The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

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ecommended unless your only concern in the image is highlight detail. Most seasoned photographers have come to instantly recognize the subtle differences between lighting ratios. For instance, a photographer might recognize that with a given width of face, a 2:1 ratio does not provide enough dimension and a 4:1 ratio is too dramatic, thus he or she would strive for a 3:1 ratio. The differences between ratios are easy to observe with practice, as are the differences between fractional ratios like 3.5:1 or 4.5:1, which are reproduced by reducing or increasing the fill light amount in quarter-stop increments. STUDIO LIGHTING ON LOCATION One of the great advantages of working in a studio, as opposed to working on location, is that you can adjust the ambient light level of the studio to a low level, thus mak- ing the studio lighting stand out. On location, you must deal with the existing ambient light, which occurs at different levels than you would prescribe for the studio. For example, imagine a courtyard where the main light is diffused daylight coming in through an archway or doorway. Your ambient fill level would be very low, because there are no auxiliary light sources nearby. Unless your goal was to produce high-contrast lighting (not that great for brides), you would need to raise the level of the ambient or fill light. This might be accomplished locally (i.e., on the subject via a silver reflector), or it might be accomplished more universally by raising the overall interior light level by using ceiling-bounce strobes. This solution would allow you to shoot in a number of locations in the area, not just the one closest to the arch. The point of the example is that you must be able to react to the lighting situation with the tools at your disposal. Beautiful soft side lighting was used by Charles Maring to create this lovely bridal formal. The light required no fill and even wrapped around the bride’s nose to illuminate the shadow side of her face. The wedding photographer must not only be skilled at creating lighting, he or she must be equally skilled at finding good light. STUDIO LIGHTING 67
7. OUTDOOR AND MIXED LIGHTING Weddings are photographed in almost every kind of light you can imagine—open shade, bright sun, dusk, dim room light, and every combination in between. Savvy wedding photographers must feel at home in all these different situations and know how to get great pictures in them. Their ability to work with outdoor lighting is really what separates the good wedding photographers from the great ones. Learning to control, predict and alter these various types of light will 68 THE BEST OF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY allow the photographer to create great wedding pictures all day long. AVAILABLE LIGHT There are many occasions when the available light cannot really be improved. Such situations might arise from window light or open shade or sometimes the incandescent light found in a room. It is a matter of seeing light that is important. Learn to evaluate light levels as well as lighting patterns, both inside and out. The better you can see light, the more advanced and refined your photographs will be. Direct Sunlight. Sometimes you are forced to photograph wedding groups in bright sunlight. While this is not the best scenario, it is still possible to get good results. Begin by turning your group so the direct sunlight is backlighting or rim lighting them. This negates the harshness of the light and prevents your subjects from squinting. Of course, you need to fill in the backlight with strobe or reflectors and be careful not to underexpose. It is best to give your exposure another 1/3 to 1/2 stop of exposure in backlit portraits in order to “open up” the skin tones. Don’t necessarily trust your in-camera meter in backlit situations. It will read the John Poppleton likes to photograph his brides in architecturally challenged areas. Here, a beautiful blond bride is lit with direct sunlight coming through a hole in the roof of a dilapidated warehouse. Notice that where the full strength of the sun falls behind the bride a hot spot is formed that is roughly three to four stops greater than the base exposure. The effect is not dissimilar to feathering a light source to take advantage of the more functional edge of the light, as opposed to its core.
Page 1:
WEDDING The Best of PHOTOGRAPHY Amh
Page 4 and 5:
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . .
Page 6 and 7:
T his is the third edition of The B
Page 8 and 9:
1. THE EVOLUTION OF WEDDING PHOTOGR
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WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALISM: A MODIFIED
Page 13 and 14:
things happen spontaneously and use
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2. THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER’S MIN
Page 19 and 20: Joe Buissink has been known to work
Page 21 and 22: ABOVE—The photographer must be al
Page 23 and 24: LEFT—Greg Gibson has a finely hon
Page 25 and 26: Michael Schuhmann created this wond
Page 27 and 28: The slower the film speed or digita
Page 29 and 30: of four or five areas of the viewfi
Page 31 and 32: 30 THE BEST OF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Page 33 and 34: ity or file size, it does affect le
Page 35 and 36: From outside the reception, Jerry D
Page 37 and 38: flash. Falloff is less than with ot
Page 39 and 40: 4. CAMERA TECHNIQUE Whether you’v
Page 41 and 42: TOP—J.B. Sallee used a 70mm lens
Page 43 and 44: TOP—With a 17mm lens on his D1X,
Page 45 and 46: LEFT—A tricky exposure situation
Page 47 and 48: Since most wedding photographers op
Page 49 and 50: This is a beautiful pose created by
Page 51 and 52: LEFT—Marcus Bell created this han
Page 53 and 54: Tom Muñoz has a great deal of resp
Page 55 and 56: LEFT—There is something special a
Page 57 and 58: form the pattern. They are used to
Page 59 and 60: Marcus Bell is brilliant at posing
Page 61 and 62: On location, sometimes you can find
Page 63: LEFT—The natural lighting pattern
Page 66 and 67: from the camera lens. It is a drama
Page 70: Backlighting with direct sunlight c
Page 73 and 74: TOP—David Worthington created thi
Page 75: ABOVE—Melanie Nashan captured the
Page 79 and 80: Metering and Exposure. Here is how
Page 81 and 82: Al Gordon is a virtuoso of flash fi
Page 83 and 84: the light, you’ll find that it is
Page 85 and 86: BUILD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP Alisha an
Page 87: his best man. Bridesmaids will arri
Page 90 and 91: As part of the wedding photography,
Page 93 and 94: LEFT—Working as a pair or trio of
Page 95 and 96: What couple would not be thrilled w
Page 97 and 98: LEFT—Joe Photo always makes it a
Page 99 and 100: 10. HELPFUL TIPS The following is a
Page 102 and 103: THE BOUQUET Make sure a large bouqu
Page 105 and 106: REMEMBERING NAMES Photographer Fran
Page 107 and 108: 11. PROOFING AND PRINTING T here ar
Page 109 and 110: ABOVE—Very few truly romantic ima
Page 111 and 112: Learning to recognize shapes as pag
Page 113 and 114: Three very simple images and a bold
Page 115 and 116: album-page layouts in Photoshop. Th
Page 117 and 118: Dream a Little. With digital, we ha
Page 119 and 120:
David Williams brings sophisticatio
Page 121 and 122:
THE PHOTOGRAPHERS T o illustrate th
Page 123 and 124:
Charles and Jennifer Maring—Charl
Page 125 and 126:
INDEX A Albums, 109-18 design princ
Page 127 and 128:
Also by Bill Hurter . . . OTHER BOO
Page 129:
Joe Buissink Ron Capobianco Anthony
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