Graduated ND filters at Weddings

[Chris Harding]

Hi Guys

I was wondering if anyone has found Graduated ND's at weddings useful at weddings. I haven't tried them but was wondering if they might help at outdoor ceremonies to kill settings where there is a lot of backlighting which often is the case over here??

Chris

[Warren Kawamoto]

I've used them for wide beauty shots of scenery, or if I needed an artsy wide shot during sunset. I never use it for an actual ceremony because once I zoom in/out, density changes skin tone.

[Adrian Tan]

Hey Chris, I've been wondering about low-contrast filters for the sort of situation you describe. Don't know how useful grad filters would be for that particular problem, unless you can separate couple from the sky in your composition.

[Steven Davis]

I bought these a few months back, but I've been too chicken to try them in a live ceremony.


Tiffen 72mm CIRCULAR POLARIZER FILTER

Tiffen 62mm VARIABLE ND FILTER

Tiffen 62mm CIRCULAR POLARIZER FILTER

Tiffen 72mm VARIABLE ND FILTER

[Chris Harding]

Thanks Guys

For bad backlit scenarios what we REALLY need is a grad ND filter with a little cutout in the middle so the couple are not under-exposed but the sky/water behind them is!!

One of our venues is a real pain to shoot at. They have gazebos (which the couple insist on standing in) which are dark inside and then behind them (as it's on top of a hill) is the bright water of the river and bright sky!! You even get situations where half the wedding party are inside and half are outside in brilliant sunshine.

I can see grad filters being really useful for landscapes and such where you have a defined horizon but with a bridal couple centre screen that wouldn't work.

Chris

[Tim Lewis]

Sounds like it might be time for you to have a look at DaVinci Resolve, at least for a couple of shots. I found this YouTube tutorial interesting and easy to follow:

DaVinci Resolve Lite TUTORIAL - Qualifiers, Power Windows and Balancing Basics - YouTube

It has a bit of guff at the start about his FB page, but I have tried these techniques demonstrated and succeeded in getting an improved result.

[Steven Davis]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Thanks Guys

For bad backlit scenarios what we REALLY need is a grad ND filter with a little cutout in the middle so the couple are not under-exposed but the sky/water behind them is!!

One of our venues is a real pain to shoot at. They have gazebos (which the couple insist on standing in) which are dark inside and then behind them (as it's on top of a hill) is the bright water of the river and bright sky!! You even get situations where half the wedding party are inside and half are outside in brilliant sunshine.

I can see grad filters being really useful for landscapes and such where you have a defined horizon but with a bridal couple centre screen that wouldn't work.

Chris

Yes,

I shot at one of those gazeebos last year. Kicked my butt, the photographer too. All we could do is zoom in, but my back shot was blown out by the massive sun off the water. I feel ya pain.