I have been approached by a few photographers recently asking about photographing in low light, and in particular, shooting winter weddings late in the afternoon and evening.

The common mistake many photographers make in low light conditions is shooting in Programme Mode with an on-camera flash gun.  On a lovely diffused-light summer day, a decent SLR in this mode will often give you perfectly acceptable results.  But in winter it can make the results look amateurish.

The primary reason for this is that Programme Mode essentially uses the Flash to do all the work in lighting the subject.  The result? A flat, sometimes over-illuminated, subject with a very dark background: the sort of result you might expect from wedding guests using their compact cameras.

If you are shooting indoors a good low-light shot needs to pick up the ambient light in order to give the picture more depth; and it is often important that the image picks up the richness of the surrounding colour temperature to avoid the atmosphere being killed (eg festive candlelight).

So this calls for shooting in Manual or Aperture Priority Mode, using a very fast lens (some of the prime lenses are capable of an aperture as big as f1.2), and using a high ISO.  So as a photographer you are back to creatively “seeing the light”. But whilst it is true that the amount of light you need to shoot with this combination can often be criminally low, I do not suggest that you then necessarily disregard equipment providing artificial light sources.  In fact images without them can often look a little muddy and discoloured in very low light conditions.

Flash guns can still have a large part to play in cleaning up the light and helping to freeze movement (eg during dancing).  The important thing is to use them when you are exposing for the ambient light, so that the flash light does not dominate the scene and kill the atmosphere.  This image of a first dance was taken using a 50mm lens at f1.8 at 1/125, ISO 3200 and a blip of flash (-2 stops).  Using off-camera flash will also help to add depth and ensure that the subject is not flattened by the light.

Video lights are also an excellent light source for wedding weddings – though these are more likely to be used for creatively directed shots rather than reportage photography.  The same principles apply with video lights:  they can help provide subject contrast and illumination, but such light needs to be balanced up with the available ambient light sources (eg tungsten wall lamps) in order to maintain atmosphere and image-depth.  The advantage of video light is that you can see the result immediately – so it is like painting with light.  The disadvantage is that you invariably need assistance!

In summary, these are my tips for shooting winter weddings:

1. Plan the wedding shoot – and in particular, the creative shots – more carefully than ever. Think about the light sources for each shot.
2. Try to avoid using Programme Mode as much as possible.
3. Use very fast lenses.
4. Do not be afraid to use high ISO, and if necessary, deploy noise reduction software if necessary afterwards.
5. Shoot in RAW so that there is more scope to adjust the colour temperature in post-production.
6. Use flash and video light in conjunction with the ambient light. If possible use off-camera flash.

Cheryl and Kevin enjoyed a sunny autumnal day at All Saints Church, Witley and Farnham Castle (23 October).

This was the third successive week for me at Hartsfield Manor.   I love the venue though; and Helen and Rory were another great, photography-loving couple.  Some of the images look like they were taken on different days.  But it was essentially a blustery, grey day, until the sunshine broke through an hour before sunset.

Carmen and Will’s wedding was at St John the Baptist Church, Windlesham and then Beaumont House in Old Windsor.

Following on from my success at the MPA in August, I learned today that the Britsh Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) has also awarded me an Associateship in wedding photography.   The ‘normal’ professional qualification is a Licentiateship which denotes that photographers have an established level of skill and competence.  The Associateship qualification is aimed at the top 10% of photographers whose work shows style, individuality and a high standard of craftmanship and creative ability.

A quick return to Hartfield Manor this week with Kyley and Shaun, who also enjoyed their formal ceremony at Sacred hearts Church in Caterham.

Anna and Mike enjoyed glorious sunshine on their wedding day, 26 September.   They really enjoy their photography, and were a fantastic couple to work with.

Having won the London and Home Counties Regional Title, I learned yesterday that I was runner-up for the overall UK Mario Acerboni Creative Wedding Photographer title.   The Master Photographers Association held their National Awards Ceremony yesterday in Newcastle.  I couldn’t attend in person because I was already committed to photographing Helen and Rory’s wedding (with no regrets – beause it was a great day); but I was delighted to hear the news when I was informed late on Sunday evening. 

The judging is based on 3 images from a single wedding (before, during and after the main ceremony).  My images are from Suzy and Nick’s wedding at Northbrook Park on 24 May.

My big first Greek wedding….Anastasi and Maria’s at St Sophia’s and the Landmark Hotel on 20 September.  Loved the warm atmosphere of the whole thing (particularly at Maria’s home) and the dancing – but it was a longer day than we are used to!

This image has earned me another SWPP Gold Award in their monthly national competition.  This was taken at Maria and Anastasi’s wedding at the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone, earlier in September.   This will be published in Professional Imagemaker and will also go forward to the annual judging in January.