Lighting for wedding photography should not be overlooked or underestimated. Lighting can/will significantly affect how your photos turn out, which is why it’s so important to know how to work with different lighting throughout the day.
As a wedding photographer, I want you to have the best wedding photos possible and know how to work with lighting – not against it. I’m sharing with you exactly how lighting will affect your images, as well as my best tips for how you can shoot at different times of the day.
Also, the good news is that all of these tips work for more than just wedding photos—you can apply them to any of your photo sessions (couples, engagement, portraits, etc.) that take place outdoors!
Tips for Lighting for Wedding Photography
Here are my best tips for working with lighting at different times of the day and how these times during the day affect your images:
For Photos at Midday
Midday is when most wedding photos are taken, from wedding party photos to portraits to first looks to the wedding ceremony itself.
At this time of day, the sun is at its highest, which can cause harsh lighting with lots of potentially unflattering shadows, bright, saturated greens, and bright skies. It can be difficult to photograph in this light if you are not an experienced photographer.
If you are just starting out as a wedding photographer, make sure that you get some practice shooting at different times of day and figuring out what settings you like best and look best before your next wedding.
Tips for photographers for midday lighting:
- Find pockets of shade to put your subjects in, especially if you have large groups to work with
- Make sure the area you’ve chosen to take photos is fully shaded or has very few spots with light peeking through onto your subject
- Place the subject in either full direct sunlight with the sun shining on them or place them so the sun is slightly behind them.
- This can be a fun time of day to experiment with direct light for artistic and creative photos!
Also, if the wedding day is overcast, it should be fairly easy to photograph anywhere in this light. With an overcast day, you’ll encounter mostly even and diffused lighting and mid-tone grey skies.
For Photos at Golden Hour
Golden hour takes place 1 hour before sunset and 1 hour after sunrise. However, the duration and intensity of golden hour can vary depending on your location. This is usually every photographer’s most popular and desired time of the day to capture their subjects.
At this time of day, you’ll have a glowy golden light that is both flattering to your subjects in the photo and packs a big punch in the overall edit. You can even experiment and play with things like sun flares during this time of day.
Tips for photographers for golden hour lighting:
- Use the setting sun to backlight your subjects which will create a beautiful glow and soften shadows on their faces
- Try to visit the location beforehand where you’ll be taking golden hour photos to assess which backdrop you want to use during the photos to get the best images possible
- To have an exact idea of when the sun will rise or set on the day of your session, you can use an app such as Photo Ephemeris, Golden Hour App, or Exsate Golden Hour
- Take your golden hour photos in RAW mode
- To use flare in a creative way experiment with different positioning and angles.
Something else to keep in mind is if there are a lot of clouds in the sky, you may not get the light you are looking for during the golden hour. However, your photos will still be very flattering, but you may not get the glowy golden light or sunflares.
For Photos at Blue Hour
Blue hour happens right before sunrise or right after sunset. It’s a short amount of time in the evening when the sun breaks the horizon, but it is not yet completely dark or in the morning, the time before the sun rises.
You can tell when photos were taken during blue hour because they have a strong blueish hue in the image.
This can be a magical time for photos! During blue hour, there is the chance for amazing, colorful skies as a backdrop, and this time of day also has a very flattering light.
Photographers also have the chance to have enough light for their subjects while also capturing the ambient light in the photo – it’s the best of both worlds.
Tips for photographers for blue hour lighting:
- If you are planning to photograph golden hour on a full sun day, push your start time back to keep your subjects during blue hour
- Just like with your golden hour photos, take your blue hour images in RAW mode
- Make a note of the direction that the sun will rise/set before your session
- Try bumping up your ISO for better results
For Photos at Night
With night photos, you’ll obviously be working with very limited lighting at this time of day, but even though it can be a bit challenging for photographers to work with, you’ll still want to know how to master taking photos at night for a wedding.
Night photos are impressive to look at when they are done well, and at night, you will capture some of the most memorable moments of the wedding day, from the send-off to portraits of the couple against a dramatic night sky to the outdoor reception.
For photos at night, one of the biggest issues you’ll run into is getting your camera to focus. But don’t worry—to fix this issue, all you need to do is bring along a video light, which will help your camera focus more easily.
Another problem you might run into is not having a ceiling to bounce your flash off of. To resolve this, you can bring with you an additional flash or a kicker (which is a flash on a stand).
Tips for photographers for night photos:
- Always backlight your frame and your couple
- Use two lenses
- Increase your ISO
- Pose the couple so they can stay still
- Don’t be afraid to experiment with new techniques and situations
Final Thoughts on Wedding Photography Lighting
I hope you found this guide on wedding photography lighting helpful. When it comes to lighting, there’s so much that can be done to capture beautiful, creative images, so don’t be afraid to test and experiment with different techniques and situations to discover what works best.
Remember, all of these lighting tips are versatile – they don’t just apply to wedding photography. You can try out any of these tips at your next photo session!
And if you aren’t a photographer but are currently searching for a wedding photographer to shoot your wedding and capture your own unique photos, check out my wedding day services here or get in touch with me here to chat through what you and your partner are looking for on your big day!
Also, for even more photography tips for weddings, don’t forget to check out my blog post How to Get the Best Dance Floor Photography, or my blog, Tips on How to Take Shutter Drag Photos, which you can read here.
