Planning for Good Light on Your Wedding Day
Ask ten photographers, and one thing almost all of us will agree on is that lighting has an outsize influence on the final images we create.
This is doubly true for a wedding day. With so much going on, and the many different lighting scenarios throughout the day, being able to adapt and utilize light creatively to tell your story is half of what makes wedding photography fun and rewarding.
That's why, early on in the planning process, I like to work with my clients to discuss what the lighting may look like on their wedding day, and help them understand how the changing light will affect the final images. If there are certain images that they're hoping to create or aesthetics they seek to emulate, then planning appropriately around the time of day and the lighting available will be crucial. This is true whether I'm sticking to natural light, or even adding in flash for addditional lighting.
What follows in this article are some helpful ideas that I've found almost always applicable to my clients, organized by time and phase of your day. These shouldn't be considered a comprehensive list, but instead just be a starting off point for a discussion with your photographer.
If you're currently in the process of planning your wedding, don't hesitate to set up some time with me to learn more about how I would use these ideas on your wedding day, and tell your story!
If you don't have time to read the whole article, here's the quick 3-tip TLDR:
- BIG light sources are great for soft, directional light that everyone looks great in. Big windows, etc.
- Avoid taking photos in harsh sunlight, or during times the sun is directly overhead.
- Avoid mixing light sources (e.g., rooms that are lit with a combination of window light and tungsten bulbs)
IMPORTANT EDITOR'S NOTE: None of this is meant to dictate the timeline of your day or be a prescription to follow. Weddings are about you, your love, your family, and your emotions. There's no absolute rulebook - great photojournalism is about adapting to the scene in front of you regardless of the lighting, and tough lighting can often lead to unique and interesting compositions as well.
Getting Ready
Let's start at the very beginning
Photos of you getting ready are a great way to kick off the story of your big day. Good lighting can help tell that story.
The best conditions for lighting are rooms with large light sources, with enough light to fill the room with the lights off. Think a room with large windows and light colored walls for reflective light. A second benefit is that your makeup artist (if you have one) will also appreciate the even lighting, as that helps them get your makeup just right.
If you're getting a hotel room, see if you can request a north / south facing window, as in the morning that helps prevent morning sunbeams from streaming into your window, while also ensuring enough light for your photos. If you're worried about no-smoking signs, sprinklers, and questionable chairs/carpets/decorating choices, renting a home on AirBnb can be a great option as well.
Lighting to avoid: rooms with not enough light from one source, such that we need to mix additional sources in (e.g., a room with a little daylight coming in from one side, and organce / tungsten bulbs lighting the other side.
It’s hard to see with the naked eye, but in photos, it can lead to odd skin colors. If you're not sure, it's a good idea to check with the venue you plan to get ready in, and see if you have options for lighting. Your photographer can also help you with the right questions to ask (if in doubt, just know that flourescenet lighting in general isn't the most flattering, as it tends to add a green tone to your skin, and no one wants that).
The First Look
Whether you plan to do one or not, here's some tips about the late morning light
First looks are fun - they're a great way to share a quick moment together before your big day starts. However, it might not be ideal to also plan to do all your formal portraits at the same time, depending on what time your first look happens.
The reason for this is that between 10 am - 3 pm, the sun is pretty high in the sky, meaning that the shadows on your face can be rather harsh.
If you plan to do a first look, or have formal portraits occur in the earlier part of the day, think about what interesting backgrounds might be able to shade yourselves and your family / friends (if you plan to do group photos), or additionally leave time to do more photos at a later time of day when the lighting may be more ideal.
For example, in the image above, they were set on doing a first look outside. Luckily, the sun had shifted enough to cast a shadow over the back-side of the building, and instead we were able to do a first look in the shadow of the building. Also, on this day there were some really nice fluffy clouds in the sky acting as giant softboxes for us, which also diffused the light and made it more flattering.
The Ceremony
By the power vested in me
Outdoor grassy ceremonies are great. Church ceremonies are great too. Rooftop ceremonies are also fun. Regardless of what venue your ceremony takes place in, the guidelines for lighting stay the same.
If you're having your ceremony outdoors, try to avoid the hours of 10 am - 3 pm (same reason as your first look). Areas of open share are fine, dappled shade under a tree can be risky, as the 20% of light that makes it through can be quite disruptive to your photos.
Additionally, having to stand in the direct sun during the hottest part of the day is a potential recipe for shiny foreheads, squinty eyes, and uncomfortable squirming as your suit does a great job of sealing all that heat in.
The best time is 2-3 hours before sunset, as the sun is usually lower in the sky and perhaps behind a mountain / building or two.
Your Portraits
Some time to share with each other
Your formal portraits are the closest thing to your "forever photos"; aka the ones that end up on your / your parents' wall for years to come. A little planning can go a long way in ensuring that the lighting for these photos is fantastic and serves your day well.
If you wanted glowy dusk photos or portraits with that "golden hour" light, then you'll need to plan time to have portraits at sunset. If you've planned your say such that your formal portraits are early in the day right after your first look, or sunset isn't until much later in the day (7;30 and onwards), consider blocking off 20-30 minutes during your reception to take photos during that beautiful time about an hour and a half before sunset, where the sun is low in the sky and your photos have that beautiful glow to them.
The Reception
Let's party
Receptions are always a mixed bag, in that there are so many variables, and lighting will vary so much stylistically from person to person and venue to venue. When thinking about optimizing the lighting for your reception, make sure your venue, DJ, and photographer are all on the same page lighting-wise.
That means that if you're planning a naturally lit wedding, with minimal artificial light, you want to have lots of light sources available to your photographer. So think lots and lots of string lights, indirect lighting from lamps and tables, and whatever lighting your venue can provide.
If you're doing a ballroom wedding, lots of them do uplighting to add flair and character, which helps in cases where there isn't a lot of natural / available light. Make sure to talk to your DJ about what kind of lighting they're planning to use (if at all), so that you can avoid unintentional colored splotches on you and your guests.
And if you're doing a small wedding, or one in a non-traditional venue like a restaurant, think about venues that already have lots of window lighting or light fixtures you love. You may want to avoid venues / restaurants that either lean more towards being blank canvases (in which case you would have to bring a lot of the lights / decor), or are so dimly lit they are better suited for romantic candle-lit dinners (in which case avaialble light will be minimal at best).
Night Portraits
the night's almost over
I always ask my coupes for 5-10 minutes during their reception, to pull them away from the revelry, to get a quick night photo of the two of them together. It's a fun way to get dramatic and dynamic photos that otherwise wouldn't be possible.
In regards to "good lighting", I'm usually working with what we've got, and then I like to add a little extra pop and spice to help the image stand out. So whether I'm featuring the accent lighting of the venue, or using this time to experiment with some creative ideas, this is the best opportunity to do it, after the formalities of the reception are over and you and your new spouse can relax a little and just enjoy yourselves.
Final Thoughts
If you've read this far and you haven't heard a word about overcast or cloudy days ruining your photos, that's because I actually love clouds in the sky. Clouds function like giant softboxes in the sky, evening out the light and allowing for greater flexibility in your schedule.
You can plan for harsh light and have contingencies prepared, but ultimately a great photographer can take tricky lighting and make it work to create awesome photographs for you regardless. Thanks for reading this far, and please don't hesitate to reach out if you've got any questions or want to learn more about what it'd be like to have me for your wedding photographer!