in dimly lit weddings or invest in external flashes with high output levels of illumination. Consider renting additional gear or investing in higher quality if necessary.
A good camera and lenses will greatly improve your night wedding photography. Invest in quality equipment to ensure the best photos possible. Look for cameras that are designed for low light photography, and lenses with fast apertures. Additionally, you can use speedlights to capture crisp lighting effects in dimly lit weddings or invest in external flashes with high output levels of illumination. Consider renting additional gear or investing in higher quality if necessary.
Step by Step,
How to take Nighttime Wedding Photos or Night Wedding Photos.
Prepare your client. Night wedding photos take time to expose. Nighttime wedding photos yield fewer results but they raise the caliber of the collection of wedding photography you offer your client. If your client wants nighttime photos they will need a bit more patience with you while you make your magic happen. Communication with your clients about the amount of time for this part of your shoot is important. Most of the wedding photography should fly by. Night wedding photos will take time.
How to take Nighttime Wedding Photos or Night Wedding Photos.
Prepare your client. Night wedding photos take time to expose. Nighttime wedding photos yield fewer results but they raise the caliber of the collection of wedding photography you offer your client. If your client wants nighttime photos they will need a bit more patience with you while you make your magic happen. Communication with your clients about the amount of time for this part of your shoot is important. Most of the wedding photography should fly by. Night wedding photos will take time.
Select your background. It's beautiful. You found it. The perfect location for your nighttime wedding photo. It has just the thing that will make your night wedding photos stand out. Listen to your heart when you are making your work. Just like always. Listen to your client! If you collaborate with your clients while creating your work you might make something together that you could never have imagined on your own. In a city full of artists It can only help to listen and work as a team creating your nighttime wedding photos.
Camera,
Your camera should allow for a tripod mount and a wireless shutter release. Long exposures get blurry if you touch the shutter release button. In a pinch the timer setting will work great. This will add precious seconds to each exposure. When working with clients those seconds will add up to photos lost or time away from your event.
With some of the better new cameras the iso film settings allow for nighttime wedding photography with out flash. The newest cameras offer a little grain but really excellent results. Sometimes a bit of grain is a better trade than setting up all this gear for the really high quality night wedding photos.
Shutter lock up? Not an issue with the new mirrorless cameras. DSLR users might go for this option to assist with camera shake.
Your camera should allow for a tripod mount and a wireless shutter release. Long exposures get blurry if you touch the shutter release button. In a pinch the timer setting will work great. This will add precious seconds to each exposure. When working with clients those seconds will add up to photos lost or time away from your event.
With some of the better new cameras the iso film settings allow for nighttime wedding photography with out flash. The newest cameras offer a little grain but really excellent results. Sometimes a bit of grain is a better trade than setting up all this gear for the really high quality night wedding photos.
Shutter lock up? Not an issue with the new mirrorless cameras. DSLR users might go for this option to assist with camera shake.
Tripod
Long exposure will require a tripod to keep blur and camera shake away. The tripod is not foolproof. You need to set a timer on the camera, use a wired or wireless remote shutter release set up your tripod so that it is stable. Use the weight hook supplied to hang your camera bag. An inexpensive tripod is great. A light tripod is even better.
Long exposure will require a tripod to keep blur and camera shake away. The tripod is not foolproof. You need to set a timer on the camera, use a wired or wireless remote shutter release set up your tripod so that it is stable. Use the weight hook supplied to hang your camera bag. An inexpensive tripod is great. A light tripod is even better.
Wireless Shutter Release,
Probably the most important piece if you are going to use the tripod. Click the camera as fast as you like with out any camera shake.
Probably the most important piece if you are going to use the tripod. Click the camera as fast as you like with out any camera shake.
Handheld Light Meter,
These little guys are very helpful. As an artist I am a visual learner. Seeing all my available light settings mapped out on a screen lets me keep my mind on what is most important, my clients. I can quickly take a light reading and know the proper exposure for all of my available f-stops.
These little guys are very helpful. As an artist I am a visual learner. Seeing all my available light settings mapped out on a screen lets me keep my mind on what is most important, my clients. I can quickly take a light reading and know the proper exposure for all of my available f-stops.
Lenses,
The lowest possible f-stop to 0.00 is going to give the quickest possible night wedding photos. This is great when you have little time and some ambient light. You can probably even skip the tripod and raise the ISO and click like it's daytime! The drawback to speed is grain to your image.
The highest possible f-stop is going to give the best possible amount of depth of field in focus and least amount of grain. This is best when you want to really show off the detail in your setting. The drawback to this setting will be the amount of time to take the photo. Between 3-20 minutes can be expected.
The lowest possible f-stop to 0.00 is going to give the quickest possible night wedding photos. This is great when you have little time and some ambient light. You can probably even skip the tripod and raise the ISO and click like it's daytime! The drawback to speed is grain to your image.
The highest possible f-stop is going to give the best possible amount of depth of field in focus and least amount of grain. This is best when you want to really show off the detail in your setting. The drawback to this setting will be the amount of time to take the photo. Between 3-20 minutes can be expected.
Flash,
When necessary, Speedlights are very helpful to properly light your subject. Make sure to set your light settings for your scene and your TTL setting on your speedlights will do the math for your proper exposure. This give you more time for what is most important, working with your clients. I will not go into great detail on all your available lighting options and functions.
Briefly one flash on camera as your commanding light source is good practice. Two off camera speedlights at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock are a great place to start. Move your light sources and add more lights from behind if necessary.
With extra long light settings and portraits of people the flash will freeze the face at the fraction of a second of the light burst. Meaning, no blur in the face. People have a hard time standing perfectly still for anything longer than 1/10th of a second. We breathe, we balance ourselves.
When necessary, Speedlights are very helpful to properly light your subject. Make sure to set your light settings for your scene and your TTL setting on your speedlights will do the math for your proper exposure. This give you more time for what is most important, working with your clients. I will not go into great detail on all your available lighting options and functions.
Briefly one flash on camera as your commanding light source is good practice. Two off camera speedlights at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock are a great place to start. Move your light sources and add more lights from behind if necessary.
With extra long light settings and portraits of people the flash will freeze the face at the fraction of a second of the light burst. Meaning, no blur in the face. People have a hard time standing perfectly still for anything longer than 1/10th of a second. We breathe, we balance ourselves.
Have fun with your nighttime wedding photos!
Take your work seriously and remember why everyone is there, to have a great time.
