David's photography blog: Salmestone Grange Wedding

My website: Wedding Photographers in Kent

A selection of images from Cassie and Ben's wedding photographed recently at Salmestone Grange. Please check out their wedding gallery.

HDR (-2, 0, +2), f/5, ISO 400, 16mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

A high dynamic range (HDR) shot allowed me to capture all the detail in the scene.

HDR (-2, 0, +2), f/5.7, ISO 200, 23mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

The light was harsh and contrasty at this point - HDR can even out the differences between areas exposed directly to sunlight and those in shade.

1/40, f/1.4, ISO 400, 0 EV, 35mm f/1.4L

Salmestone Grange is a lovely venue but the room they allocate to the bride is a challenge to shoot in - it's poorly lit and there's not much room to move in. You need to be careful where you put yourself and your subject.

1/60, f/2, ISO 1000, 0 EV, 35mm f/1.4L

I positioned Cassie here to take advantage of the limited natural light that reaches the interior. As you can see from the exposure values, it's not a lot.

1/50, f/2, ISO 1000, ‒ ⅓ EV, 0 FEC, 35mm f/1.4L

The bride's father gets his first look at his daughter. This area was in shadow so it was time to bounce flash on to him. I used the PocketWizard miniTT1 and flexTT5 to trigger the flash, which I held in my left hand. It allows you to very quickly direct the flash exactly where you need it.

1/80, f/2, ISO 1000, ‒ ⅓ EV, 0 FEC, 35mm f/1.4L

A kiss of flash again to fill in shadow areas.

1/500, f/3.2, ISO 200, ‒ ²⁄₃ EV, 35mm f/1.4L

Notice the negative exposure compensation (EC) to account for the darker tones in the image.

1/40, f/2.8, ISO 1600, ‒ ⅓ EV, 35mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

I noticed this pool of window light when first walking up the stairs to enter the bridal prep room. I asked Cassie to stop and look back at her bridesmaids. The quantity of light was low, but the quality was high.

1/250, f/4, ISO 200, ‒ ⅓ EV, 16mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

1/80, f/2.8, ISO 2500, 0 EV, 16mm, 16-35mm f/2.8L II

The interior of the chapel was dark. But not a problem for a Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

1/80, f/1.8, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 85mm f/1.2L II

Although the light on the couple was tungsten, it was primarily reflected rather than direct. Hence not too many unsightly shadows.

1/80, f/2, ISO 2000, 0 EV, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/100, f/1.8, ISO 2000, 0 EV, 85mm f/1.2L II

1/160, f/2, ISO 1600, 0 EV, 0 FEC, 35mm f/1.4L

A lot of the interiors at Salmestone Grange are dimly lit. This room had limited natural light and the diabolical combination of tungsten and fluorescent. I therefore bounced flash off the wall on my left for the shot above.

1/640, f/1.4, ISO 200, 0 EV, 35mm f/1.4L

We experienced a few torrential downpours during the afternoon but enough sunny spells to do everything we needed to. Shooting with the sun behind them gives a nice rim-lighting effect.

1/500, f/2, ISO 200, 0 EV, 35mm f/1.4L

I'd thought about this as a potential image when wandering round the grounds doing some scene-setting shots. Fortunately, Cassie was brave enough to pull up her dress and tramp through the mud!