Katelyn James
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How to Instantly Improve Your Wedding Photography
This week we’re talking about one of the biggest mistakes I see new wedding photographers make and how to avoid it! It’s super simple: find good light and avoid bad light. This one tip will completely change the way your wedding galleries look if you’re struggling with consistency!
KJ ALL…
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38 comments
Thank you for all the information. What if your doing a outdoor wedding? the dinner is underneath a white tent with warm lights and the dance floor is outdoors. What should my camera setting be set as and the client want to add sparklers as her exit! This will be in the evening California time from 7:30-10:30pm this is my first big wedding I’m so nervous 😬
Love it! Love it! Love it 🙏✅👍🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
Kaitlyn you're absolutely fabulous 🤩
Thank you so much! Great information!!!
Hi Katelyn! What did you mean by have them face their shadows? Trying to picture that right! Thanks!
Awesome thank you
Great to hear you say these things. They need to be underlined. Great video.
Great great great tip thank you 🌸
I agree 100% – When my camera is taking great shots…….that's where I stay! When its magic, this is the best advice and a lot less work. Bad light I'm gone…….my thing is "Why does that happen"? Only thing I love shooting off camera flash………I really don't like natural light……..LOL
Thanks!
You are amazing thank you
100% dead on…one of the most frustrating parts of our job.
Hi Katelyn, thanks for the video. Over the years I've been an average sports shooter (strictly amateur of course). I've been pushed into doing "favours" and covered two weddings and a few baptisms etc. I've now subscribed to you so that I'll be a lot more confident by having this new information to guide me. Many thanks.
I think what scares me about denying locations is for the client to say or think "a better photographer could make it work"
Thanks for this!! Do you use only natural/ambient light for indoor or night time receptions too? Any tips for how that can work? Those can be DARK!!
U R GRATE I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS! IM FROME ISRAEL
Hi Katelyn, I've just started looking at your videos and I find them very interesting and informative. As this one is about finding great light I can't help but notice how bright you like your finished images. To my eye and taste, I'd say bordering on blown out. I know it's subjective, but I was wondering if you expose in camera this way or do you ramp up exposure in editing?
how would you respond to people who when you say "im a natural light photographer" they hit you with "you just dont know how to use a flash"
This is a great video. The missing element may be the assumption that photographers actually know what 'pretty light' really is. Do you have a 'reading light' video? That is huge. thanks.
I love you! Thanks for all the tips!
I know other photographers talked about having trouble seeing good light. One tip I heard is to shoot in black and white with mirrorless it makes it a lot easier to see the good light.
Just make sure your shooting raw. If you like to use jpegs from your camera your only have black and white. Fuji is the only system that I know of that let's you shoot up to three jpeg profiles.
So if I did shoot jpeg I would shoot one jpeg in black and white so the view finder is black and white and then a color jpeg and then raw.
I don't have a problem seeing good light because I've been doing this for a while. But it's kind of fun shoot in black and white with mirrorless seeing the world in black and white.
WOW!!!! I just paused the video to comment! When you said that when you get to a spot and the light is NOT working then it’s time to subtly move along it dawned on me that I did exactly that and didn’t realize what I did. I was shooting with the couple in front of a lake for individual portraits and I realize I HATE shooting in front of lanes because I NEVER get the right colors and light. And so I had them pivot on the spot and I shot with the lake to my back and it bounced light back ONTO their faces and I had luscious green trees back behind them a ways and it just was lovely. That small change brought life into the photos.
05:38 I got 120 guests in place for a group shot, stood up on a bench and then announced that actually it wasn't gonna work and we all have to move hahaha… been doing this a year now and I think I'm confident enough now to be able to admit I'm wrong in the moment instead of looking through the photos in Lightroom later on and cursing myself!
"Stay there" and then shows "examples" from different locations. 😃
Do you have any recourses on if you must shoot inside? No windows and very bad lighting, super warm areas and lots of florescent lighting? I have a wedding in a few weeks. I'm a natrual light photographer. I am trying to build my business. I have a canon rebel T3i – will be renting I guess a 24 – 70 mm and an external flash. I have no idea where to start or what's best. I Know my camera body is old and not best for low light. Should I rent a camera body? I of course want to provide them great shots.
This video is so underrated. Light is everything. Thanks so much for the reminder!
This applies to all photography, not just weddings! Find the light… Great tip!
Thank you Katelyn and I hope you're fine.👍👍
I have been binging kJ all access and agreed to photograph an old friend’s nighttime wedding this weekend. Terrified! Lol
Kaitlyn your educational resources are absolute gold! I know you do couples but is there any chance you’d do some videos on family photography? Tips and tricks you’ve used for taking photos of your kids etc? 😍 thanks so much for another great video!
I’m doing my first wedding and will try this advice. I found it helpful. Thank you.
Great reminder. We have a wedding shoot Oct 30 and light will be the biggest challenge (including reception in a tent in Wisconsin where it will be chilly and likely dark by then). I like the point about during the ceremony to find that ideal light and stay there. Liked and subscribed! Nice channel here.
It's a little scary to me to shoot without a clear filter on my $3k lens. Is it necessary to leave the filter off to get the best images?
good light over good location always!!!
well said…
Amen!
Thank you Katelyn! I always learn so much from you and I LOVE KJ All Access!!
This is not meant as criticism of you or this video specifically, but by God I hate the YouTube algorithm and their policies that force creators to stretch very simple advice like "Find and shoot in good light to produce a consistent look and prioritise this above all else" into unecessarily long videos and slap a clickbait title on them. Again, not criticising you in particular – this is an important tip and well explained – but YouTube should reward efficiency in education, not force to overexplain in order to pad the runtime.