Lighting the Reception
 

Hello!


I wanted to start a discussion on what everyone does as far as lighting at a reception.

I typically have a dim-able LED light on my rig and shoot it directly or pop it up at the ceiling. I pair this with using the DJ lighting or setting up another LED on a stand for back light.

This normally gets the job done and can be done without cranking the lights too much to be a distraction.

My last few weddings though have been pitch black!

I hate having to crank my lights full blast, but it was either that or cranking my ISO past 6400.

What do you do for lighting?

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

I use two LED's, 312 & 600 LED. I'd light the couple & speeches with one each on 3m high stands so it's not eye level. In a worst case scenario I drop my shutter to 1/25 push ISO to 8000 on my C100 for static shots. The best way to light for dark reception is to have a camera that excels in low light, like the 5DIII, A7S, C100. Personally I do not like the flat/spotlight look of on camera light, I usually put my lights at an angle to my camera which adds some dimension. If the reception is pitch black then you need to speak to an organiser to sort out the lighting situation, most guests don't like a pitch black hall either.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

We don't use it, but off camera light to fill the space, like the dance floor, is my preferred way. We've got two wide, dimmable lights with stands, and then two narrow lights, also on stands or attached to the DJ's stuff, like this:
Amazon.com : Rogue ROGUEGRID 3-In-1 Stacking Honeycomb Grid System with Pouch for all Shoe-Mount Flashes with Flash Units from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Metz, Nissin, Pentax, Olympus and Others : Photographic Lighting : Camera & Photo,

That gives us four corners of coverage, two of which make great hair lights, and a lot of soft fill, but isn't too bright.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Echo and ditto. I use the comer 1800s on light stands.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

What camera are you using? My first HD camera was terrible in low-light, so I had to roll with on-camera and the occasional Omni light for the toasts. Thankfully, that issue was gone with the Sony FS100. Now I'll resort to a Prolight or Dedo (both are dimmable). I might be tempted to try out my newest addition, a remote-dimming 600 LED from Aputure touted as 95+ CRI. The throw on the LED's isn't ideal. The Comer might be your best bet on a budget.
Not sure why you're bouncing your light though. Talk about ruining the ambience of the room....and wasting precious photons. You might be adding to the base light level, but you're not making friends with the venue, DJ or coordinators. Don't be afraid to backlight or sidelight for effect and artistry.
I also suggest keeping a battery powered LED (even a 312 unit) on a small light stand that you (or an assistant) can position during the toasts. Especially important when the talent isn't standing in the right spot. This is usually under your control though. Tell the DJ where you want to position them based on your lighting. Don't let them stand where they want and hope for the best.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Oren, personally I haven't used our lights yet, but am ready if I run into a bad situation. My arrangement would be designed to softly light a space, like the dance floor, enough that I'm not screwed, but not enough to radically change the ambiance, like an on-camera light would do.

My master at the reception is a 5d Mark ii, which does nicely, but I fear for the day its so dark that all 3 cameras are pushed to ISO 6400 during the speeches or 1st dance.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

My setup is a few Switronix Torch Bolt bi-color LED lights on light stands. Usually three, but at the moment just two, because I left one at a bride's house dammit.

I don't like using hot lights, like dedos or Arri fresnels.

LED colours aren't perfect, but are good enough.

Rectangular shape of my lights I find a bit annoying; much better to have a circular source. But I don't think there are any cheap ones.

Definitely recommend dimmable (like any Hong Kong eBay LED) over non-dimmable (like rotolight).

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Short of a 12' scrim, you're not really getting soft light with small instruments. Besides, I wouldn't try to re-light an entire room without a grip truck. Better to focus on spot instruments (Dedo, ProLight, Fresnel lights), pick an area for your action, and light it up with a key light (and possibly back light or rim light to separate them from dark backgrounds. Think 'pool of light', not 'wall of light'. Your camera is sensitive enough, especially if you are using prime lenses. Remember, that when you don't have lots of motion, you can drop your shutter speed and give yourself a bit more light to work with.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Thanks for all the input. I am going to take all the comments into consideration.

