Know your light
Chaddy, of Dear & Tine Photography, shares her knowledge and artful management of light in today’s edition of this month’s “Lovely Light” series.
We are fortunate to have Chaddy as our official photographer for our upcoming Gold & Sunshine Coast Wedding fairs.
Here is what Chaddy had to offer on knowing your light…
Know your light
Lighting is a powerful element which sets moods; it can be dramatic or it can be subtle. A professional wedding photographer should know how to master light whether it be artifical or natural. An experienced photographer will be able to work with whatever lighting situation they’ve been given on your wedding day. However, in order to optimise conditions for your wedding photos, it’s a great idea to think about how light works to create different moods and effects.
Scheduling for portraits
As a general rule, it’s also best to avoid the harsh mid-day sun as this often creates challenges with shadows and overexposed features. When the sun is directly overhead, it causes harsh and unwanted highlights on the skin. You’ll also find that it is extremely difficult and uncomfortable to keep your eyes open for photographs during this time. However, with that said, a creative photographer is able to utilise shadows to to their advantage to create different dimensions.
The Golden Hour
Most photographers prefer to shoot sixty minutes prior to sunset. This is called the Golden Hour. As the sun starts to set, the natural light is filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere and becomes softer with a golden warmth to it, which helps to set a more romantic mood to your photographs.
As there is limited natural lighting for outdoor photography, before booking in your ceremony time slot, it’s a great idea to discuss with your photographer how much time they would need for your wedding day portraits. From there, you can work backwards to find out what time sunset is and schedule in your ceremony to allow for enough time for your photographer to work. From my experience, this can vary from wedding to wedding; depending on the size of the bridal party and the location of the ceremony, locations and reception. As a guide, I would usually allow 30 minutes for family portraits after the ceremony, and 1 hour plus travel for bridal party portraits.
Lighting up pitch black
However, some of my favourite photographs have been taken where no natural light has been available. There are many ways to think outside the square by using artifical light to create a dramatic mood.
You can see more of Chaddy’s work across our website and Facebook Page in our Gold Coast Fair promotional images. You can meet her in person at our Gold Coast Fair on June 22nd. Tickets are now on sale (buy one and bring your bestie for free!).
A DARLING AFFAIR