What is a Natural Light Wedding Photographer?

Natural Light Wedding Photographer

Being a Natural Light Wedding Photographer came naturally to me; I love chasing the light and keeping photographs as natural as possible to document the real moments. Poor light can cause harsh shadows and grainy images so it is really important to work with light carefully.

What is a Natural Light Wedding Photographer?

A Natural Light Wedding Photographer will avoid using flashguns as much as possible and will use the existing light to create creative photographs. You won’t see me or any other Natural Light Photographer using off camera flash to get posed portraits of couples. That being said if a wedding is happening in a few dark locations, it is likely I will consider putting a flashgun on my camera if necessary. It is reassuring to know I am able to deal with any lighting conditions and will try to keep my style as consistent as possible.

It is also really important to note that a relaxed wedding photographer captures moments as they happen so sometimes capturing the real moments is more important than capturing the best light. I work with my couples on the lead up to the wedding to plan how we can take advantage of the light whilst we can which allows the day to unfold naturally!

Do Natural Light Photographers capture Golden Hour?

Yes! Natural Light Photographers like me live for golden hour. We enjoy following the sun as it goes down and produces beautiful sun rays for our couples. Have a look at the beautiful golden hour portrait session at Holkham Hall last Summer.

Lighting during prep

The best lighting for a prep location would be a room with large windows which lights up the room evenly. Light-coloured walls are ideal too as this allows the light to bounce off the walls to brighten the room even more.

The best types of location with this criteria tends to be on AIRBNB, I always find the most beautiful, well lit spaces on the website. Charlotte and Charlie both hired AIRBNBs for their Hayne House Wedding and you can tell the difference in the photographs! There were plenty of rooms for the bridal party to get ready in with a separate room for hair and MUA – making the experience that bit more peaceful!

Hotels like Premier Inn and Travelodge have much lower ceilings, smaller windows and darker coloured walls which doesn’t add to a photograph.

Ceremony lighting

I love Outdoor Weddings but it is really important to consider where the sun is in the sky when you book your ceremony time. During mid-Summer I’d recommend avoiding ceremonies during 10AM-3PM to avoid harsh shadows (under your eyes and noses – not flattering!) in your photographs.

Portraits

If you are wanting to have golden hour portraits on your wedding day you are going to have to keep 20-30 minutes free during golden hour for the photos. It really is worth it.

To see more Natural Light Wedding Photography check out more of my blog here.