Anyone used or know anything about YaKe lights and if so what impressions?


Thanks

Tony

I have a set of 3 britek lights with stands, one is a large boom for the backlight, and 3 softboxes. They work pretty well. $600. Check EBay or Rostronics.com.

I'm curious to know if anyone has ever found a softbox useful when shooting a wedding?

lights at the wedding?

I can see this going the same place the mic on the bride thread went.

I'm sure there is a way it could be done "unobtrusively" but would the bride or church see it that way? It could be suicide for your wedding business.

i do own a frezzi mini-fill dimmer with a softbox that I use at the reception.

I wasn't really thinking ceremony so much as reception, but if anyone has actually used one at the ceremony, I'd be curious to know if they had rotten tomatoes thrown at them. :)

I did one wedding where we were ASKED to bring in some lights at the last minute because it was in a tent and the weather didn't co-operate. It got real cloudy and overcast and frankly looked like there might be a tornado.Fortunately the DJ came thru and lit up the "altar" area with a few of his stage lights. I had a couple of 600W lights with softboxes ready but turns out I didn't need them AND the sun came out about 2 minutes before the ceremony started. We left the lights on anyway.

Don

Tony,

you may want to ask this question on the lighting board.

lights at the wedding?

I can see this going the same place the mic on the bride thread went.

I'm sure there is a way it could be done "unobtrusively" but would the bride or church see it that way? It could be suicide for your wedding business.


I think your way off Matt. We actually use a Yake light with a large softbox at the reception and it has been received very well. It saves us from needing to worry about lighting for speeches, dances or random dancing and can also make the footage look much better, not simply from the amount of light but also from the placement. We do show couples the option before hand and footage with and without it and 85% opt for the studio lighting at the reception and we have never had any complaints on or after the wedding because of this.

As for the Yake lights in general, they are a great value for the price and very reliable. Watch for some models that use a fan to keep them cool which limits what you can do for love story type interviews due to the noise. However, we have use the yake set for interviews and just had to be careful with the audio ( and clean it a bit after) and it really looked great. We have used the Yake set for over a year now so if you do have any other questions, feel free to let me know.

Like I Said, I'm sure there is a way that it could be done effectively, and unobtrusively. However, most brides have had it drilled into their heads that a "good" videographer should not need additional lighting. The thought of added clutter by lighting equipment would be enough to send most brides running. Bridal planning sites have articles on choosing a videographer, and warn of a videographer who brings in extra lights, ruining the mood of the ceremony, reception, etc.

In reality 2000 watts of well placed lighting could be much more unobtrusive than a 50w on camera light. The well lit footage will be much cleaner and have a more 3-dimensional feel. By building a relationship with the bride and groom, allowing them to become comfortable with you and your work, and the proper technique, I would be confident that additional lighting could work out quite well. It just needs to be approached from the right angle.

If you just showed up at the ceremony with lighting though, I don't know that it would go over quite as well.

As far as my comment about checking the lighting board, I was just trying to help out because of the lack of comments here. Thanks for your input patrick, it was very insightful.

Does anyone here bounce light off the ceiling, on occasion, at receptions? My basic thought is to put lights in corners, aimed at the cieling, slightly towards that corner, if the lighting is really bad (to boost ambient lighting in a dimly lit facility, while not putting the additional light directly in anyone's eyes).

Does anyone here bounce light off the ceiling, on occasion, at receptions? My basic thought is to put lights in corners, aimed at the cieling, slightly towards that corner, if the lighting is really bad (to boost ambient lighting in a dimly lit facility, while not putting the additional light directly in anyone's eyes).

Also in reply to your previous question - softboxes.

I always discuss lighting with the B&G before the time and normally always scout the location before the time to help me ascertain as to lighting levels. If the reception is badly lit, I always advise them that I would be using additional lighting but then try and use it as unobtrusive as possible and then always with a softbox.

There have been occasions when I have used 1000 watters with softboxes but hid these as best as possible.

As long as your lighting is not over-bearing or "in the face", most would not object. However, on the flip side, always try and use as little artificial lighting as possible to keep the mood of the day. No one likes "being in the spotlight".

Cheers

My general approach is disturbing the day as least as possible. I make the very best video I can with the environment I have to work in. If the room is dim, that is how they wanted it.

I havn't been to a reception yet that was too dark to get shots of the important events. Maybe it isn't the best picture from a technical standpoint, but you can see facial details, and this is what is important. For the dancing, there is alot I can do by shooting from an angle where the DJ's lights will complement my shot. I always shoot to preserve the events, feelings, and the overall tone and mood of the environment.

I do tell brides that some light is required, I do not care what camera you use. Without light there is no color. But generally I don't want to light up the dance floor. That is the Dj's job.

Also in reply to your previous question - softboxes.


No one likes "being in the spotlight".

Cheers

Jeremy

Your brides must be different over there!!!

Cheers

Tony

Tony,

If you are going to or would like to use lighting at the reception, I would suggest getting the same shot, after color correction and any other adjustments, with and without the light. Show that to the couple and let them know what is possible. The majority, if they are like the brides we meet with, will opt for the lighting if it is needed. I would guess that there is liking an interaction between the tyope of video you sell and the pricing of your packages in predicting what brides will be okay with lighting, but from our experience, many prefer it, it makes our job easier, and the footage looks much better by far. It is probably used at some point in the night up to 80% of shoots.

