Do You Want Beautiful, Candid, Reception Photographs? Read These 5 Tips to Light Your Reception Well for Amazing Photographs!
You’ve hired your dream wedding photographer and are so excited to see your stunning gallery of wedding photographs. You should trust your photographer to do a great job and capture beautiful photographs for you, but what you may not know is that there are ways you can work with them to help them capture your memories in the best way possible.
Your photographer is a master of their craft, but the most important tool they have to create gorgeous photographs is light. Light is something that most photographers are seamlessly able to work with during daylight hours and outdoors. BUT, sometimes a photographer can lose control over when the sun sets and your reception moves indoors, affecting the overall style of your photographs. The way you light your reception can make or break a gorgeous photograph, so make sure to have a discussion with your photographer about how you can incorporate the right light. I promise, this is so easy once you know what you look for, and I’ve compiled five of my favourite reception lighting techniques below to get you started!
The main thing to remember is that you absolutely do not want the lighting in your reception space to be harsh overhead lights. This means no overhead strip lighting, and absolutely no pot lights! Try to steer clear of randomly placed spot lights as well, unless they’re strategically set to light the podium, first dance etc. From there, whatever style of lighting you choose is completely up to you!
Candles
If you’re dreaming of reception photographs that are soft, dreamy, and romantic, the most sure fire way to achieve this aesthetic is through using candles on all your tables. Lots and lots of candles. Seriously, ALL the candles. If you have to ask, ‘is this enough candles’ the answer is no, add more!
When you create clusters of candles of different heights as the center of your tables, the result is a beautiful, soft, and glow-y light that makes everybody look fantastic. These photographs look beautiful in black and white, and have a timeless, classic style that you will love forever. Whether you’re using round tables, or long harvest tables, make sure there are a variety of candles on them all. Don’t forget to light your head table this way as well.
Pro tip: use lots of shorter candles in front of your seat at the head table, this way your photographer can still capture sneaky candid photographs of you without having tall candles blocking your faces!
Having enough ambient lighting meant I didn’t have to use a flash, so guests could forget I was even there. This allows me to capture great candid photographs of real emotions!
Candles create beautiful glowy light on faces, so you and your guests will always look amazing in your photographs!
There was enough ambient light in the room from candles and string lights that I could shoot this intimate dance floor scene without a flash. The photo feels close and cozy, and I didn’t have to disturb the couple with a camera flash to pull them out of the moment they were enjoying together.
Hanging Lanterns
Hanging lanterns are a beautiful and stylish choice. They create an soft, even, and glow-y light that will make your photographer throw up their arms in hallelujah praise. Hanging lanterns are a great way to decorate and light your reception if you’re hosting an outdoor tented wedding, but can also look fantastic when used to jazz up an indoor space, or shed light on one specific area such as the dance floor. Can you picture a dance floor with a cloud of hanging lanterns above it?!? Stunning.
Make sure you’re using the right type of light bulbs inside your lanterns. They look best with a soft yellow or orange light, similar to the colour and luminescence cast by candlelight. Stay away from ‘daytime’ or other blue light colours.
Pro tip: Make sure you’re not hanging the lanterns too high. They create such a cozy and intimate feeling when hanging down low over your tables
Hanging lanterns also have a beautiful style during the day.
At night, hanging lanterns really make a space come alive. This tent felt warm, inviting, and was filled with happy guests long into the evening.
This tent looked amazing all night long as a backdrop filled with glowing lanterns.
The light that hanging lanterns create inside a reception space is so soft and romantic.
Lanterns can make an outdoor tent feel like a wedding oasis long into the night.
String Lights
String lights are a beautiful and affordable way to light your wedding reception. Just remember, there are types of string lights that read ‘wedding’, while others read ‘christmas’. Don’t buy Christmas lights for your wedding. Please. Instead, choose strings of lights with a ‘warm orange’ colour, and that have a shape of bulb that is as ‘un-christmassy’ as possible. Opt for round bulbs, or large Edison style bulbs to create the right vibe.
Make sure to hang your string lights plentifully. One or two strands of lights won’t do much to light a large space. Picture them draped thickly overhead, like a trellis of lights. If lighting your whole reception space seems like a daunting task, pick one or two specific areas that you would like to focus on. For example, create a forest of lights around your dance floor, or over your head table.
Remember, string lights don’t always have to be above you. Consider wrapping them around poles or trees of they’re close by, and using these features to create congregating areas for your guests so you get great candid shots. Picture an outdoor wedding with a tree draped in string lights, and a collection of sofas and chairs around it, or a fire pit, where your guests will happily go enjoy a nightcap.
String lights do a great job of creating light and setting the mood in your reception space. Make sure there are plenty of them so they cast enough light and don’t look spindly and lonely strung out there.
Chandeliers
Hear me out on this one. While chandeliers might seem extravagant to start with, they’re actually very affordable from used furniture stores, pack a tonne of style when incorporated into indoor spaces, and create whimsical scenes when hung outdoors.
It’s important to hang them low over tables so that they can properly light the space. This also makes it easier for your photographer to incorporate them into the frame for some seriously stylish shots. Choose a level of ‘glitter’ that suits your style, and keep in mind that the more ‘sparkle’ a chandelier has, the more interesting light it will cast in a photograph.
Again, don’t feel like you have to go out and buy 10 chandeliers. Many places rent them, or simply choose to style a single space with them. For example, hang a cluster of 3 over your dance floor, light your head table with an elegant overhead piece, or create a whimsical outdoor space by suspending them between poles or from trees.
Chandeliers really elevate a space and scream elegance. Plus, they create gorgeous soft light, and can easily be used instead of overhead pot lights. Please, turn off the pot lights!
Chandeliers look so elegant in the background of wedding photographs.
Chandeliers can also create enough ambient light that I can shoot without flash, so I don’t interrupt couples in their moment and they can forget that they’re on camera.
Strategic Spot Lights
It is up to you, your photographer, and your individual style choice if you want to use strategically placed spotlights. They’re often used in larger ballroom spaces for weddings, but ask your photographer to see some ‘spot lit’ photographs to see if you like the style.
When used correctly, spotlights can create fantastic back lighting for a first dance, or set the scene for an elegant podium for speeches. BUT as soon as your venue’s lighting technician puts a pink gel on top of the spotlights, prepare to have all your reception photographs in black and white, or strangely coloured. Some photographers carry their own lighting kits to create a spotlight aesthetic during the reception. If so, leave this up to them and trust their eye and expertise in creating their style of photographs.
Coloured spotlights sometimes have a place on the dance floor once the party is started. However, if your venue or DJ does use spotlights, consider asking them to keep the light a neutral colour until the dance starts. Many people think that coloured lighting looks cool in person, but it really wreaks havoc on your photographs. Keeping the light neutral means that your first dance photos won’t all be hot pink, which in my experience is not a style most people like.
Spotlights were used to back light the couple during their first dance, and chandeliers create interesting light patterns in the background.
Spotlights were used to create a heart on the ground for this couple’s first dance.
Overall, if having great candid photographs of your guests and reception is a priority for you, I highly recommend making sure you’re thinking about the lighting. If you’re feeling lost, your photographer will likely be happy to consult with you on any lighting questions you have. They’re lighting experts, and will love to be included in the process! Personally, there’s nothing I love more than walking into a reception space and knowing that I will be able to create fantastic photographs throughout the evening. Knowing that I won’t have to keep an eye out for a roving pink spotlight allows me to focus more closely on all the beautiful interactions that are going on around your reception. I get to go home knowing I captured beautiful, once in a lifetime moments, where you and your guests look their absolute best.
xo
-c