Also I am rocking a Sony a99 so its no slouch in low light, but its all not the a7s haha.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

What kind of angle do you mean. Like pointed upwards?

I put something in my paperwork advising them not to have their reception lighting too low as it can affect video quality. I use a small video light as well but I hate having to have it so bright just to get any detail at all. Might try the second video light on a stand suggestion as well as I normally dont do much with lighting beyond having one on my rig.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Not pointed upwards, rather a horizontal angle to the camera so not directly on the camera's axis but off to one side to provide some modelling rather than a flat mugshot look.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

I know it's not as simple as just going and buying a new camera for most people, but seriously...


B&Gs plan every detail of their day. I'm pretty sure if they had the choice, their reception room plan would not involve lighting rigs like a tv set. It's so unnatural and perhaps off-putting for people.

Just save up, do what it takes. Buy an A7S. Your bride's will thank you for it.

I've been light free for 6 months. (Before that they only got used for dancefloor stuff on occasions). The guests are also a lot more comfortable venturing to the dancefloor when there aren't bright lights cast on it.

I'm sure other cameras will start to compete with Sony's low light performance soon enough.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

I have been thinking about that too, but it would be a over 3K investment incl lens and that would only be for maybe 10% of the weddings I do every year and only for the first dance. All the rest of the evening I can cope with my gh3/4 with f1.8/f2.0 lenses at iso 3200/6400.

That's a lot of money for 30 seconds worth of footage in my 20 minute highlights. Now I just place a lightstand with a ledgo160 light and point it towards the dj so I don't blind any guests and have some fill light on the side where otherwise no light was and that deals with the pitch black parts of the day I run across from time to time.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

I use 2 TorchLEDs on 9' light stands when the situation warrants. I bought them almost a year ago or so and this was before my second shooter bought a Sony a7s, and then I found my third shooter who uses a FS100. I also have 3 Sony 20W on camera lights as well, but rarely use those any more.

So now, my need for lighting has really diminished. They do come in useful for outdoor exits in the evenings though. Usually it's pitch black and no light in some cases. Those 2 do a great job providing some ambient light.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Adrian, I was looking back at threads on lighting for receptions and I noticed that you're using the Switronix LEDs during receptions. I was looking at these lights earlier today so I wanted to find out what your general opinion of these lights has been? Where do you typically place them? Do you add diffusion to them? How long do the batteries last?

Right now I have 2 of these lights:

Variable Color Temp 600 LED Video Light Panel CN600CSA

I have not yet used them at weddings but they've done well for the corporate shoots that I've used them on. My concern is that they're not small (I think they're close to 1x1) and I don't want to draw a ton of attention to them. The Switronix look like they produce quite a bit of light in a much smaller package (while also offering a remote control option) but I'm concerned that because they're so compact it might be difficult to get a flood light effect from them.

Anyways, I'd be interested to get your opinion on the Switronix as well as whether you think the ephoto lights that I have would be any better/worse/different.

Thanks!

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

I can't comment on your lights, but I'll tell you I'm really enjoying these TorchLEDs. They put out a stunning amount of light in such a small package.

Mine are the older ones without remote control. I wish mine had that! It could be useful when they're up 9' in the air.

They do spill light everywhere and I know that you can buy an airbox softbox from BH to diffuse them.

They're a little pricey and I'm looking at making my own DIY softbox for help soften the light and cut down on overall spill. The diffusers that come with them are ok.. but I think a softbox would be better.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Hey Michael, definitely check out Kyle's review: Switronix TorchLED Bolt Review | Wedding Videography by KR Productions

So, some general thoughts... I bought these four or five years ago, and at the time I don't think there were many cheap bicolour LED lights (instead, you had to use gels). No doubt there are many more options now. In terms of amount of light, one unit will spew out enough for the dance floor of any reception. I don't think you'd want to light the entire reception beyond the dance floor, because maybe that would be too much of a change from whatever ambient conditions B&G want. In terms of CRI, well, I have no trust in the numbers that manufacturers sling around; I'm sure they have a green cast, but then I think all LEDs do, even the expensive ones, and I think the Switronix lights perform better in this respect than cheap Hong Kong eBay lights. In terms of battery life, one battery is supposed to last something like 4 hours with lights at full blast, but I don't use them at full blast; so one battery will see me through 1.5 receptions.

