Here in the UK it's not every day we're given a chance to shoot sunset, so when an opportunity comes along we take it. This shot was taken after the First Dance, I'd basically fini
Wedding Photographer London. Jon Mold shares a wedding photography technique.
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I was very lucky to shoot Helen & Jeremy's wedding in Paris earlier this year. They were getting married in the most amazing chateaux (Château de Chantilly) with dungeons and an extensive lawn out the back. One of the highlights was a 5 mins firework finale at the end of the night. Sounds idyllic but it started raining. I've done firework shots before and knew I had to drag the shutter to around 0.5-1.5 sec to bring the ambient fireworks into the exposure. But how do I separate the couple from the background and the dark sky? As this was a big part of the celebration I couldn't not mess this up.
So 15 mins out me and my assistant went out back and got some test shots done. A tripod was a must, also to get the couple separated from the background I placed a flash 20 meters in front of them zoomed in firing back towards the couple.
How did I meter it? Camera set to manual and by chimping the back of the screen, I never use a light meter. My method was dial in what I knew first, my shutter had to be around 1 sec to get the fireworks with some trails. My aperture needed to be around F4 to get detail in the fireworks. So I dialled in shutter to 0.5 sec @ F4, take a shot, too dark… so I increase ISO, open aperture slightly, test shot, get it close and then add the flash. With my assistant in place I zoomed the flash to 50mm and set that manually to 1/32 power. Why 1/32 power? why not, got to start somewhere, I think it was too powerful so it ended up around 1/64 power.
When the couple came out for the firework I asked them to stand in the spot were I did the test shots. Then when the fireworks started I was shooting and chimping, slightly adjusting my shutter aperture and ISO to get the correct exposure. I knew I had to shoot from a low position behind them so that they were in line with the display.
What was important is getting prepared. I spoke to the fireworks guys in my pigeon French and worked out the display timeline and roughly how high the fireworks would be going. Using my assistant and help set up the exposure all before the couple came out. It's all in the planning.
The rain really added to the shot as the flash backlit the droplets and gave this dreamy star field effect, it looks like it's taken in space.!
I love it.
Post processing was adjusting the exposure by +1, making the WB cooler, adding some contrast and sharpening and that’s it. This is the SOOC shot.
So 15 mins out me and my assistant went out back and got some test shots done. A tripod was a must, also to get the couple separated from the background I placed a flash 20 meters in front of them zoomed in firing back towards the couple.
How did I meter it? Camera set to manual and by chimping the back of the screen, I never use a light meter. My method was dial in what I knew first, my shutter had to be around 1 sec to get the fireworks with some trails. My aperture needed to be around F4 to get detail in the fireworks. So I dialled in shutter to 0.5 sec @ F4, take a shot, too dark… so I increase ISO, open aperture slightly, test shot, get it close and then add the flash. With my assistant in place I zoomed the flash to 50mm and set that manually to 1/32 power. Why 1/32 power? why not, got to start somewhere, I think it was too powerful so it ended up around 1/64 power.
When the couple came out for the firework I asked them to stand in the spot were I did the test shots. Then when the fireworks started I was shooting and chimping, slightly adjusting my shutter aperture and ISO to get the correct exposure. I knew I had to shoot from a low position behind them so that they were in line with the display.
What was important is getting prepared. I spoke to the fireworks guys in my pigeon French and worked out the display timeline and roughly how high the fireworks would be going. Using my assistant and help set up the exposure all before the couple came out. It's all in the planning.
The rain really added to the shot as the flash backlit the droplets and gave this dreamy star field effect, it looks like it's taken in space.!
I love it.
Post processing was adjusting the exposure by +1, making the WB cooler, adding some contrast and sharpening and that’s it. This is the SOOC shot.
My name is Dmitri and I am wedding photographer based in Toronto, Canada. I’ve been shooting weddings around the globe for more than 10 years. During the wedding day I o
My name is Flavio Iwai and I've been a wedding photographer since 2010. I was an athlete for 14 years and saw the wedding photography as an opportunity to make people feel good wi
