Different Lighting Scenarios Explained for Photo Sessions and Weddings

Lighting plays a HUGE role in how your photos are going to look. You will come across photographers who ONLY take sessions during golden hour (sunrise or sunset). I am not one of those photographers! I love the challenge of shooting in all sorts of light. You can create so many unique and interesting scenarios based off what time of day it is! The weather also affects the light. Most people tend to not want to take their photos when it looks crummy out but that is one of the best times to do so! You can literally shoot wherever you want and get gorgeous even lighting. Plus the MOOD factor rises on those dark and grey days. So much fun to work with.

While I will shoot all day everyday I wanted to break down different lighting scenarios so my wonderful clients can see the difference. If you are going for a certain type of feel for your session, consider what time of day or how weather could play into it. Light looks different in different seasons too. Obviously you can’t always control what happens. I have had summer evening sessions planned during golden hour for it to grey out and there be no sunset. But we still had an awesome time and created some gorgeous imagery.

My main focus when shooting anyway is YOU. So while lighting and a backdrop are important, the most important aspect of your shoot or wedding is documenting those candid moments.

Golden Hour

Definitely the most popular type of lighting and probably the most requested. This golden light happens within 2 hours before sunset and 2 hours after sunrise. As the sun sets (or rises) everything is covered in this beautiful light.

Grey Days

I have had clients get so nervous about the grey weather or concerned about shooing in the winter. Totally understand not wanting to shoot in the snow or rain but a day without much sun can actually be very beautiful. Like I mentioned above, these days are the best days to shoot. You can literally shoot anyway and don’t have to worry about bad shadows on your faces. Shadows are great when you can control them and use them to your advantage though!

Mid Day

This is probably the most common time to shoot, especially for weddings. During this time, the best places to shoot in are in open shade which is basically a shaded spot by a tree where the subject is looking out towards the light but covered in even light. When shooting portraits, this is definitely controllable. I can choose the best places to shoot during your session or around your venue. If your ceremony is in the middle of a field with no coverage though, it is going to look very different. Do not worry! Your photos of your mid day ceremony in direct light will still be beautiful. They will just look DIFFERENT.

So all 3 images images were taken around the same point of the day where the sun was in the middle of the sky. The first two, I moved the couples so that the sun was behind then. That creates a little bit of a glow effect. The last image was when the sun was facing them. In order to get the skyline, I had to shoot that way though I prefer the glowy images.

Open Shade

If you are shooting in the middle of the day when the sun is higher, the best places to shoot are in the open shade. So that can be in the coverage of a tree or building but it helps make sure 1) you aren’t squinting into the sun and 2) that there aren’t any weird shadows on your face. Like I said before shadows are great when you can control them. Shooting in open shade like this can give your gorgeous tones!

Flash

I try to avoid using flash at all costs throughout a shoot or wedding day up until the reception. I think it takes away from the moment by 1) being obnoxious and 2) taking away from the gorgeous natural light we could be utilizing. However, there is definitely a place for it! We shot one wedding last December where it was pretty rainy and dark by the time we got to do portraits. The venue was absolutely GORGEOUS and had their Christmas decorations up. So we did all the portraits inside. I broke out the flash during the bridal party shots to make sure we had the best lighting and they turned out beautifully. But they definitely have a little bit different feel than using the available light.

The first photo of the bride and her bridesmaid, I bounced the flash off the ceiling so it wasn’t as harsh. The second photo is from their dance floor and I had the flash point at an angle towards the guests.

Church Lighting

Did you know a lot to churches do not allow you to use flash during a ceremony even if it is super dark inside the church? However, there is no reason to worry! We will get plenty of amazing images using the light that is available but this is definitely something to be aware of. If your Church is dark and moody inside, your ceremony photos will reflect that. If it has a ton of windows and you get married mid day while the sun is streaming in, you will have brighter church photos. Neither is wrong or bad but this will make your Church photos look different from other Church photos.

In church ceremonies, often times you can’t get close to the ceremony as well. So photos need to be taken from the back or side aisles. We make up the difference with a lens or standing as close as possible without being disrecptpful or intrusive. But we won’t be able to be as close as say a backyard wedding. Or get as many angles.

In Door Sessions

So most of my sessions take place outside. I LOVE natural light and the best way to take advantage of that is outside. But of course a lot of getting ready prep for weddings happen indoors or even sessions during the winter. I absolutely love doing these as well! Sometimes it can be moodier or darker depending on the light but equally as beautiful. When searching for a getting ready room or a spot in your home to shoot, always keep an eye out for windows. Best place to set up is in front of the window with YOU facing it. This will give you beautiful even coverage. Now if you are looking for a grainy, more romantic feel to the photos. Lets shoot in the string lights or low lighting area of your house. Again, this will have a very different feel but nothing wrong with that! Your photos should tell a story and lighting helps with that.

Blue Hour

This is a very underrated time of the day! Its definitely moodier and you can expect a little more grain in your photos but I think that just brings out more emotion. Sometimes the light is blue, but it can also be warm and have a pinkish tint to it.

Nighttime

So in this shoot, the couple LOVES Taco Bell. I knew we needed to end their session there and was totally fine with it being night. I love playing around with different lighting situations and knew there would be opportunities to play with the lights coming from inside the restaurant.

In the second photo, the couple wanted to take sparkler photos at their reception. I don’t like using flash for these because I truly think it takes a bit of the magic out. So I bumped the ISO up a bit. That is the “film sensitivity”. So when we would shoot on film cameras, depending on what time of day you were shooting would determine what kind of film. If you needed it to be more sensitive, that means you were shooting in low light. Which brings the grain.

Shadows

I’ve mentioned a couple times how shadows can be amazing when you control them. This is definitely more a personal preference but if you’ve shot with me and there is a beautiful piece of light somewhere, you have probably witnessed me putting you in that light and doing a happy dance. All worth it and looks so cool. I promise. But here a few fun shadows I got to play with while doing a portrait session.