A Guide to Understanding Lighting on Your Wedding Day.
Our overcast wedding shot by Black Coffee Photo Co. Spoiler the tent did not impale anyone at our wedding.
Trevor and I got married on June 10th 2019 around 4:00 in the afternoon. It was bright and sunny and we stood under a very large oak tree that we would later cut wood from to put in Trevor’s wedding ring. It was a quick ceremony and it was hellishly hot, I couldn’t tell at the end if I was sweating off my makeup or if I had cried it off. The day of our actual wedding it was windy, tremendously windy, with the first glimpse of sun we had had in a little while that autumn. It was October 17th 2020 and the heat had just started to break so it was cool enough for a sweater in the morning and in the evening. I was nervous all day that the aggressive wind would uproot our pole tent in my parents front yard and that the sunlight was going to be so bright it would bounce off of the white of my dress and blind people. As a photographer I knew that having our ceremony location where we did that the lighting was trash no matter what, so I decided to not care and simply be excited about finally having a wedding. Since we had said “I do” originally in that spot Trevor and I liked the continuity of having it there again, kind of full circle. Plus that is where our friends had literally bolted our arbor into the ground so our options were few and far between. I had anxious thoughts right before walking down the isle that the tent would break loose, sail through the air and impale one of our wedding guests and we would be all over the news. But a few moments before our ceremony began, an unexpected environmental event I attribute to my dad, the wind calmed down and clouds covered the sun.
As a bride with two weddings under her belt I had to think a lot about lighting and as a photographer who has shot almost 100 weddings in my short career I have thought even more about lighting. Here is everything I would tell you after planning my own and helping to plan many others.
Before we get started, here is a crash course on what photographers consider ideal lighting situations
Sunset photos with visible sunset light
Blue hour or dusk photos
Sunset or sunrise lighting. The first two hours and the last two hours of light for the day are often times the best because the sun is low in the horizon placing itself behind our subjects. This means no harsh facial shadows and a natural warming effect for skin tones. The last ten minutes of visible light or Blue Hour is also an amazing time to take photos, so don’t discount photo opportunities once the sun has set.
Consistent shade for harsh lighting scenarios. We are looking for something that eliminates direct lighting all together so we can work at that time of the day.
An indoor location that ideally has a white ceiling or light from a window or door that we can use for portraits.
Things to remember on your wedding day.
1.) First and foremost take a deep breath with me. No matter what the weather or lighting does on your wedding day, every wedding I shoot ends in a marriage. And that is the REAL goal right? Worrying about things you can’t change will take away from enjoying the real purpose of your wedding day so please try and remember that your team of professionals will do everything they can to make all the situations work.
2.) Think about how your timeline interacts with sunset. The time that I love to do couples portraits would be the last 30 minutes of sunset and into blue hour which is an additional 10 minutes of ambient lighting that is commonly known as dusk. That is where you get the dramatic sun-flares, the natural warmth, and truth be told a quiet breath of fresh air before you go back in and enjoy your guests. So if you are planning a summer wedding contemplate leaving yourself enough time during cocktail hour so it lines up with your sunset time to do couples portraits, or perhaps more common, carve out some time after the reception begins that we can sneak away to do some portrait work. If you are planning a winter wedding, consider having a candlelit or romantic ceremony with all formal portraiture before hand.
3.) Doing a first look can really affect the opportunities you have for portraits with your significant other. Say for instance you are having a February wedding, with no first look, with a ceremony start time of 5:00pm. This means that there will no natural light left outside after the ceremony has completed to do portraits with your significant other. Conversely think about all the opportunities that we have to get photos of you guys together if you do plan a first look! If you do a first look at 2:00 with a ceremony start time of 5:00 and a sunset of 7:30 we can get first look photos that are a bit brighter earlier in the day and then finish the couple portraiture with romantic sunset photos later in the evening. This point really is an opportunity to think about priorities. If good solid photos together are your priority than it may mean sacrificing the first look being down the aisle. If seeing one another for the first time during the ceremony is the priority then it may mean sacrificing some portrait time with your person. Both are fine, but those are unfortunately decisions that have to be made between you and your partner and I can’t make that call for you but I can and will support whatever call you make.
Madison and Adrian had a winter ceremony, so they opted to do all of their portraits before the ceremony! Their ceremony was after the sun had set with lots of twinkle lights and a very large crystal chandelier.
4.) When selecting your venue use your compass on your iPhone to see where the sunset will be. In our case, Trevor and I knew that we would be BATHED in direct sunlight because our ceremony location faced the east with very little obstruction, but we were okay with that. Sometimes direct lighting can be very very neat. But the last thing we want is for it to be a surprise when on your wedding day, your ceremony location directly faces the west and your guests need their sunglasses on. If you have control over your location spot, then first consider your sunset time. Then consider any shade that might affect it, the more shade the more options we have as photographers, and maybe consider doing indirect lighting. Letting it come from an angle rather than right on the ceremony or right at the ceremony.
5.) Backlit ceremonies are some of the most difficult ceremonies that we photograph. In that instance we are competing with a very powerful source of light and it can be harder to work with. If you love the look of it for your guests that is completely fine but consider leaving an aisle open on either side of your ceremony for photographers to use to get cross angles. If we are able to get behind the bridal party or close to them at all we will catch some BEAUTIFUL shots of your faces because you will then be illuminated by the natural light source.
These lovely ladies are facing the large bay of windows at their venue rather than standing in front of them and I mean come on. So beautiful.
Darci and Matt needed to do portraits during a very heavily lit part of the day. So we hung out behind this gorgeous group of trees and were able to create some magic.
6.) Also be on the look out for locations you like for portraits when visiting and think of sunset vs. mid day lighting when looking at them. For midday we are looking for anything that will be in a consistent shadow. Think the overhang on a covered porch, the side of a building that is opposite the sun, or large vegetation that will block lighting. Usually we use these for first looks and the beginning of formal portraiture. If it is going to be too cold or inclement weather think of indoor locations and how the lighting will affect them as well. I personally do not prefer backlit ceremonies or photos, but if you flip the portrait so that the subjects are facing a source of light like a window, they are very very technically sound and beautiful portraits which is the goal.
7.) Clouds can be your friend. Rain is always said to be good luck but light consistent cloud coverage is also a dream come true. This means that we can do photos during lighting times that would be less than ideal normally and not have to rely on things to obstruct the harsh lighting.
Clouds didn’t stop this couple from being hot as hell
8.) It is very hard to make something look like its not. Indoor portraits taken with a flash are just never going to look the way that natural light sunset portraits will. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. Indoor portraits can be dramatic and beautiful in their own right, but it is just not possible to make them look like they took place at a different time under different lighting circumstances.
9.) One final note on artificial lighting. If your venue or DJ has a spot light designed for first dances, think about making it back lighting as if you are performing on stage at a concert. Having lighting come directly from above can be dramatic and beautiful for a few frames but does not offer as many lighting options to work from. Having back lighting means we can get dramatic back lit photos but then flip it by changing positions and getting very well lit and technically sound photos.
I will add to this piece if I think of anything else but just remember that its your wedding day and as long as we are focused on the wedding and getting you hitched to your person, it will all be okay!
