Chapter 12: Wedding Photography Camera Settings
Mastering camera settings and understanding the right lenses for different lighting scenarios is essential for a professional wedding photographer. From bright outdoor ceremonies to dim indoor receptions, adapting your ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and white balance to suit each environment will go a long way to ensuring you deliver high-quality images.
Selecting the appropriate lenses and focal settings further enhances versatility, sharpness, and depth, allowing you to capture the couple’s special day beautifully and professionally.
Below are some suggested camera settings for you to try. However, when selecting wider apertures such as f/1.4, f/2.8, f/4.0 etc, you need to be completely aware of possible depth of field issues. When photographing two or more subjects, wide-open apertures can easily leave one or more of your subjects out of focus due to being out of the very shallow depth of field.
You need to become entirely familiar with your camera equipment before attempting your first professional wedding photo shoot as the main photographer.
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Outdoor Daytime Wedding Ceremony (Bright Sunlight)
- ISO: Set the ISO as low as possible (ISO 100 or 200) to maintain image quality in bright light.
- Aperture: Use a moderately narrow aperture such as f/4–f/5.6 to ensure the couple and important details are in focus while still achieving some background blur.
- Shutter Speed: Choose a fast shutter speed, typically 1/1000s or faster, to avoid overexposure and capture any movement without blur.
- White Balance: Set the white balance to Daylight or manually adjust based on the environment to get accurate skin tones and colours.
- 24-70mm lens: The 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is versatile for capturing wide-angle shots of the ceremony and close-up portraits without switching lenses frequently.
- 70-200mm Lens: The 70-200mm f/2.8 lens can be used to capture candid moments from a distance without being intrusive, offering great compression and background separation.
- Lens Hood: Use a lens hood to minimize lens flare and reduce harsh sunlight hitting the lens directly.
- Polarizing Filter: Consider using a polarizing filter to reduce glare and enhance colours, especially in outdoor settings with bright, reflective surfaces.
Outdoor Couple Portraits (Golden Hour/Soft Evening Light)
- ISO: Increase ISO slightly to 200–400 to accommodate lower light while maintaining image clarity.
- Aperture: Use a wide aperture such as f/2.8 or even f/1.8 for portraits to create a creamy bokeh effect and isolate the couple from the background. Note: Beware of depth of field issues at these apertures.
- Shutter Speed: Set the shutter speed around 1/250s–1/500s, adjusting as needed to maintain sharpness without motion blur.
- White Balance: Set to Cloudy or manually adjust to enhance the warm tones during golden hour.
- 50mm Lens: A 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.4 prime lens is ideal for intimate portraits, offering beautiful bokeh and sharpness.
- 70-200mmm Lens: A 70-200mm f/2.8 is also a great option for capturing both wide and close-up shots, providing compression that flatters facial features.
Positioning
Position the couple with the sun behind them for a backlit effect, creating a halo-like glow. Adjust exposure to ensure their faces are well-lit (using a reflector or fill flash if necessary).
Indoor Wedding Ceremony (Low Light Conditions)
- ISO: Increase the ISO to 800–3200, depending on the available light. Modern cameras with good low-light performance can handle higher ISO levels while minimizing noise.
- Aperture: Use a wide aperture such as f/2.8 or even f/1.4 (if available) to allow more light into the camera and maintain a shallow depth of field.
- Shutter Speed: Keep the shutter speed at 1/60s–1/250s to capture motion while avoiding blur. If it is too slow, consider using image stabilization or a tripod.
- White Balance: Adjust manually to account for the type of indoor lighting (e.g., Tungsten or Fluorescent) or set it to Auto White Balance (AWB) and fine-tune in post-processing.
- 24-70mm Lens: A 24-70mm f/2.8 or 35mm f/1.4 lens is versatile for indoor settings, offering wide angles for group shots and a fast aperture for low-light conditions.
- Prime lens: Prime lenses such as the 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.4 are ideal for portraits and low-light scenarios due to their wide apertures and sharpness.
