Digital Wedding Photography Tips
Which lens? – by Digital Wedding Photography Tips
One of the greatest benefits of using SLR cameras for wedding photojournalism is
the availability of a good range of lenses. These can be divided into two types,
fixed focal length and zooms. The latter have become almost obligatory for many
people, but prime lenses have a benefit over the zooms in that they are available
with larger
apertures. The choice is up to the individual, but a good starting
point would be a wide-angle with a minimum focal length of 28mm, preferably 20 or
25mm, and a long lens, at least 90mm and preferably 135 or 180mm. These are outside
the focal length of the lenses used in compact cameras, so the photographs will
look staggeringly different to those taken by guests with their cameras. This is
crucial; professional photographs must look instantly different to safeguard the
official photographer’s credibility. It is often a benefit to be able to use longer
lenses at a wide aperture in order to minimize depth of field.
Exposure
Exposure is a major consideration in wedding photography. A couple in a wedding
dress and black suit in sunlight do not represent an average subject: the distribution
of light and shade might be evenly spread to produce a light-meter reading equivalent
to an all-grey subject, but the brightness range from shadow to highlight extends
way beyond the range that can be printed satisfactorily even if the exposure is
absolutely correct. If your exposure is out by a couple of stops either way, the
detail in the dress or the suit will be lost.
Which meter?
Most users of medium-format cameras rely on a handheld meter - an incident light
reading is the best to use. Held in the same light as the subject and pointed towards
the camera, this gives very reliable results. However, it is not always practical
to take incident light readings — for example when perched in an organ loft - and
in such cases remove the incident light receptor, and take a reflected reading.
A meter where the receptor can be slid aside is more convenient than one which requires
it to be unscrewed.
Built-in meters
Built-in light meters are very sophisticated, but many systems, particularly in
SLRs, are calibrated principally for highlights, and additional care must be taken
with black-and-white pictures which require exposing for shadow detail. Point the
camera towards the shadow area to take the reading, retain it and then reframe the
image.
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