Jump to content

Indoor Wedding Photography


Enbee

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello - I got an opportunity to use M-P 240 35mm f2 this weekend at a wedding. I am not too impressed with my photographs. As this was the first time I was taking photographs without a flash. I had a tripod/monopod but felt no need to take photographs. I felt the colors weren't as bright as I would have expected. I would say 10-20 percent were amazing quality but remaining were bad to average quality. My question is what should I do to get better. Should I use a flash? Some photographs had too much red (maybe there is a better technical term for it). Or should I look for a lens which is better f stop. I am also thinking maybe it was my composition but that will take time, can't do much with it. I was there to attend a friends wedding but my photographs were interrupted by the two wedding photographers - they were always everywhere. How should I overcome such a thing? Any other suggestions from people who do such photography.

 

Thanks,

Link to post
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, low light is often times also bad light: sodium vapor, fluorescents, or in your case most likely dimmed down tungsten lights. Each are very deficient in large parts of the color spectrum. I would experiment with flash

or even a small on camera LED to mix with the existing light and see how that works for you.

 

Generally, people believe that high ISO capability is a fix for all these problems, but in my experience, where cranking up the ISO helps most is when you are trying to make the most out of fading daylight.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Did you take the pictures in RAW and did you developed them in Lightroom? If the issue is the white balance you might be able to correct for it in Lightroom. You might find the pictures are better than you thought and it would also give you information on what was done wrong.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I find in indoor lighting of unknown color temp that using the custom WB function is my friend. And having shot many a wedding for friends and family, I have no aversion whatsoever to using flash. The pros use it after all. I like using some kind of bounce attachment (Sto-Fen Omni Bounce or Lumiquest Mini Softbox or Pocket Bouncer) to soften the light. Ceilings are often too high to bounce off of. One of the nice things about using a Leica M is I can see the flash effect and also if the subject blinked or changed expression as the shot was made. And one great advantage of shooting friends and family is I already have rapport, and know them so well I can many times predict their expression before it happens.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

ISO 800 is too low. For M240 you can safely go to 3200 (with noise control in LR). The noise in out of the camera jpg at 3200 is not good. This already gives you two stops more.

 

You can also see how low you can go in shutter speed. 1/60 will be mostly ok with people moving (with slight motion blur, that may look good). With f/2, 1/60 and up to ISO 3200 you should be ok with most low light situations.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello - I got an opportunity to use M-P 240 35mm f2 this weekend at a wedding. I am not too impressed with my photographs. As this was the first time I was taking photographs without a flash. I had a tripod/monopod but felt no need to take photographs. I felt the colors weren't as bright as I would have expected. I would say 10-20 percent were amazing quality but remaining were bad to average quality. My question is what should I do to get better. Should I use a flash? Some photographs had too much red (maybe there is a better technical term for it). Or should I look for a lens which is better f stop. I am also thinking maybe it was my composition but that will take time, can't do much with it. I was there to attend a friends wedding but my photographs were interrupted by the two wedding photographers - they were always everywhere. How should I overcome such a thing? Any other suggestions from people who do such photography.

 

Thanks,

 

How dare those pesky paid professionals get in your way. The arrogance of them. I can't believe that the photographers who the bride and groom carefully selected to capture their day, at great expense, would interfere with your photographic practice?

 

Unbelievable!

 

Gordon

 

Ps: My suggestion is to leave the tripod at home, unless your the paid photographer, otherwise you're just getting in the way.

  • Like 11
Link to post
Share on other sites

I wouldn't have picked an indoor wedding as an indoor trial run with an M .... with or without flash :rolleyes:

 

You need some time to adjust to the Leica quirks when used indoors .... and personally I would have used auto iso with a minimum speed of 1/15sec (easily usable with a 35mm lens) and be prepared to add manual EV adjustment as needed.

 

.... and you cannot manufacture colour where there isn't any ....... poor illumination won't give you vibrant images, no matter how high your ISO .....

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I have shot several weddings with both an M8 and M240 using natural light with very satisfying results. You just have to work with what is available and not be adverse to asking people to stand in the right spot relative to the lighting that is available to avoid harsh and unsightly shadows.

 

The WB can be tricky as often, you have a mix of different light fittings so WB will change relevant to which light source is dominant in that particular position.

 

Using a flash will help to overcome the WB issue, and will give you a different look.

