Today I'm going to be sharing a quick tip on using existing light sources to enhance your reception photography. Even if you're not using off-camera flash, you can sometimes get a similar effect by incorporating other light sources into the composition of your images.
One often readily available light source is the light from a videographer's camera. Both the above photo and the next photo include the videographer in the background of the shot. I don't have all of my camera settings for the images in this post, but the top photo was taken with these settings: ISO 500 f2.8 1/100 sec. It's important to remember that when other lights are hitting your subject, you can't use the technique I talked about here of dragging your shutter. If you do, your subject will also be blurry. So set your shutter speed at 1/100 or faster. You WILL want to make sure your flash compensation is up at least 2/3 or one full stop to make sure your on-camera flash is putting out enough light since your camera will be taking the other light source into consideration for it's exposure.
Other than these considerations, the only other thing to focus on is positioning yourself in a way that incorporates the existing light as a backlight to the subject you are photographing.
One often readily available light source is the light from a videographer's camera. Both the above photo and the next photo include the videographer in the background of the shot. I don't have all of my camera settings for the images in this post, but the top photo was taken with these settings: ISO 500 f2.8 1/100 sec. It's important to remember that when other lights are hitting your subject, you can't use the technique I talked about here of dragging your shutter. If you do, your subject will also be blurry. So set your shutter speed at 1/100 or faster. You WILL want to make sure your flash compensation is up at least 2/3 or one full stop to make sure your on-camera flash is putting out enough light since your camera will be taking the other light source into consideration for it's exposure.
Other than these considerations, the only other thing to focus on is positioning yourself in a way that incorporates the existing light as a backlight to the subject you are photographing.
In these next two examples, the dance floor was lit by spot from above and I had to squat down and shoot up into the light to get this effect.
I LOVE how incorporating existing lights into my reception photos can really add a dreamy effect to them. Be on the look-out for how you can experiment with this fun technique!
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!
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 // Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite // MagMod Bounce // Battery Pack
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 // Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite // MagMod Bounce // Battery Pack
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