Tulsa Wedding Photographers - Lighting Techniques

Lighting Techniques by Jake Aldrich of Epic Tulsa Wedding Photography



Lighting and composition are the two aspects of a great photo, with lighting possibly being the more difficult of the two to master. The word "photography" can actually be traced back to its Greek roots, where its literal definitions is "to write with light," so it makes sense that this aspect of the photo would have the most effect on it. Tulsa wedding photographers know that the image you see in the viewfinder can be drastically different from your final photo, depending on how they change the exposure. Here are some quick tips to help you get the right type of light for your photo.



Natural Lighting

The best time for using natural light outside is either early in the morning or late in the afternoon; basically, right before sunset or right after sunrise. For one thing, you have less contrast, which means fewer harsh shadows. This makes it easier to get proper exposure without blowing out your highlights or underexposing your shadows. The low sun also gives you a nice angle for your light. The lower angle gives you more definition of your subject, allowing you to create a more interesting photo with more textures. The other nice thing about a low sun is the color temperature that you get. The warm yellow light produced at these times of day give you a beautiful glow to your photos. Tulsa wedding photographers will schedule most of their outside portrait session during the morning or evening, giving them very dramatic lighting with which to work.



Window Light

Learning to use window light is important if you want to capture exactly the image that you see in your viewfinder while shooting indoors. Using flash can help you get the light that you need to properly expose your photos, but it can also completely change the way your photo looks. Using the natural light available in the room will help give a more accurate sense of the way a room looked, which can be very important when capturing an event. Window light can also be used while taking artistic photos to give you more contrast in you shadows and highlights, creating a very dramatic look. The downside to avoiding flash is the need for a higher ISO setting, which can make your photos grainier. A good way to avoid this would be to use a tripod.



Flash Blur

Flash blur is used to capture a subject in crisp detail while still showing the motion that was happening at the time. The photo may look like a double exposure, but it is actually just a slow shutter speed combined with a flash. The flash freezes a sharp image of the subject, while the long exposure gives you a nice motion blur effect. This technique is especially useful to Tulsa wedding photographers during a low-light reception, as it lets you capture the dancing in detail while still showing all of the motion. Most cameras will give you ability to determine whether the flash fires at the beginning or the end of the exposure, which can give you drastically different results. As with any rewarding photography technique, this one takes time and practice to master, but the payout is well worth it.