Paul Francis Photography

Last year we were honored to photograph Christina and Cole’s wedding at the fabulous Palace at Somerset Park. This venue was absolutely gorgeous and the staff were some of the kindest we have worked with. We were excited about this beautiful location and were eager to utilize the grounds for photos. As you can tell from the Christmas wreath, Christina and Cole’s wedding was in December, so needless to say it was pretty darn cold out. And during the winter months it gets dark early, which  meant by the time we reached the venue the sun was down and there was no natural available light. (we had already taken some daylight shots before leaving for The Palace) We still wanted to take a few photos outside to take advantage of this great location and Christina and Cole were all for it. Paul and I went outside and set up a wireless remote speedlight (also known as a flash) and dialed in the light settings. Once everything was ready we brought out the happy couple, so they only had to brave the cold for a few minutes, and we centered them in front of the grand entrance below the Christmas wreath. I (Carolyn) ducked behind Christina and Cole holding the speedlight just below their shoulders as Paul snapped the photo. Here is a diagram to clarify…

Paul made sure that they were framed just right in the photo; romantic pose, framed by the doorway and centered against the building. In this photo all of the light is coming from either the building or from our speedlight. That means all the light is behind them and none in front. This made it easy to get that great silhouette. You can see just a little of Christina’s gorgeous dress and bouquet because the white of her dress carries the light around her. So Paul had to make sure the speedlight’s settings were just right so that the light would not wrap around too much (which would lose the silhouette effect as you would see too much detail) and not too little (to make their silhouettes crisp). The result is a photo that is powerful and dramatic, while also romantic and intimate.

Taken with 24-70mm lens at 24mm,  f/3.5 , 1/80 sec., ISO25. Remote flash triggered using Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 Units (Nikon Version)

There are other ways to use speedlights for backlighting as well, which we also used during this same wedding at the reception. In the above photo, we ONLY lit Christina and Cole from behind, which is how we got the silhouette effect. However, for most reception photos we want to be able to see the faces and expressions of the people we are photographing. So if we are going to use backlighting, we also want to light them from the front as well. There are various ways to do this, but for a reception we use ambiant (available) light from the lights in the venue and adjust our settings accordingly (listed below). Then for the backlighting we use the speedlight. During part of the reception I put down my camera and picked up the speedlight which was wirelessly triggered by Paul’s camera. Paul photographed the cake cutting, and bouquet and garter tosses while I held the speedlight. We have to work together to make sure the light is strategically placed. We usually keep the light hidden behind our subject (i.e. bride, groom, guests, people dancing) which creates a rim lighting effect. This gives the photo depth and drama.

The following photos were taken with 24-70mm lens at  f/4,  1/160 sec., ISO-5000

I love that you can see all the little specks of cake flying towards Christina’s face as Cole gets her!

I hope this all was clear and offered some insight! Please let us know what you think!

*Carolyn