I hate these new led lights!
 

Last wedding had one of the worst lighteffects I had to deal with during a first dance in years, the dj had a set of 4 very powerfull beams (about 30cm in diameter and contained a lot of smaller led lights) that could rotate into all directions on his side, that was the only lightsource used during the first dance.

Before the first dance the floor was flooded with a red light that was just awefull, I ask him if he could add some white light or at least switch between different colour which was ok by him.

The first dance starts and the lights are....red, I had to set my gh3 to 6400 iso because he dimmed the lights and it was very dark, then 30 seconds into the dance he floods the floor with a harsh white light and all I see is extreme overexposure so I had to stop and reset to 800 iso, then a few seconds later he kills the light and by that I mean it was pitch black for a few seconds, then he switches to a stroboscoop effect and then back to a dimmed red, so again I need to set a higher iso but now pick 1600 iso expecting him to switch at random which he did.

After reviewing the footage the red part looks awefull, their face literally glow and the difference in detail in hugh when he switches to another colour.

Here are 2 framegrabs taking during the first dance which are maybe just 5 seconds apart...

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

Just reminds me that no matter how long you've been doing this there's always something that takes you by surprise at a crucial moment.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

Yet another reason I try to talk people out of me staying past the speeches.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

Yep,

Around here, the DJ's have been purchasing these crappy cheap plate looking LED lights, the're terrible for video and I often will speak to the DJ and tell him if he uses certain lighting, then it will affect the video.

I would send that DJ your frame grabs and let him know how it affected your video. DJ lighting is one my main conversation with the bride and groom.

Most DJs around here are pretty good, but then you find those hacks that do it with cheap lighting.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

Look DJ how funky! The left top frame is one from during his stroboscope action.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

It where these lights

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

Noa, your story reminds me that, as a DJ, I can charge a premium, not because I'm that good, but because so many DJs are just that terrible.

Seriously. WTF.

Its bad enough he's not being considerate of the photographer or videographer.

Then, its incredibly tacky that he's doing this stuff during a first dance (which, at least around here, is a slow song).

As a side note, I will say that doing video helped me see a few mistakes. For instance, I never put the house lights too dark for the first dance(s). And instead of just DJ lights on my side, I now have light coming from the guest side, too, so that they're not seeing silhouettes.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

It's not the first time I have to deal with this, I have usable footage, that's not the problem, I only need to cut out the parts where I had to reset my exposure because I was on a steadicam. This was actually the same venue that cut all the lights 2 years ago when the couple first entered the venue, it was dark outside, there was candle light at the tables and plenty of extra ceiling light, the couple gets called in and boom, they kill all light leaving me with with candle lit tables only and a camera that had been preset to the previous light situation. Luckily the couple did a large round so I was able to catch up and get some footage but I don't like being lucky, that doesn't always work out alright :)

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

HATE THEM - HATE THEM - HATE THEM - did I shout then lol! I really hate these lights - horrible polka dot over exposed blobs over everywhere - DJs buy them because they are small and light yet bright and colourful - end of story - they care nothing about how they look - every other DJ I film these days has these - they make the first dance and any dancing after look bloody awful!!!

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

I'm coming to the conclusion that I might stop doing the dancing part altogether, the last few I've done were pretty bad.
Either that, or consultation with the couple, but I dare say there would be a good few venue managers/DJ/Bands that would go ahead anyway and spray the place with crazy light.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

I hate them, but after all these years I just don't worry about it, it is out of my control and not my problem if it all goes wrong. Before the first dance though, I always mount an LED light on the camera and if the lighting is really low or a peculiar colour I just turn it on anyway. If venues and DJs aren't prepared to work with me for that first dance moment, then I will do my best to look after myself.

Roger

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

Noa,

For what it's worth, I do run two Frezzi fill lights; one on my steadicam and one on a tripod. They're no match for the DJ lights but they do help if I maneuver around the dj lights.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

I live with them too! However I do have a few DJ's who ask me if I want the LED lights off ..nice guys, if only all were like that. The way I see it is that the bride hired him so she cannot expect pristine footage at the first dance (I'm outta there afterwards so the DJ has the floor once I'm gone)

This is one situation where it does help to have an on camera light! I make sure the DJ's desk/lights of behind me so my back at least is shielding the couple from them ..I stay close to them and full wide and make sure my on-cam light is doing as much as it can to light their faces .

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

I just might post some quotes from this thread to a DJ message board I frequent. Maybe a couple of guys will learn something.


I guess having almost total control over the lighting is the one benefit when I'm both the DJ and the videographer. My wife and I just got back from a wedding doing both.

Re: I hate these new led lights!
 

One of the best DJ'd light displays I've ever seen came from one of the best DJ's I've ever seen. His lights were top notch, lazers, rotating lights, he had fog, but more than that, he was sharp as a tack with everything, didn't miss a beat. I walked in with my video cameras and he was right up in my face asking me if there is anything I need to know. And trust me, lazers in fog is awesome on video. My point is the same in video, the more someone invests in their skill and equipment, the better it comes across.