Need help lighting a Wedding Cermony on a Lake

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Ken1212

Well-known member
I will be shooting a wedding in couple weeks at 6:00 pm in an outdoor setting on the lake. My camera will be facing west and the lake, there is no room behind the couple to setup a camera. The background is going to be so bright. My camera will be about 35 feet away in the back. It seems I am going to need at least a 1k light to compensate but might not have the luxury of setting that at a wedding. How can I get a nice image without blowing out the background. I will be using the AG-HMC80 and a Nikon D3100 for B roll. What are my options other than an ND filter (hence I will have to loose the hood on the HMC80 to use filters, the camera also has a background light compensation feature in the menu that will help some but might make my main subjects darker) What are my options?
 
I would strongly suggest getting yourself quite a bit closer, for quite a few reasons. You can mitigate a lot of the problem you're asking about by doing so.
 
I use 43mm clear, polarizer and ND filters on my HMC80 all the time with the lens hood installed. No problem.

However, if you're shooting straight into the sun, no lens shade is going to help very much. Try to get at a good angle to the sun.

- Greh
 
Thanks for the reply. I just bought the HMC80 recently and tried a 52mm ND with a 52mm to 43mm adapter and couldn't get the hood to fit back on. I just ordered a set of 43mm filters. I will have to stay on a medium shot on the couple to avoid the sun and use the D3100 to get my other shots. I am going to see if I can get away by using two 1k lowell DP lights by setting them towards the middle of each side, this way I might be able to use an ND4 instead of an ND2.
 
Again this is a wedding setting, reflectors would be nice but I would need large ones to be effective and what about if it's cloudy that day!
 
If it is a cloudy day then God put a 500000000k softbox in the sky and did not even ask for a deposit.

As far as options go I would start by discussing with the client. When I have a wedding lit by candles I make sure the client knows it will be dark. When I have a wedding on the beach at sunset I make sure the client know they may be backlit or over exposed background or dark by the end of the ceremony. You are not shooting for TLC are you? You are not expecting to see this in the theater right? Most likely the client will not even care.
 
Ken1212 said:
What are my options other than an ND filter (hence I will have to loose the hood on the HMC80 to use filters, the camera also has a background light compensation feature in the menu that will help some but might make my main subjects darker) What are my options?
Click to expand...

I don't think you have much of an option other than a graduated ND filter to lower the sky value, and with the gradiation of the ND effect, the Bridal Party less or not affected.

Since you have two cameras, one could have the ND filter with a wide shot, and the other with a telephoto to just cut the image down to the bridal party/couple, minimizing the sky/background as much as possible.

You can get a hood rig which also has a filter slot, so you could cut out a ND gel filter to better match the situation. But that would probably require you go to the site a couple of days before hand, to make sure your setup
will work.

But if the sun is within the frame, you're stuck with lens flare no matter what.

Some times the couple selects places that are oh so 'romantic' with little regard for the audience's 'appreciation' of the situation... if you are looking into the sun, so will the audience... but they can wear sunglasses...
 
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kgimedia said:
If it is a cloudy day then God put a 500000000k softbox in the sky and did not even ask for a deposit.

As far as options go I would start by discussing with the client. When I have a wedding lit by candles I make sure the client knows it will be dark. When I have a wedding on the beach at sunset I make sure the client know they may be backlit or over exposed background or dark by the end of the ceremony. You are not shooting for TLC are you? You are not expecting to see this in the theater right? Most likely the client will not even care.
Click to expand...

Agreed, the most important thing is making sure the client understands how their decisions will affect the final product. There is always going to be a tradeoff between the quality of the live event and the quality of the video you are able to produce. Reflectors and getting the camera closer might dampen the mood but will make for a better picture.
 
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