 

And, as much as i am going to recommend that you take a grey card with you to set the WB... i have yet to follow my own advice in this regard :eek:

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Enbee, your chosen lens should be able to cope with the lighting. However, I would have taken some grey scale reference shots, using WhiBal or ColorChecker at the main subject. That aids fine tuning in Lightroom giving you realistic results. Of course with mixed lighting there will be discordant elements. But make your WB measurement where accuracy matters. Practice at home to perfect your technique.

Edited by wda
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank You everyone. I can appreciate a little sarcasm - though mine won't be as pointed.

 

Jedi - What settings do you use - ISO? Is your shutter at Auto? I will try and work with the WB - I think that will help. Now that I am looking at the photographs - I tend to like some more than before.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

By coincidence, my daughter got married at the weekend, indoors, mainly after dark (I.e. post 4pm). I used up to ISO 3200, and mainly an APO-Summicron 75 ASPH, mainly wide-open, and often at around 1/75. An Apo-Summicron 50 Asph as back up, but little used. The light in the rooms where the ceremony was held and where the dinner was served was bright and I could get good exposures. The room with dancing was too dark for anything without flash - the pros used it, but I gave up.

 

Even for my daughter's wedding, the pros took priority, though they admired my camera :). I wouldn't think of getting in their way, and told them to tell me if I did.

 

The lighting was horribly mixed, and even though I shoot in raw considerable work is needed in LR to get the colour right: adjust temp and tint until key skin tones are right, then use local WB adjustments to correct anything else that looked lime green or graveyard blue.

 

Composition? That is not affected by the leica or by any other camera. It is purely determined by the 6 inches behind the sensor.

 

Edit: I should say I am very happy with many of my results, and know that all the failures are attributable to lack of lighting or lack of wits on my part.

 

Edit: I used Auto WB, merely to get the initial WB somewhere near reasonable (which it failed to do)

Edited by LocalHero1953
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank You Paul. It's good to know that I am not the only one. The camera was a great conversation starter, I spoke to so many people because of the camera - it's unbelievable. People were curious :). Question about 3200 - I have tried it in the past and grains are all over. Is that what you get and you remove grains in LR PP?

 

Thanks,

Link to post
Share on other sites

Enbee,

I had to look at the photo's in LR to remind myself :)

 

I have set up 3 in camera user profiles. The one that i would have used would have been set to;

 

Auto Iso

Aperture priority

WB set to tungsten or fluro depending on which is the dominant light source, but you can change this as required to suit.

 

I generally shoot with a 50lux between f1.4 and f5.6 and with a minimum shutter speed of 1xfocal length and which looking at a few photo's from the last wedding, resulted in an ISO of between 200 and 3600.

 

Oh, and i always shoot RAW.

 

Hope that helps.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, very grainy OOC. But noise reduction in LR is pretty effective, though others prefer add-ins. Exposure at 3200 is pretty unforgiving, though: if you under-expose, there is little hope of recovery, without grainy banding. I have yet to try Push 6400, though, and wish I'd tried it at the weekend. Of course, you have a bit more flexibility if you convert to mono; you don't have to worry about colour noise.

 

Noise-reduction in LR: I start by reducing colour noise until I can't see it, then reduce luminance noise to an acceptable level - reduce it too much and everyone looks plastic. If i want to be more selective, I move to PS.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I took many photos for a birthday with very bad light with M 240 at ISO 1600 and Summilux 35mm (without flash) , I find it good enough for my needs --> https://www.flickr.com/photos/erick-boileau/15904820567/in/photostream/lightbox/

 

I shoot a gray card for white balance when I need colors

Edited by erick
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

When doing weddings with the M I would use either the CV35/1.2 or the 50 lux asph and shoot up to iso 2500 or even 3200 but you have to be careful with your exposures and watch for banding in shadow areas (the can be removed with nik dfine2). Personally though I would probably use the Sony A7s where I can take my iso up to 25000 and have files like the M at 1600 (unbelievable but true).

As to the grain I wouldn't worry about it to much unless your a re going to do very large prints.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I agree, using a WB card or shooting a neutral surface to get a local WB is the best option, but if the indoor location has mixed lighting, the exact balance is likely to differ greatly around the room. In informal situations where I can't necessarily control what is happening, I find it easier to forget about WB and concentrate on catching the right moment and composition - my brain can't work with too many degrees of freedom.

Here are two from the weekend, where there was fading daylight, halogens and CFL, and maybe some tungsten:

- one of a formal moment, which occurred just as the daylight was fading (and so the colour balance was changing).

- one very informal shot of the bride, a bridesmaid and two hangers-on: no time to get a WB card shot for this moment at this location.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...