Lighting is such an important factor to photography – it sets the mood and tone of the photo. Because we live in a climate where we have such a variety of weather, the lighting often changes with it – every type of light will create a different tone for your image. This also includes artificial light sources like candles, string lights etc. Any light in the scene will have an impact on the photo in some way.
Bright Sunny Days
Bright sunny days can be a bit of a challenge to shoot it sometimes. It can create harsh shadows, and make people squint. There is a way to work around harsh light though – and for wedding photography, you should be prepared for anything. In harsh light situations, we move the couple so that they are facing away from the light source, or we will find a shaded area with a bit of light leaking through. Even though it can be a challenge sometimes, we do love the bright, happy mood it creates.
Overcast Days
Even though you might think that’s it’s a crappy day out for photos, overcast is actually perfect for photos. The light is really diffused so we can work in almost any direction without worrying about shadows and squinting faces. Overcast photos generally create a bit more of a moody tone to the photos.
Golden Hour
Golden hour is the moment before the sunset. It does exactly what it sounds like, it creates a golden type of light. This light creates a soft and romantic vibe in your photos. It can be a little tricky to shoot in as you are forced in a certain direction, and it’s easy to miss focus if you shoot towards the sun. The best way to handle golden light is to have your couple stand just off of the sun so you’re not shooting directly towards it and that way you still maintain that golden look.
Bright Windows
Big bright windows can be a bit of a challenge in certain situations since it creates almost a silhouette effect. If you expose for the background, your subject will be in shadows, if you expose for the subject the background will be completely blown out. When we come across a situation like this we generally will fix it with fill flash. In the photo below the light was extremely bright in the background and the room was very dim, so to correct this we bounced our flash off the ceiling to create a more balanced image. Be careful with your settings, and never point your flash directly at the subject otherwise you’ll get really harsh light.
Artificial Light
When you add artificial lights, like candles and string lights, to a wedding it can help create a certain mood. The best way to deal with artificial light is to play with depth of field with lights, it usually creates a nice bokeh. Adding lights to your wedding also helps your photographer – light is photography.
Those pictures Are amazing. They really reflect The magic of The moment.
Thanks so much Diana 🙂