Okay, so it’s been a while since I posted anything about photography itself. And I’ve been hearing a lot of questions about video lights and LED lights from other photographers recently, so I figured this was a good topic to introduce on the blog. We’re mostly natural light photographers, but that definitely doesn’t always work during wedding receptions, and it definitely doesn’t produce the most dynamic reception photos!

We absolutely love using our flashes creatively to produce vivid lighting and fun starbursts, but having a small constant light source at our disposal has completely changed the way we shoot wedding receptions, and has allowed us to capture a number of shots that otherwise wouldn’t have happened at all. So without further ado, I present my darling little LED light. Don’t you just want to put that cute thing in your pocket? Well, it’s small enough that you can. That’s one of the great advantages to video lights over traditional flashes: They’re a whole lot smaller and lighter weight, so whether you’re hand-holding them or mounting them on your camera’s hot shoe, it’s quite literally less of a burden. Here’s our LED next to one of our SB900s. Big difference!Now let’s talk about what the little light can do.

We use a Torch Light, because it gives us the ability to adjust the light’s power with the flick of a knob, so even if we can’t change our light’s proximity to the subject of our photograph, we can change the strength of the light flooding over the subject. That also means we can hold the LED light in one hand, control the light’s power with that same hand, and fire our camera with the other hand. All that makes the LED light ideal for shooting reception details, which is probably the way we use our LED light most frequently.

When it comes to photographing things like wedding cakes or tabletops, Danny and I don’t care for the look of direct flash aimed at the subject; we prefer to work with multiple lights on stands spread through the reception area. So when we need concentrated light on the subject itself, the LED provides a much softer glow than the harsh burst of a flash, and we love the results. Kristy and Nick’s cake looks just perfect.Similarly, just a little extra light on the subject to make it stand out is all we need to make a full room shot pop. Highlighting one table in a room full of tables gives the picture of clear focal point and takes the scene from somewhat monotone and drab to full of life. And for this specific shot at Oceanside Country Club’s President’s Ball this winter, with the LED light, it was super easy to make sure the light targeted the subject without a.) being overwhelmingly bright, or b.) spilling onto to the surrounding tables. Plus, there was no hassle of pulling a light stand around the room with us. Danny simply hopped onto a chair to my right as I held my camera. We both aimed, and fired.There are times, though, when the LED isn’t just an option for more sophisticated lighting, but a real life saver. Take Amber and Daniel’s cake cutting. Their evening reception was out of doors, and with the sun well below the tree line and the spring breeze blowing all the candles out each time they were lit, we needed a constant light source on the couple as they cut their cake — partly so they could actually see what they were doing, partly so that my camera would be able to focus, since cameras don’t particularly like trying to focus in the dark. The LED worked like a charm, and this picture below is lit 100% with our Torch Light. Without that light, there is no way we would have been able to capture them cutting into their wedding cake at all.As every photographer who has ever tried to use a camera after dark knows, getting a camera to focus (without an automatic on-camera flash) is pretty much impossible without some ambient light. That’s doubly true for action shots in the dark So when we’re shooting in the dark with off camera flashes, that’s what our LED provides — that constant light source that allows my camera to focus properly so our pictures come out sharp and crisp, even when there is minimal ambient light. At Amber and Daniel’s wedding, Danny shone the LED light across the couple and their guests while I locked my camera’s focus; for some shots, he would then switch off the LED light and we would use all off-camera flashes to illuminate the scene, while for others, such as the one below, he kept the LED on.It’s equally as effective for dramatic backlit portraits, something we love doing with our couples to end the wedding evening, especially if they don’t plan a grand exit. For Taylor and Jerry’s moonlit portraits on the dock, the LED was important in another way as well: In addition to brightening the couple’s faces, it helped overpower the somewhat putrid orange glow of a street light overhanging the dock just off camera to my left. Thanks to the LED light, Taylor and Jerry’s skin had a healthy glow instead of a too-long-in-a-tanning-bed sheen. Danny set up one of our flashes on a stand behind the couple, stood off to my right with the LED focused on Taylor and Jerry, and then dimmed or brightened the light as I requested once I began shooting.There is certainly a lot more to LED lights than this handful of uses for them that I’ve covered here, but hey, this is a blog post, not a full length magazine article. So I’m going to wrap things up here, but I’m happy to field questions if there’s anything else you want to know that I haven’t answered. Who knows — if there are enough questions, we might end up with another blog post!

Happy weekend, everybody!

~ Laura