Off Camera Lighting For Wedding Receptions

We don t want that kind of lighting in wedding photography.

Off camera lighting for wedding receptions.

We use two kicker lights and one off camera stand light. I set the height of it so that the flash is about 1 to 2 feet above where person s head will be. Tranceivers or transmitters receivers are devices that allow you to remotely trigger your flash without it being attached to your camera. Our setup itself is actually a rather simple three light system.

She will share 4 wedding reception lighting setup scenarios you can practice. In her final post of the wedding lighting master class series shootdotedit wedding pro leeann marie wedding photographers shares reception lighting tips for photographers. High iso settings can only take you so far when it is pitch black outside and can create nightmares in post production due to high noise levels. Off camera light was placed behind a pillar and in this photo the light is directly behind the bride the off camera light wasn t moved from its location behind the pillar for the ceremony and reception so you can see how it can achieve two very different looks.

Depending on the temperature of the ambient light tungsten daylight etc dial in a custom color temperature setting in camera to balance out the light in your scene. In addition the lighting of the flash should be incredibly low so you don t overexpose anyone or wash out the dress. These will be set up in the corners of the room and it will allow for even light to bounce around. We like to use heavy duty stands because they have a wider base and are less likely to tip if a guest or staff member bumps into or kicks them during the night.

The best off camera light to use here if you need the flash is to use speedlites. By having our off camera lighting placed in the far corner of the room we re able to light up the guests behind our couple so that it never looks like we re shooting into a dark cave. Keep reading to learn more. No need for running laps around the venue.

Match your on camera flash and off camera flash to the existing light in the room. The kicker lights which provide backlight during the reception are lumopro lp 160 speed lights on heavy duty 9 foot flash stands. Reception lighting gear whether you are shooting indoors or outdoors it is imperative to have an off camera flash on you for wedding reception photography. Here is another example of our setup.

2 off camera speedlight at weddings i typically carry 3 4 speedlights with me and 4 6 transceivers.