Low-Light wedding tips?? Please advise/help?!

[Rebekah5280]

Ok, so I have been doing pictures and getting really busy with my on-the-side family photography business, and friends and clients have been asking me to do their weddings.

I've done outdoor weddings and I am confident about my work in that setting (lots of light).

However.. I've tackled a couple here recently that were indoors for friends and I have had some issues with the low-light conditions in the churches/venues. I need advise on how to get good pictures, without killing the atmosphere of being in a low-light/romantic venue. I've just been lighting up my pictures with unflattering flashes in order to shoot between 400-800 ISO.

So I'm looking for help. I know these aren't good.. I want to get better though so advice would be greatly appreciated!!

#1 The littlegirl on the ground is the bride and grooms daughter.


#2 she was very concerned about the petals being left beind by the other two flower girls in front of her.


#3 needs to be cropped differently. but lighting-wise...


#4 I needed to get a better angle for this over-the-shoulder shot, but lighting wise...


#5 This shot was when the were leaving in the limo. I only had a minute.. So yes, I flashed then *cringe* What I would have liked to do was catch the dimly-lit romantic feel of the inside of the limo. It was lit all around the top with small led lights, but all I was getting was underexposed images until I just put my flash on them (with a diffuser, but still.. yikes).


So ok, there you guys go. please help me. Is bumping up ISO the only way to get the look I want?

Give me a wedding in the garden and I'll give you some great pictures.. wedding in a church dimly lit?? disaster..

 

[o hey tyler]

Was this a commissioned event?

 

[Rebekah5280]

I did not make money off the wedding... although, I'm not sure how that information will help in any advice you could offer with my question about lighting.

I wanted to practice, they didn't have a photographer.

 

[Granddad]

Low light is a pain in the rear. What camera and lenses do you have and what settings are you using when you shoot without flash? The image I checked doesn't have any exif data. I do a lot of low light work and my kit couldn't handle it without flash until I spent my childrens' inheritance on a Nikon D700 and a couple of f2.8 lenses. The Nikon produces decent images at high ISO and the f2.8s give me that extra aperture to keep the shutter speed high enough to avoid shake. The only regret I have about spending the money is that my kit now weighs half a ton!

I know that spending that much money isn't always an option (things like mortgage payments and food get in the way), maybe some of the more experienced experts will have some cheaper remedies.

Good luck!

Edit: You might think about getting a 50mm f1.8 prime lens, they are usually affordable, depending on your camera body, and would give you more flexibility.

 

[The_Traveler]

The flash really hurts, blasting all the tone, etc. but with some effort I think you can make these better by cropping closer, lower contrast, fixing wb, etc.
There isn't much intimacy in these shots

Here is #4 after doing all the above and putting through Portrait Pro 10

 

[Big Mike]

What lens(es) are you using?

If you don't want to have to resort to using flash, then one option would be to use very 'fast' lenses (large maximum aperture). Most 'pro' wedding photographers use zoom lenses with a maximum aperture of F2.8. But you can go beyond that with prime (non zoom) lenses and use very large apertures like F1.8, F1.4 or even F1.2. Also, you could use an even higher ISO. If your camera can't handle it, then get a better/newer one that can. Also, keep in mind that controlling noise at high ISO has a lot to do with getting good exposure.

And of course, you could embrace flash and learn how to use it achieve your artistic goals.

 

[o hey tyler]

I did not make money off the wedding... although, I'm not sure how that information will help in any advice you could offer with my question about lighting.

I wanted to practice, they didn't have a photographer.

That's wonderful news. Like others have said, you need a lens with a larger maximum aperture, and a camera body with better ISO performance.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Delta 3200 @ 1600, expose for the shadows, live at f/1.2.

 

[CCericola]

For low light situations like a church I get fast glass. You will need a camera that is decent at iso 1600 or above. I have an older 1D and a 50D so I rent two 5DII's (switching to III's), I have a 24-70 2.8, a 70-200 2.8, a 85 1.4 and a 50 1.4. I do not use flash in the church because I don't like it (personal preference). I have been able to shoot f2.8, 1/30 sec at iso 3200 with good results. I do not own a lot of equipment so I rent a lot and the rental fee is added to my cost of doing business. Slowly I add equipment each year so I have to rent less and less. I recommend Borrowlenses.com and LensGiant.com I use these two guys all the time and never had a problem.

 

[Rebekah5280]

I use a Nikon D3100, 24-70 F2.8. I understand getting fast glass, my problem is shooting wide open, I tend to miss focus (like my focu will be on the hair instead of the eyes, ect.. Or if I'm trying to get two people in the shot together, I only get one in focus.
I've been practicing with my camera since the wedding at ISO 1600, and I'm actually getting decent pictures as long as my exposure is right on and I'm not trying to fix it PP.
I love the edit or the bride, my concern is when printing the pictures that they will be really dark. :\ I guess I need to try to work a little more in Post on these pictures and do a LOT of trial and error practice and NOT practice at an actual event. lol

 

[12sndsgood]

How is your noise on the D3100? I know when I had the D3000 poor low light capabillities were one of the main reasons I stepped up to the D7000. I just wasn't happy with it in low light at all. Really not sure if they changed that between the two models.

 

[LuckySe7en]

Was this a commissioned event?

o lord

 

[Dominantly]

The best place to practice, is in fact at peoples actual weddings.

How to get the shots you are after.

1. Get better gear
2. Practice with better gear
3. Learn how strobes work

 

[Rebekah5280]

The flash really hurts, blasting all the tone, etc. but with some effort I think you can make these better by cropping closer, lower contrast, fixing wb, etc.
There isn't much intimacy in these shots

Here is #4 after doing all the above and putting through Portrait Pro 10

View attachment 7169

View attachment 7170

I've never used portrait pro.
I've been thinking about this ever since I posted these pictures and I think that I may have done damage to the pictures with my post work. I processed them the same way I process my outside pictures to try to get the same light&bright feel. The problem, of course, is that I wasn't outside doing a portrait session with little tots.. I was in a dimly lit church during a wedding ceremony.
Your edit made everything click in my head. I'm going to get back into my original files and start over. I'll re-post the 2nd set and see what you all think.
As always.. Thank you so much for your advice/critiques and suggestions to help me not suck so much! lol

 

[Rebekah5280]

OK, so I went back to my originals and started over. Keeping in mind, less is more when it came to editing, and I think these re-edits/un-edits are much better.

Not the best wedding pictures ever, but a vast improvement from my previous edits. Here are a few of the before and afters. Better? Worse?
#1 (These aren't the same exact picture, but very similar)

#2

#3

#4