Indoor Wedding Photography

[Enbee]

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I will try high ISO and see if I can get something clear on LR. I haven't tried that option. I saw Topaz had a software to remove grains but didn't feel like spending money on it. I love the photographs Local Hero. Thank You again everyone!

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[Herr Barnack]

@Enbee,

 

When the light is truly horrid - as it is in most indoor weddings - you probably need to be using flash if you want to shoot at ISO 1000 or lower. If you use flash, by all means use off camera flash with a light modifier to soften the direct light or use bounce flash.

 

If you are forced to photograph with available light, use any ISO up to 3200 with f/2 or f/2.8 - and focus carefully. Do not rule out the use of a monopod - they are quite helpful in low light situations that require slow shutter speeds. A tripod at a wedding is pretty much going to be a millstone around your neck, but a monopod most decidedly has its place in the scheme of things.

 

Lastly and of extreme importance is this: When the bride and groom are paying literally thousands of dollars to have their wedding photographed by a professional photographer/s - let him/her do the best work that they are capable of. Steer clear of them, their equipment and their work zone. Don't follow them or shadow them. As photographers, we owe that courtesy to paid professional photographers and to the bride and groom who are paying for professional results.

[Rick]

I shoot the M240 at 6400 with no problems. Use 6400 to keep your shutter speed up in order to stop motion blur. Use LR and RAW. The Leica files are 14 bit and can withstand a lot of manipulation in post (unlike Sony which compresses its files to 12 bit!). If, you get some banding with the M240, which I also see in my Sony RX1 files (and it is completely usable in the RX1, just fine) just use the black slider and lower the black level. The Sony cameras do a lot of PP in camera which is good. But, the Leica (which gives an uncompressed and less processed file) can do much more, if you want to learn how to PP.

 

The Sony has good sensor (except the thick sensor glass) and good in-camera processing, but the lenses are not manual and leave a lot on the table. Learn to use your Leica and PP and you will print at the level of Canon and Nikon pro gear.

 

Rick

[jaapv]

 

Lastly and of extreme importance is this: When the bride and groom are paying literally thousands of dollars to have their wedding photographed by a professional photographer/s - let him/her do the best work that they are capable of. Steer clear of them, their equipment and their work zone. Don't follow them or shadow them. As photographers, we owe that courtesy to paid professional photographers and to the bride and groom who are paying for professional results.

+10 !

 

I always try to have a quick chat with the pro before and ask for instructions on how they want me to behave. Most pros, having had their share of obnoxious relatives getting in their way, appreciate this. Usually it ends in a chat about my Leicas.

And keep to the instructions they give.

[wattsy]

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 -->

 

You are confusing "bad" light with "low" light – they are not necessarily the same thing as your birthday photos with the nice candlelight attest to.

[Fgcm]

I prefer to keep things simple.

I use a SF24 in manual mode during the party. I get close to people and use a 35.

SF 58 is too powerful for close range, but works great when you need to lit up a room.

 

If you learn how to use a flash in manual mode, you get a good balance between ambient light and flash fill in when shooting indoor.

If needed, correct the color temperature of the flash with an orange gel and adjust accordingly WB in post processing.

 

The trick is to reduce the power of the flash. Low power = smoother skin

 

By the way: fill flash freezes the picture too.

 

Ciao

Franco

[jaapv]

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Use a colour correction filter on the flash.

[Enbee]

Thanks Carlos - I did have a chat with the photographers and I was out of their way. I wasn't trying to ask the obvious but was just wondering when people face the issue what they do to circumvent that's all. Next time, I will try at higher ISO's and see if something happens in post-processing, which I need to learn. I will also use adjust WB as suggested earlier using a grey card. I will keep away from flash until I think I am absolutely getting no where. Right now, I think I have some room to play with. As with auto ISO, I had difficulties, when I tried using it in the past. Thank You again for all your suggestions.

[jto555]

Here is a great article on the Steve Huff website on shooting weddings with an M(240):

 

Sixty Weddings with a Leica M 240 by Joeri van der Kloet | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS

 

I find that I can shoot at 3200ISO very happly as long as I crank the Colour Noise Reduction up to about +60. 6400ISO work as well as long as I reduce the Shadows and increase the Blacks, all in Adobe Camera Raw.

 

Don't worry about noise (grain) if the images are for web/computer or 10x8 inch prints.

[BerndReini]

What is Camera LED?

 

An On-Camera LED is a small LED light that video shooters use. Ikan makes pretty good products. I have found them to be more accurate in color than the Fotodiox, which run a little magenta. You attach the small light onto your hotshoe and and you instantly see the result. The output is much less than the minimum output of a flash, so you can mix it better with the existing ambient light when shooting wide open.

[Enbee]

Thanks jto for a fantastic article. Wish I would have read it before I shot the wedding. How do people post process? Is it just LR our something else to reduce noise?

[jto555]

I fine Noiseware is very good.

 

https://www.imagenomic.com/nw.aspx

 

John

[LocalHero1953]

Thanks jto for a fantastic article. Wish I would have read it before I shot the wedding. How do people post process? Is it just LR our something else to reduce noise?

 

I see PP as an essential part of photography, just as darkroom work is with film photography. While my aim is to get as much right in-camera as I can, I rely on LR for the whole gamut of adjustments: white balance correction, cropping, exposure correction, noise reduction, sharpening. If I want to do more advanced local corrections, then I export to Photoshop. So I couldn't live with just a noise reduction tool, but I find LR good enough for most of my needs.

 

Edit: you mentioned disappointment with your colours. Under some lighting, I find it very difficult to get some colours right. I suspect that certain lights with a high IR component cause problems with magenta or red with certain people with blood vessels close to the surface: lips or cheeks. I can correct these in LR, but only by adjusting individual colour channels. Conversely, in some very cool light, blues and greens in clothing are poorly reproduced. Like a number of people here, I have created a custom dual colour profile for my M240, but I still have problems with unusual/extreme colour temperatures.

[M1945]

Enbee, I don't know what your expectations are but if you use auto WB and Auto ISO with 6400 max, you will do just fine. I shot dim dance clubs with great results with the 50 Lux f1.4 and the M240.

 

LR5 will let to develop very nicely with WB correction and a bit of exposure manipulation. I shot JPGs and still was able to get wonderful shots. Many were too noisy for color, but B&W were great! And people loved them.

 

Oh yeah, it's a real job to stay out of the way of the pros.... They are really focused (pardon the pun) and under a lot of pressure. Still, I know what you mean as I had the same feelings when I tried to take photos at my son's wedding....

 

Good luck out there!