The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

half of the group that is farthest away. He feathers both
lights so they don’t overlight the middle of the group. This
technique allows you to create big wide groups—even use
wide-angle lenses—and still attain elegant lighting.
AREA LIGHTING
Umbrellas. Often, you will need to light an area, such as
the dance floor or dais at a reception. Stationary umbrellas
that are “slaved” to your camera or on-camera flash are
the ideal way to accomplish even lighting over a large area.
It is important to securely tape all
cords and stands to the floor in as inconspicuous
a manner as possible to
prevent anyone from tripping over
them. Once positioned, you can adjust
the umbrellas so that you get even illumination
across the area. To do that,
focus the umbrellas.
Umbrellas fit inside a tubular housing
inside most studio electronic flash
units. The umbrella slides toward and
away from the flash head, and is anchored
with a set-screw or similar device.
The reason the umbrella-tolight-source
distance is variable is because
there is a set distance at which
the full amount of strobe light hits the
full surface of the umbrella, depending
on the diameter of the umbrella and
type of reflector housing used on the
flash head. This is the optimal setting.
If the umbrella is too close to the
strobe, much of the beam of light is focused
in the center portion of the um-
One might think this is a studio portrait, but
it was created on location at the wedding by
Charles Maring using a Nikon D1X and
85mm f/1.4 lens. His exposure, in the subdued
window light, was 1/40 second at f/1.4. Using a
wide-open aperture like this on very fast lenses
produces a razor-thin band of focus—in this
case, the bride’s eyes and lips and part of the
veil. Even her nose is not fully in focus. The effect
is soft and dreamy. The lighting is expertly
handled to provide a studio type of loop lighting,
a popular portrait lighting. The veil provided
a natural fill in on the bride’s face.
brella, producing light with a “hot-spot” center. If the
strobe is too far away from the umbrella surface, the beam
of light is focused past the umbrella surface, wasting a
good amount of light. When setting up, use the modeling
light of the strobe to focus the distance correctly so the
outer edges of the light core strike the outer edges of the
umbrella for maximum output.
Umbrellas also need to be “feathered” to maximize the
coverage of the umbrella’s beam of light. If you aim a light
source directly at the area you want illuminated then meter
OUTDOOR AND MIXED LIGHTING 81