See The Difference!

READ CAREFULLY -This post is to illustrate the difference in off-camera lighting.  About half of the photography on this page is NOT our work.  It is here for illustrative purposes!

We meet with a lot of couples about their wedding photography.   Sometimes, they will choose a family friend to shoot their wedding rather than hiring us to save some money in their wedding budget.  We totally get that but we wanted to take a moment to at least illustrate the difference.  Because we use so much equipment and have studied lighting, we think that you will see what we are talking about.

Who’s shots are we using?

Below, we will be illustrating the difference in similar shots between our work and pictures taken by a family friend of this bride and groom.  This person graciously allowed to let us use their work in this post to illustrate the off-camera lighting difference and will remain anonymous.

Anonymous Shooter’s Equipment

They carried the following equipment, which is all excellent.  It is on par with our cameras and lenses and wouldn’t have been a limiting factor.

• Canon 1Ds
• Canon 24-70mm L
• Canon 70-200mm L
• Canon 430EX Speedlite

The Photography

Below, we have created groupings of their photography and our photography in similar scenes to illustrate the difference in our work.  You will quickly see that our off-camera lighting enhances the scenes.

The Ceremony Photography

During the ceremony, Bill stood about two feet from the anonymous photographer, roughly the same distance from the bride and groom.  Here are their shots from the ceremony:

Our Ceremony Photography

Here are our ceremony shots:  Note how her hair is the correct color and is highlighted very nicely.  Also note the rocks in the background.  Instead of dull looking, the off-camera lighting allows us to pick up that ambient light while the bride and groom seem to “pop” out of the photos.

Their First Dance Shots

Here are the first dance shots that they captured:  I really like the moments in the two vertical shots that they took.  In the top (horizontal) shot, however, it is a bit dull looking.  Plus, if you look in the background, their flash is reflecting off of the mirror in the other part of the room.  Most of the flash from the camera lit up the balls at the top rather than hitting the subject.

Our First Dance Photos

Here is the photography we took during their first dance.  Off-camera light behind the groom puts a “hair light” on the back of his head, while another light behind the bride light up his face nicely.  In the second photo, you can see both of the off-camera lights I was using.  Those set the bride and groom off of the scene, adding depth.  The light on my camera not only triggers the two off-camera lights, but also throws some fill light on the couple so that they are not lost in the scene.

Their Bouquet Photography

Here is their pictures from the bouquet toss.  Most of the flash in the first photo hits the bride and the balls up top.  In the first photo, you can see one of Bill’s lights next to that column on the stand.

Our Bouquet Photography

Here is what we captured for the bouquet toss.  The lights to the right and left of the bride light her up really well, but also cast even lighting on all the single ladies.  Remember, your eye is always drawn to the brightest part of any photo.  So the story should be in both parts at the same time.

Their Daddy Daughter Dance

Here is the photography they captured for the daddy-daughter dance.  They capture two very nice moments in the photos.  However, if you look at the photo on the right, you will see dad’s head shadow behind him on the wall.    Shadows directly behind a subject give full evidence of on-camera flash.  Think of it this way, you want your shadows to cast either away from your shot or purposely for effect.

Our Daddy-Daughter Dance Photos

Here is some of what we captured for the daddy daughter dance.  In the first shot, you can see the bride’s tear from her right eye.  With an on-camera flash, that tear would have disappeared.  Teardrops need lighting from a different angle because they won’t show up when shot with the flash firing right at them.  In the second shot, you can see the off-camera light’s effect from dad’s left and right.  No shadow is cast and it allows us to pick up the ambient light in the background.

Their garter pictures

Here is what they captured for the garter.  In the garter photo, the flash was aimed at the ceiling which illuminates it really well.  Bouncing a flash can be a really great idea, however you want to limit that to when you can’t see the wall or ceiling that you are bouncing off of.  It is a great moment, but the brightest part of the photo is the ceiling which grabs your eye.  In the second photo, the groom is lost into the background.  No light is present to set him off, so he becomes a black blur.  You know he is there because of her reaction, but you can’t make out his form.

Our Garter Photos

Here is the photography from the same time.  From the other side, Bill captured this shot using a light to the groom’s front right and left.  The light is just behind the girls in the purple on the left of the photo.  You can see the groom’s form and he is set off of the background of the shot.  In the second shot, the groom fires the garter towards his waiting single friends.  Remember, the action is in the front and back at the same time so there should be light on both the groom and his friends.