Jeremy

Your brides must be different over there!!!

Cheers

Tony

I wouldn't like to think they are different but none like bright lights in my discussions with them, I always make it clear that low lighting will have an effect - no matter what the camera and I have never yet had a complaint. They all understand that we have only one shot at this (I also don't tell them that SA's got one of the highest divorce rates in the world :) )

What I have noticed from past posts in this forum is that our average lighting levels for receptions seems to be much lower than in the States if I take into account different cameras used for receptions and what people gain from them. The B&G's here LOVE the dim and low lights which obviously makes life for us a tad more difficult.

I light for the occasion and with the two 1000's with softboxes I always get good results and the B&G loves the finished product. My work is only from referrals so I must be doing something right. In fact, quite a bit of my work is for UK brides getting married in SA which is the latest trend due to the exchange rate.

Again, have your discussions and evaluate each situation. I doesn't mean to say that I will always use my lights - only if the situation calls for it. There are a few very popular venues here which are notoriously badly lit - and I always chat with the co-ordinators as well so as not to spoil the mood they want to set for the day. But then again, I invariably drop a dvd at the co-ordinator after the edit as well so they can showcase their work too!

Cheers

Jeremy

My comments were meant to be 'tongue in cheek'.

The bride is the STAR and everyone else, including the Groom is supporting cast to a greater or lesser degree. That's all my 'spotlight' comment was meant to say.



Cheers


Tony

Jeremy

My comments were meant to be 'tongue in cheek'.

The bride is the STAR and everyone else, including the Groom is supporting cast to a greater or lesser degree. That's all my 'spotlight' comment was meant to say.

Point taken and I didn't take offence. STAR - hmmmmm - bridezilla is the word that comes to my mind :) I must add that the UK brides are generally the easier ones to work with - they normally have a fairly good idea of what they want. The locals tend to let us call the shots.

Cheers

Jeremy

Once had a bride that complained I had made her look fat...she was 5ft 1" and about 190lbs!!!!!!!

Cheers


Tony

Jeremy

Once had a bride that complained I had made her look fat...she was 5ft 1" and about 190lbs!!!!!!!


Now if someone would come up with a plugin that solves this problem they will be a millionaire overnight!!

Cheers

lights at the wedding?

I can see this going the same place the mic on the bride thread went.

I'm sure there is a way it could be done "unobtrusively" but would the bride or church see it that way? It could be suicide for your wedding business.
As one who participated in the "mic on bride" discussion and as one who believes additional lighting should be used during ceremonies, here are my opinions:
OK, I am pretty sure we all know most television shows, commericals, and feature films use artifical lighting to achieve the look the producers/directors want. The use of carefully focused lights will really make video images pop! The question, or challenge for wedding videography is... just how does one use lights without adversely impacting the event and still make the job cost effective?

My answers are:
1) Do a site inspection well beforehand and don't do it if not absolutely necessary. It really adds to production time and cost.
2) Don't do it unless you can position the lights so they either are not visible or if visible, are quickly forgotten. Everyone's attention has to be on the ceremony, period.
3) Make sure the lights have dimmers.
4) The most one can hope for is to bring up the lumen level at the actual ceremony site a few notches. The light has to diffuse evenly into adjacent areas.
5) Try to convince church officials to install quartz PARS in place of incandescent PARS. They will get a brighter looking altar. You will have 3200K to work with, and can forget about needing extra lights.

In ten years I have used additional lighting only five times for wedding ceremonies, and never without first identifying the need and securing the agreement of the wedding party. Four were in dark environments where lights were necessary. One was planned to be candles only in a really dark church. It was clear (no pun intended) to everyone candles alone would not work. Careful focusing and dimmers made the ceremony look natural. Another involved floor to ceiling windows behind the altar, but the church was actually quite dark. I was actually told by the minister to bring extra lights. I had to see this place to believe the light was really that wierd. The last was a dark Victorian hotel ballroom which need a little help.

In all of these situations I have found what I call "almost side lighting" to be the best compromise. The lighting instruments are positioned safely to the side and in front of the ceremony site at an angle of about 30 degrees. This flat projection angle significantly reduces the frustration ministers have because the lights really aren't their direct field of view. It also evenly fills the ceremony site from two sides with a minimum of shadows, which can be worse than having no light at all. They are usually spotlights projecting a difffused edge, ideally having some downward tilt. My light stands can extend to 9'. I don't feel that is really enough height, but with the equipment I currently have going any higher causes safety concerns.

My favorite system for overall ease of use and portability is the Lowel ViP Pro Light, although the stands Lowel provides are flimsy to the point of being scary. I also use a collection of PAR 38 and PAR 30 lamps with a variety of clip-on type sockets for odd situations. I even have a set of four significantly modified 750 watt contractor work lights. I've used them once for a very non-traditional ceremony in a dark restaurant. Another dark romantic place, this time with a gold leaf ceiling. Just aimed the lights up and forgot about it. The reflection off of the ceiling added just enough punch to allow me to have good light levels everywhere in the room without being annoying. Since then, I've spotted a few gazebos where they could be useful on a summer evening.

Once had a bride that complained I had made her look fat...she was 5ft 1" and about 190lbs!!!!!!!

Just out of curiosity, was she eating a donut as she was complaining?

Just out of curiosity, was she eating a donut as she was complaining?

Robert

No, she hadn't quite finished her chicken wings!!


Cheers


Tony