First let me say this is the most fun I’ve ever seen teenagers have. What a blast!
Wedding photographers hire me to help them cover their weddings. I like it because I’m shooting for the most critical audience possible – my peers. The standards are necessarily very high. I love to develop as a photographer and every wedding is an education under fire. Perhaps one of the trickiest, & unfortunately most common, scenarios is a dark reception hall.
This weekend I had the opportunity to practice a fresh lighting technique at my nephew’s graduation party. The party was in a dimly lit unfinished basement of a church. I worked with 3 Speedlights. One mounted on camera & two mounted on the steel I-beams you see in some pictures wrapped in Christmas lights. No light stands were used. Everything is wireless. The lights are mounted easily on any wall/surface without fear of damage to the venue.
What happens is that sweet spots or “light traps” if you will occur where the satellite strobes develop from bouncing off the ceiling. Then it’s all about working the trap and using the lights in the manner you wish. e.g. rim, side, 3/4, back etc… With a little timing and providence some magic can happen. I’m looking forward to developing this technique more and more. It is perhaps the most affordable and effective lighting one can implement at a reception.
