Digital Wedding Photography by Glen Johnson

Author:Glen Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Published: 2011-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 12-11: This shot was taken outside where no light was behind me to strike the dancers' faces. Behind the dancers was a large area with tiny lights hanging in the trees. The lights recorded well as I panned with the dancers at f/3.5 and 1/4 second. And because my flash provided the only light on the faces I was able to capture a sharp image even though the shutter speed was only 1/4 second.

Figure 12-12: A shutter speed of 1/20 second at f/4 and ISO 1250 is perhaps my most standard exposure for an average brightness dance area. At 1/20 second, I definitely get some background blur, but the amount of blur on the flashed subjects is pretty minimal unless they happen to move really fast.

The grand exit

Not every couple plans an official exit strategy. Some couples will dance the night away until all the guests get tired and wander off to their own rooms. For those couples that do plan an exit, catching it will be the last item on your list of important shots for the day; however, capturing this event fully often requires that you start photographing the preparations several hours earlier in the day. For example, if the bride tells you that she and the groom will be leaving in their own car, find out where it's parked and then ask the groomsmen (in private — not in front of the bride or groom) if they're planning to decorate the car. If they say yes, which they usually do, ask them to alert you when they head out to do the decorating so that you can come along and get a few shots of it. Once you know when and where the decorating is taking place, you will probably want to go back and check the progress every 20 minutes or so while you also keep shooting the wedding as normal.

Some couples choose to leave in a limousine, on horseback, or on a boat to name only a few choices. In all of these cases, the couple will almost always plan a grand exit during which time the guests line up on either side of the exit path and throw things such as bird seed, flower petals, or confetti, at the exiting couple. Having the guests wave sparklers in the air or blow bubbles is also common these days. In any case, after this walk, the couple will drive, gallop, or float away and be done for the night. This whole process is identical to the scenario you may encounter as a couple leaves the church and heads to the reception, except that the final exit almost always happens in the dark, which makes it a lot more difficult to photograph.

The number one concern in this situation is to set your camera up in a manner that allows you to catch fast motion, while still getting a decent amount of background light — a fast shutter speed and high ISO. (Again, see “Freezing fast action

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