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Lighting Issues for Wedding Videography

By Gavin Holt

What's the big deal?

There are two sides to this element of videography: the videographer's and your's.

The videographer wants...

Light, light, and more light. Ever been on a movie set? Using 1,000 to 100,000 watt lights is commonplace to give the cameras the light the movie cameras need. So wedding videographers tend to want the same, since without appropiate lighting the footage will not be viewable. Unfortunately there is no such thing as flash videography (photographers have it made in this respect), so the solutions involve either stand-alone lights or a camera-based light. Stand-alone lights are large and bright, often pointed at the ceiling to bounce light around into the room. These involve stands and cords that, when tripped over or knocked over, can present fire and safety hazards. Camera-mounted lights are usually attached to the top of the camera and the light is pointed straight at the subject.

You want...

A beautiful wedding. This may involve a candlelit setting with romantic lighting that defines the venue. You may want the dance floor to be dark when everyone is dancing (most people prefer this since it lowers inhibitions). You also may not want your photographer and videographer to be very noticable and distracting. Anyone who has had a light shined in their eyes or has seen the glaring light bobbing up and down in the dance crowd understands this. Lights on stands are rarely attractive in a ceremony or reception setting.

My Experience

One unique aspect of my videography experience is that I have done video shooting in many LA clubs. From the White Lotus to Arena to the Hollywood Athletic Club, I have experience with both standing lights and camera-based lights. In a club setting, the overhead light is great for giving the footage a club feel. Everyone wants to also be a movie star and they crowd to the light.

This is not the case for weddings.

I have chosen not to use lights for wedding videography since it almost always shatters the mood and feel of the reception. I use a Canon XL1S, which has amazing optics and low-light filters to capture footage even in horribly lit rooms. This comes at the compormise of video quality, which involves digital grain, reduced contrast, and duller colors. But inspite of the quality drop, if the footage is done well the video will shine. I get the best footage from people that are not shying away from a bright light, often giving me their best dance moves! During interviews, they don't squint and are more likely to be relaxed and comfortable with talking to the camera.

How much are you willing to compromise?

Here is a break-down of the pros and cons (lighting and without lighting). Both of the sample images are from a bar in San Diego of this great bartender, Johnny B. You can see the difference in the lighting, where a camera light creates dark backgrounds and no light causes blurry and grainy footage (click on them to get the full-resolution images):

Lighting Pros

Better upclose image quality, notice the clarity in the image to the right
Club-style footage

Lighting Cons

Backgrounds are blackened out (camera-mounted light)
People will squint their eyes
Lack of comfort will show in footage
Lights can heat up the room (standing lights)

Without Lighting Pros

Less disruption of venue ambiance
People are more likely to interact with camera
Often leads to better content in footage
More candid footage

Without Lighting Cons

Overall reduced image quality, notice blur and grain to the right
Some settings are too dark to get footage

The Bottom Line

The main compromise is between how annoying the light can get versus the image quality of the footage. Note that it is the image quality, which is different from whether or not the footage is actually good. I have always chosen to use low-light technology to remove lights completely from my videography, since almost every bride and groom are not willing to tolerate the downside of camera lighting. Take a look at a sample wedding video to see how lowered video quality can still have great, memorable footage. Also, look at the wedding timeline for videography to make sure that you make your videographer aware of special circumstances such as low lighting situations.