I think your lights are better than mine, and I don't know if it's worth it for you to buy Switronix lights as well. Your lights can produce more light, so you can place them further away and light a wider area, and it's always better to have the option of producing more, because you can dim down to taste. Your lights would also produce a softer light from close up. Main advantage the Switronix lights might give you is convenience of carrying -- can easily put a couple of units, along with batteries, into a backpack, and can use a lighter light stand. And you might be right that smaller size means that you can cram them into tighter places, and that in some situations they draw less attention, though any light is going to draw attention as soon as you turn it on.

One possible problem, though, with both your lights and the Switronix ones, is controlling the flood. That's where fresnels, dedolights, spotlights can be very useful -- can place them far away from subject, but still use barn doors and slide the lamp back and forth, to spot down and illuminate a speaker's face.

How I've used my Switronix lights...

-- At prep, I'll use two. For instance: both lights shining on a ring for fill light against bright background. Or: on Sunday I was shooting in a hotel room -- closed the window curtains and hung the dresses on the curtain rod, set up bride's accessories on the bed in foreground, used one light on the dresses and one on the accessories for a wider angle slider shot.
-- Ceremony, photoshoot: never really use them. But if B&G go out at night time for a second photoshoot, it's easy enough to grab a light stand and bring it with you.
-- Bridal party introductions at reception: usually I'll have one backlight as they come in set to daylight; a second light might be used as fill from the front, or could be placed to illuminate where they end up standing when they line up in front of bridal table, or could be a second backlight if the path has a few turns. Just depends on layout, pre-existing lighting, etc.
-- Speeches: generally one daylight backlight, one tungsten fill light that maybe illuminates bridal table as well, and one prayer that they'll stay standing in the same spot. If it's still daytime when they're giving speeches and the subjects are standing against bright windows, the Switronix lights will help a little, but won't really be powerful enough to provide decent fill; those windows are going to get blown out.
-- Bridal waltz: same sort of deal as speeches: three-quarters daylight backlight, and tungsten fill light either from the front or from 45 degrees to camera position, from same side as backlight.
-- After dancing starts: will leave at least one night on the dance floor pretty much the whole time, unless guests complain. Other light I might move around to illuminate different things -- people signing guestbook, DJ doing stuff, etc.
-- I sometimes use the airbox softbox as diffusion, but usually don't bother. It does make the quality of the light nicer, though.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Kyle and Adrian, thanks so much for all of this information. It does look like the Switronix lights work very well and I think they will do what I need them to. I like the fact that the battery lasts 4 hours and the current version has a remote control. In looking at Kyle's review and all of the information you've both listed, I will keep the in my B&H wishlist, but first I will try using my ephoto lights at my first wedding of the year. If the ephoto lights work well then I'll stick with them. However, I know that the ephoto lights run through batteries quickly and they are more likely to draw attention to themselves. If these two things become a big problem then I'll look into the Switronix lights further as they seem like a very good, portable solution that will be more covert than my ephoto lights.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

B&H has them on sale for the next 19 hours or until they sell out for $229 including a battery:
Switronix TorchLED Bolt 220R On-Camera Light and Wireless B&H

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

I know! I saw this just a few hours after I wrote that I decided to hold off on purchasing them. It's very tempting as it looks like these lights would be a very good fit for what I need. I think I'll still wait until my first wedding in April to try out the ephoto lights that I already own, and if they're not a good fit then I'll spend the extra money to buy these at their regular price. Thanks for the tip though!

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

That is a great deal on the set up!

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

I appreciate all the great responses!

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Just save up, do what it takes. Buy an A7S.

Clive.. How are you finding lenses for the A7s, are they stabilized and what did you get.

Re: Lighting the Reception
 

Does anyone have any examples (maybe 100% screenshots) of what an A7S would do under really bad lighting conditions at a reception? I mean the type of reception where a 5d/6d would be at 6400iso to get passable footage.