Video Light Wedding Portraits

Today's post is an excerpt from the book Direction and Quality of Light, by Neil van Niekerk. It is available from Amazon.com and other fine retailers.

For that dramatic, Hollywood look, a video light is probably the
easiest thing to use—especially when you need to work quickly,
like on a wedding day. With Allison and Scott’s wedding, the
majority of their romantic portraits (plates 11-7 through 11–10)
were taken using only a single video light, the Lowel ID-Light.
For this shoot, I chose to work with the Lowel ID-Light, instead
of the LitePanels MicroPro LED video light, because I wanted a
video light that was stronger. I also wanted the ability to diffuse
or focus the light, depending on what I needed. It was just the
more flexible choice for this event.
 
As you can see by the camera settings for these images, I
needed to work at high ISO settings and wide apertures. This is
because video lights are generally used in lower levels of ambient
light where the look of the rapid falloff gives the lighting a
dramatic look—and provides a lot of control. For example, in
the passageway seen in plate 11-8, the opposing mirrors gave an
infinity effect. The video light was ideal here for containing the
light spill; it’s basically what made this image possible. I could
have created the same image with flash, but it would have been
difficult to do it in the short time available.

Plate 11-7—Most of Allison and Scott's romantic portraits were created using a single video light. Exposure: 1/50 second, f/2.8, 1250 ISO, Lens: 24–70mm f/2.8 lens. Lowel ID-Light.

Plate 11-8—The controlled spread of the video light was useful in this mirrored hallway. Exposure: 1/30 second, f/3.2, 1600 ISO. Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8. Lowel ID-Light.

For plates 11-9 and 11-10, I turned down the brightness of
the video light to hold the detail in the background. If I had used
a brighter light on the couple, I would also have had to use a
faster shutter speed, smaller aperture, or lower ISO, which would
have made the background go darker—or even black.

As can be seen in plates 11-11 and 11-12, images of Tatiana
and Brandon at their wedding, the dramatic look of video light
works beautifully with black & white photographs. If I had
wanted to ease the contrast and bring in more shadow detail, it
would simply have been a matter of bouncing my on-camera flash
behind me. This would have to be done with the FEC turned
way down—to around –3EV—so that it just acted as a fill light.
The flash would also have to be gelled with a CTS or CTO gel to
avoid introducing a blue tint to the fill light.

Plates 11-9 and 11-10—Reducing the intensity of the video light enabled me to hold the detail in the dark backgrounds. Exposure: 1/30 second, f/3.2, 1600 ISO, 24–70mm f/2,8 lens. Lowel ID-Light.

Plates 11-11 and 11-12—Video light works beautifully for black & white images. Exposure: 1/60 second, f/3.2, 1600 ISO, Lens: 24–70mm f/2.8. Litepanels MicroPro LED video light.
 



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Types of Engagement Portraits

Today's post is an excerpt from the book Engagement Portraiture, by Tracy Dorr. It is available from Amazon.com and other fine retailers.

When planning an engagement session, you will have many stylistic options available to you. Those will be explored further in the next chapter. No matter what style you choose, however, you will have two main avenues for executing it: a formal approach or an informal approach. Although the formal session is usually shot in a more traditional studio setting, I suggest that you try to think more broadly of “formal” as your approach to dealing with the customers. The same goes for the “informal” approach.

FORMAL

The classic, traditional engagement photo is a formal portrait. In the 1800s, portraits were necessarily serious and formal due to the extremely long exposure times that were required by the photographic technologies of the day. As higher film speeds became available, portraits took on a somewhat happier vibe; the subjects were smiling and more comfortable, but still formal and looking directly into the camera. Since the digital revolution, photojournalism has deeply impacted the style of portraits clients desire, but there is still a large market for a more formal approach to an engagement portrait.

If your clients are interested in a more formal approach, or if you are more comfortable shooting that way, you will need to decide if the session will be done in a studio setting with multiple backdrops or props, or if you will go on location. Formal shoots are typically created in a studio sitting, but if you do choose to go on location, think about more formal locations—like a church or museum, as opposed to a beach or heavily urban setting that will define your shoot before you even begin. The location you choose will directly impact the formal mood of your photos. 

Choose your location wisely. Formal shoots often take place in a studio setting with lights and backdrops. Pose the couple carefully, and pay attention to every detail—from hand posing to hairstyling. You have total control in these situations, so take advantage of that. Photo by Nicole Knauber.

When posing your couple, make sure to look for every flattering nuance and try out several different poses. They should generally be looking into the camera and their body language should be less relaxed. Think of an upright posture, folded hands, turned-in bodies, and seated or standing shots. Their bodies and faces should be angled toward the camera, not straight-on like a mug shot. 

Formal sessions are not limited to a studio setting. Creativity may lead you to an unusual location that suits the couple's personality. Scout out the location to make sure it will enhance the mood, not detract from it. Photo by Evan Laettner.

Even though you don’t need as many exposures for formal portraits as you would for a more candid session, you still have the opportunity to use the digital media to your advantage. Keep shooting. Feel free to experiment with as many different poses and combinations as you like. You can always choose only the best one or completely delete anything that didn’t work. Ultimately, you are ensuring that the couple will have more selection in the end. Clients looking for a formal sitting will be more detail-oriented and will be looking for perfection. You don’t have the same kind of creative liberty to make artistic “errors” as you do in photojournalistic portraits.

INFORMAL

An informally styled engagement session can either be posed in a relaxed manner or it could take place as a totally photojournalistic shoot. You can also develop a combination of the two if you are skilled at directing and interacting with your clients. If your studio’s shooting area is limited in size, these types of sessions may work better on location. Additionally, the more relaxed atmosphere of an outdoor setting alleviates the stiffness of a traditional studio setting, something that is integral to a more informal approach. 

A session that is still traditionally posed but executed in a more relaxed, informal manner is the most widely accepted type of session today. In this type of session, the clients may still be rather traditionally posed, but you will develop the poses as you go. You should give the clients direction and talk them through each pose, but allow them to be comfortable and to be themselves. This contrasts with a purely photojournalistic type of session, in which you provide little or no posing direction but concentrate, instead, on capturing your clients as they really are. 

During your initial meeting with the clients, educate them about informal and photojournalistic approaches. See which one they are truly looking for. They may be confused as to the difference. 

Informally posed sessions are a popular choice. They allow you to modernize an old concept and flatter any couple or location. Photo by Evan Laettner.


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