Receptions are so much fun -- I love the challenge of capturing the atmosphere and movement inherent in them. There is one simple and fun technique I've found that allows me to do this well and it involves using flash and slow shutter speed.
When photographing receptions, if my flash is the only light hitting the subject (if the house lights are low or off), I like to slow my shutter speed down to 1/15 or 1/30 in order to increase the exposure of ambient light from any background or constant lights in my composition. But you can also use this technique of dragging your shutter to create a sense of motion in your images.
In the photo above, the bright light you see is my off-camera flash, but you can also create motion in the background of your images when using only one on-camera flash. To do so, simply move your camera slightly while using a slow shutter speed and flash. You can move it in a side-to-side manner, or spin it slightly -- it doesn't take a whole lot of movement, and there is no right or wrong way to do this, so just have fun and experiment! The subject will be frozen but the background will blur slightly. (But remember this ONLY works if your flash is the main light hitting the subject. If the house lights are up or there is a spotlight on them, there will be ghosting or blurring with your subject, not just the background.) My settings for the above photo were: ISO 1000, f4.0 1/15 sec.
Here's a couple other examples with my camera settings for each:
When photographing receptions, if my flash is the only light hitting the subject (if the house lights are low or off), I like to slow my shutter speed down to 1/15 or 1/30 in order to increase the exposure of ambient light from any background or constant lights in my composition. But you can also use this technique of dragging your shutter to create a sense of motion in your images.
In the photo above, the bright light you see is my off-camera flash, but you can also create motion in the background of your images when using only one on-camera flash. To do so, simply move your camera slightly while using a slow shutter speed and flash. You can move it in a side-to-side manner, or spin it slightly -- it doesn't take a whole lot of movement, and there is no right or wrong way to do this, so just have fun and experiment! The subject will be frozen but the background will blur slightly. (But remember this ONLY works if your flash is the main light hitting the subject. If the house lights are up or there is a spotlight on them, there will be ghosting or blurring with your subject, not just the background.) My settings for the above photo were: ISO 1000, f4.0 1/15 sec.
Here's a couple other examples with my camera settings for each:
ISO 100 f2.8 1/15 sec.
ISO 100 f2.8 1/15 sec.
This technique is really ideal for receptions because it captures the energy and celebratory atmosphere inherent to them. So at your next wedding, get out there and have fun experimenting with dragging your shutter and moving your camera to create motion! Crank your shutter speed down to both increase ambient light in your reception shots as well as to play with the effects of motion in your images. Just remember that if the room lights go up or another light hits your subject, your flash will no longer freeze the motion and you'll need to bring your shutter speed back up.
If you found this post helpful, and are interested in learning more, click here to opt-in for my free video series -- 6 Hacks to Eliminate Boring Low-Light Photos and Get You Creating Reception Images you LOVE! In it I share my best 6 tips for shooting with flash. If you are intimidated by flash and wanting to conquer it once and for all, this is a great place to start!
This technique is really ideal for receptions because it captures the energy and celebratory atmosphere inherent to them. So at your next wedding, get out there and have fun experimenting with dragging your shutter and moving your camera to create motion! Crank your shutter speed down to both increase ambient light in your reception shots as well as to play with the effects of motion in your images. Just remember that if the room lights go up or another light hits your subject, your flash will no longer freeze the motion and you'll need to bring your shutter speed back up.
If you found this post helpful, and are interested in learning more, click here to opt-in for my free video series -- 6 Hacks to Eliminate Boring Low-Light Photos and Get You Creating Reception Images you LOVE! In it I share my best 6 tips for shooting with flash. If you are intimidated by flash and wanting to conquer it once and for all, this is a great place to start!
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Equipment used for above photos:
Canon 5D Mark III // Canon 50mm 1.2 lens // Canon 24mm 1.4 lens // Canon 70-200 2.8 lens // 2 Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites // MagMod Bounce // 2 Battery Packs // Light Stand with umbrella bracket and cold shoe
Equipment used for above photos:
Canon 5D Mark III // Canon 50mm 1.2 lens // Canon 24mm 1.4 lens // Canon 70-200 2.8 lens // 2 Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites // MagMod Bounce // 2 Battery Packs // Light Stand with umbrella bracket and cold shoe
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