- Monopod: Consider using a monopod or tripod to stabilize the camera when using slower shutter speeds.
Bounce Flash
Use a bounce flash to fill in shadows without creating harsh, direct light on the couple.
Reception (Dim and Mixed Lighting)
- ISO: Set ISO between 1600–6400 depending on the lighting available. Some noise is acceptable in these situations, as it can be minimized in post-processing.
- Aperture: Keep the aperture wide (f/1.8–f/2.8) to let in as much light as possible while isolating subjects.
- Shutter Speed: Aim for a shutter speed of 1/125s–1/250s to capture movement and dancing without motion blur. Adjust as necessary for fast-moving action.
- White Balance: Set to Auto White Balance (AWB) or manually adjust to accommodate the varying lighting sources (e.g., DJ lights, candles, or overhead lighting).
- 24-70mm Lens: The 24-70mm f/2.8 is perfect for versatile coverage, allowing you to capture both wide shots of the dance floor and close-up moments.
- 35mm Lens: A 35mm f/1.4 or 50mm f/1.4 prime lens is excellent for capturing intimate moments and details in low-light situations.
- External Flash: Use an external flash with a diffuser or a bounce card to soften the light and avoid harsh shadows.
- Slow Sync: Experiment with slow sync flash to capture movement on the dance floor while maintaining ambient light.
Laser Lights
Laser lights from a DJ’s lighting setup can potentially affect and even damage a digital camera’s sensor. Laser lights, especially high-powered or concentrated beams, can cause permanent damage if they hit the camera sensor directly. This is particularly pertinent for full-frame and mirrorless digital cameras, as their sensors are often more exposed and sensitive. This damage appears as permanent spots or streaks in your photos and videos, usually known as hot spots, hot pixels, or dead pixels. The sensor damage is irreversible.
Detail Shots (Décor, Rings, Invitations) in Controlled Light
- ISO: Set a low ISO, around 100–200, for maximum clarity, especially when using controlled lighting (e.g., natural light or an LED panel).
- Aperture: Use a narrow aperture such as f/5.6–f/11 for maximum detail and sharpness, ensuring all elements are in focus.
- Shutter Speed: Use a slower shutter speed (1/60s–1/125s) if using a tripod, or faster (1/250s) if handheld to maintain sharpness.
- White Balance: Adjust manually or use Auto White Balance (AWB), and fine-tune in post-processing to achieve accurate colours.
- Macro Lens: A macro lens (100mm f/2.8) is ideal for capturing intricate details such as rings, flowers, and close-up shots of décor elements.
- 50mm Lens: A 50mm f/1.4 lens also works well for detail shots, offering a natural perspective with beautiful bokeh.
- Tripod: Use a tripod to stabilize the camera when shooting detail shots, especially with a macro lens to avoid camera shake.
Idea
Experiment with reflectors or small LED panels to direct light and enhance the details in the shot.
Rainy or Overcast Outdoor Photos (Soft Diffused Light)
- ISO: Set ISO around 400–800 to accommodate the lower light levels while maintaining image quality.
- Aperture: Use a wide aperture such as f/2.8–f/4 to let in more light and create a pleasing background blur.
- Shutter Speed: Choose a shutter speed of 1/250s–1/500s to maintain sharpness and avoid motion blur if there’s light rain or wind.
- White Balance: Set to Cloudy or manually adjust to maintain warmth and counter the cool tones of overcast light.
- 24-70mm Lens: The 24-70mm f/2.8 or 70-200mm f/2.8 is excellent for versatility and allows you to capture both close-up and wide shots.
- 50mm Lens: A 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.4 prime lens works well for portraits, providing sharpness and creamy bokeh even in softer lighting conditions.
- Umbrellas: Use clear umbrellas for the couple to add a creative element while keeping them dry during rainy shoots.
Polarising Filter
Consider a polarising filter to enhance colours and reduce any glare from wet surfaces.
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