Natural Light Wedding Photography Tips

Hi there. My name is Gary Jude and I’m a documentary & creative wedding photographer based in Essex. I specialise in creative, natural, documentary wedding photography. This content will be more aimed at other wedding photographers who need tips for natural light wedding photography. When I first started out doing the whole wedding thing, I would constantly google photography tips which really helped me. So, I really hope this will be helpful for yourself. I will try to cover everything I have learned.

Mastering Window Light

We will start with an obvious one which you will come across at most weddings: Window light. This is your best friend. Window light can be used to create so many powerful images. Depending on the desired effect, you can adjust your positioning:

• For a moody look: Most of the time, I position myself so the subject in focus has the window light coming in from a 90 degrees angle. This will give a nice moody look which I love.
• For even light: Or, just position yourself so the window is directly behind you for more of an even light across the frame.
• For silhouettes: Silhouettes can also be very powerful. Just shoot in towards the main source of window light whilst exposing for them highlights.

Embracing High ISO Settings

Don’t be afraid of high ISO (We Are Talking 10,000 High)

So many photographers fear this and I just do not understand why. Some of my best photos are shot at 10,000 ISO. To me, the raw moment of a photo is much more important than a bit of noise and grain. We can only shoot what is in front of us so please do not fear poor light. Just work with it and push your camera to its limit.

Golden Hour Flare and Couple Time

Couple time I try my best to head out with the newlyweds around golden hour. This is when the natural light is very soft and if the skies are clear can result in stunning golden flare. For this, just place the couple in front of the setting sun, underexpose by 1-2 stops and fire away. You really want to expose for them highlights as quite often the shadows are much easier to bring back in post.

Having issues with auto focus? Place your hand over the sun, focus on your couple then bring your hand away again. This used to really get on my nerves but this little trick helps so much. I hope this content helps, as I try to keep my posts as short and straight to the point as possible.