“Everything must be perfect today,” says your bridal client. She’s been awake since 4 a.m. with a legion of stylists administering hair and makeup, as her wedding planner buzzes around arranging calla lilies and cloth napkins. Her hair has been plaited into a complex updo with pin curls around her crown. Her hair accessories are made of imported Czech crystal. Her custom mermaid wedding dress is made of raw silk with an elaborate bone-in corset and fussy train. In her world, there is no room for anything but perfection.
With exacting clients, excellence in photography is the only option: Superior photography equipment is key. As your photography must transition from direct sunlight of the beach wedding to staged indoor portrait photography and the reception’s dance floor, you need on-the-go options that are versatile, portable, and lightweight.
Tips for Stellar Wedding Photography
Whether your shoot requires flash, strobe, or continuous lighting situations, having the right equipment helps you capture ideal shots from warm, golden hour light to the harsh shadows of late-night dance floor shots. Here are our tips for off-camera lighting to make your wedding photos pop.
Consider Both Flash and Ambient Light
If your client allows indoor flash photography, it’s important to consider both shutter speed and the background. With high shutter speed, the ambient light in the background pops and your subjects come into relief with a darker background. With low shutter speed, both the foreground flash and the background ambient light appear. Consider flash with a fast shutter speed to tone down busy backdrops.
Ditch the Clunky Tripod
Since your assistant flaked at the last moment, having equipment that tightly locks and secures—not to mention is simple to set up as you manage the bride’s demands—is crucial. The Frio cold shoe is the perfect “assistant without the assistant.” It attaches to a table, suctions to a window, or connects anywhere you may need a hand. Now you can ditch the tripod setup and have mobile lighting for each photo.
Fill Shadows With Reflectors
While there’s a lot you can do to fix issues in post, it’s important to have quality light. The best photos originate from perfect lighting in the original shoot. Using a silver or white reflector in addition to your other gear can eliminate the harsh shadows created by direct sunlight and fill shadow areas.
Master Your Flash Setup
In dynamic shoot situations, you should anchor your equipment. Connect to anything with a hot shoe to anything with a 1/4 to 20-inch and 3/8 to 16-inch screw. This includes attaching tripods, articulating arms, light stands, DSLR video rigs, and cages to the Frio Hold versatile cold shoe mount.
Create Dramatic Photos With Backlighting
Capture the dramatic siren call of your client’s mermaid tail wedding dress with backlighting. The combination of a fill flash and natural background light can create a sentimental mood and make everything pop, from her bridal veil to dress trail.
Consider Speedlight
Versatile and mobile equipment are essential on wedding day. Mounts should carry you from day to night and outdoor to indoor dynamic lighting situations. The 360-degree base articulation of the Frio Arch allows you to reposition it in any direction, providing light in wedding shoot environments where your subjects may be increasingly demanding and impatient. Plan ahead and consider the time of day and venue of the shoot. Consider varying the lighting in your shots with diffuse light, backlighting, and other methods: Read more on that here.
Master Your Dynamic Lighting
Portable, versatile, and simple equipment minimizes the time you spend setting up the perfect lighting for wedding photos—and maximizes results. Take your client from Bridezilla to referring customer with ideal dynamic lighting equipment on wedding day. Explore all Frio setups here.