I usually set a speedlight up in a couple different corners and set them on different channels to have some options;
Sometimes they get bounced, sometimes not... sometimes on low power, sometimes not.
Better question... How does the reception location light your shots
WOW... epic question, I know.
But what I mean is that if you are in a reception area that has orangy walls, red decorative lights, and dark carpet... What are your clients going to remember? They are going to remember it being dark! They are going to remember the colors and the lights that are already there. If you throw too many strobes into the picture, your photos are going to look like you blew a hole in the ceiling and let the sun in. I prefer to bump ISO, gel strobe (or strobes), lower the power of the flashes and let those Photons find me!
I'm with Tony, often times the reception lighting is non-existent, add in the stupid DJ multi-color disco balls and it just kills everything. Time to light yourself at that point. I've had a couple of out-door weddings with ambient only stemming from a couple of christmas light lines running overhead so it was VERY dark. Put some strobes in corners on separate channels and you're good to go. For the most part.
This was the ambient lighting, I had to add a strobe from camera left to help light up some of the details.
Luckily I was able to put them around the entire reception since there was a top balcony I had access too. Otherwise there was almost NO ambient to work with . Even at f/1.4, 1/50s at 3200 it was an extremely muddy shot.
Tony Hoffer wrote:
While this is the case sometimes, I find that some receptions just have horribly boring light. At that point, I consider it my job to make the light myself...
I'm with this noob ^^^ Boring light is boring so I make my own. I take a little of this, a little of that, mix well and serve.
I don't think anyone here is going to straight up tell you how to light. It is very personal and plays a lot into our personal style. I didn't figure out how to light receptions on my first wedding, nor my third. It was trial and error which got me to the meager point which I have so humbly arrived, and honestly, as great as everyone is here... I want to develop my own style and keep it as my own. You can call it a trade secret, or you can call it snobbery, but it is what separates us from the pack and is what keeps us one step ahead of the competition.
Mark
(Who just got back from his "day job" from a long road trip to chicago and instead of going to bed after 4 hours of sleep and a 784.9 mile long round trip in a day and a half has chosen to check the FM board)
MTBtrials wrote:
For all the "how do you..." crowd:
I don't think anyone here is going to straight up tell you how to light. It is very personal and plays a lot into our personal style. I didn't figure out how to light receptions on my first wedding, nor my third. It was trial and error which got me to the meager point which I have so humbly arrived, and honestly, as great as everyone is here... I want to develop my own style and keep it as my own. You can call it a trade secret, or you can call it snobbery, but it is what separates us from the pack and is what keeps us one step ahead of the competition.
Mark
(Who just got back from his "day job" from a long road trip to chicago and instead of going to bed after 4 hours of sleep and a 784.9 mile long round trip in a day and a half has chosen to check the FM board) ...Show more →
Mark,
I can appreciate where you're coming from but I, for one, don't mind at all reveling all my "secrets". If I can help someone learn, I'm happy to do so. I've learned from trial and error as well but I also learned at the heels of some very wonderful and talented people.
Competition is good for me. It helps to keep me on my game.
I don't know if it's good or bad, but I will position 2-3 strobes (1 or 2 with umbrellas, 1 bare) on stands in a triangular pattern around the dance floor when that's the area of interest. I will try to position the umbrellas in areas that allow me to get good shots with some of the more interesting background in the picture, without worrying about the umbrellas - therefore, I pick my umbrella positions based on the direction I will most likely face when I am shooting. The bare flash is often mostly or partly behind the subjects relative to my position.
I also do split lighting (one bare, one umbrella) in opposite directions for the same situation.
I may bring my "lightstick" (umbrella and flash on stand) for other types of shots - cake cutting, informal photos of the crowd.
I would like/prefer 13' stands - mine are only 9.5' and I often wish they were much taller.
