Good morning! I hope you are all doing well and had a great weekend!

As I get further into my career in Photography, I think I tend to get more and more excited for opportunities to learn more about or expand my craft. I LOVE learning new things, and this past weekend was such a huge opportunity for me to get more practice in an area I’ve been nervous to explore more into: Flash Photography (specifically during a [REAL] wedding).

While I do have a little bit of experience with Flash in general, taking that step into using Flash at a faster-paced event was such an exciting and nerve-wracking move for me. Obviously, a wedding is one of the most important days in someone’s life – and I always get so nervous (even without the introduction of flash) that I’m going to freeze up, miss an important shot, or mess up my settings in a panic. However, I truly couldn’t have asked for a better, more affirming lead photographer to walk into this situation with.

This week, I wanted to chat more about my experience with that and what I noticed throughout the day. I learned so much more than I thought I would, and am so excited to have more chances to shoot with flash in the future!

A Quick Thank-You

Before I dive into the details of the day, I wanted to give a HUGE shoutout and thank you to Breanna from Lusuriello Photography – who was my Lead Photographer for this event. At first message – when we first spoke about potentially needing to use flash all throughout the event – I let her know that I had only used flash a few times. I let her know I totally understood if she wanted someone with more experience in flash, yet she accepted and took me on as her Second-Shooter for the weekend and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Throughout the event, if I ran into any hiccups – she was right there with a solution or suggestion to help me fix whatever issue I had. I know it goes without saying that learning flash and actually applying what you’ve learned to a high-stress, fast-paced event like a Wedding are two totally different things. Still, she was patient, reassuring, and checked in with me regularly to make sure we stayed on the same page. If we both ran into the same issue – you could tell she understood 100% (which is SUCH a breath of fresh air as a Second).

I couldn’t be more grateful for such an amazing Lead for my first time using Flash continuously throughout a wedding. I truly enjoyed all of the laughs, conversations, and new memories I have to hold onto! <3

Speaking of Weddings!…

This wedding was my 4th time overall second-shooting, so I still feel very new to it all in general. While I know it’ll still be a bit before I comfortable taking on a Wedding all on my own – I feel so proud of myself for the progress I’ve made so far and all of the ways I’ve pushed myself to improve recently.

Diving deeper into the world of Flash Photography has been on my sights for awhile now, and while I’ve been practicing on-and-off (even since my days shooting at Ryan’s Restaurant when I first started K.COLLECTIVE) – I stand by my opinion that using flash throughout a Wedding is SO different than using it for a few shots, or for a slower-paced Branding Session.

I won’t lie – I spent the whole ride there watching YouTube videos and tutorials for some last-minute tips and tricks to keep in the back of my head for throughout the day, like;

• How to troubleshoot a bad lighting situation (if you have time and are able to do so, obviously)
• How to keep all of my reception photos from looking like they were taken in a cave (since flash can sometimes do that if you’re not careful)
• How to help with over or under-exposure (still getting comfortable with this one…)
• Base settings to keep in mind (specifically in a darker setting)

Even more transparently, I do this for almost all of my sessions. I find that giving myself little “refresher courses” on the way to a session really helps keep me from overthinking or stressing myself out. If you happen to be in my shoes (as a newer Photographer) or tend to feel more overwhelmed than others when working under pressure, I highly recommend giving that a try if you haven’t already. Sometimes it can be really helpful to have that information fresh in your brain, even if it’s information you already are familiar with – or atleast, it has been for me.

Shooting at Warehouse 18 | Hickory, NC

This particular wedding was held at Warehouse 18 in Hickory, NC. I believe it was both of our first time shooting at this Venue – and it was absolutely gorgeous. The entire space is dimly lit with natural wood flooring, beautiful greenery for details, two large bars, and spacious Ceremony and Reception areas. Upon first entering the building, I was absolutely blown away at how beautiful everything looked and how excited I was to shoot in a less-traditional venue (meaning more of a “moody” location) for M+M’s Wedding.

Prior to this event, I likely would have had to “make-do” with the dim lighting – specifically at the front of the Reception area closest to the doors. For some reason – even with the large windows and various skylights throughout the venue – that small space within the venue was so DARK. It definitely would have taken a lot of tweaking with my camera settings in order for me to be able to get good, sharp images in that specific area. Needless to say, I was very happy we chose to go with flash for this event.

Another thing we noticed while shooting here, was that the lighting changed drastically depending on which way you were facing. For example; I would set my settings and do test shots and get everything right for photos facing the Altar. However, if you literally just turned your body 90 degrees – those photos (with those same settings) came out much more warm and dim. Obviously, not a tragedy when you’re shooting in RAW and use a good editing software, but was also very daunting to think about when it came to people walking into the Ceremony area for their turn to walk down the aisle. When you’re shooting a Wedding, we all know you don’t typically have much time to switch around your settings (especially during the Ceremony in particular) – so that’s definitely something I know I’ll have to get more practice and more comfortable with.

Closing Thoughts

Working with Breanna from Lusuriello Photography for my first time shooting a full Wedding in flash was such a “pinch-me” moment. She’s someone I’ve followed for awhile now and genuinely look up to as a Photographer and Business Owner in general. She exudes so much confidence, and I can really see why so many people and couples look to her to preserve their memories. I think the sentiment is mutual for both Lead Photographers and Seconds that you truly never know what you’re going to walk into when it comes to working with someone for the first time. However, I couldn’t be more happy with my experience shooting with her. I learned so much more than I thought I would, was able to get more hands-on practice with flash in a real event setting, and made memories I’ll carry with me all throughout the rest of my career in Photography.

I truly cannot wait to share my favorite images from the day, and to hear what you all think about them!

Talk soon!

Katelynn | Ruhe Liebe Photography

Ruhe Liebe.Concepts