Tips for Capturing Stunning Indoor Wedding Photos
Throwing a wedding party indoors has a number of positive sides: protection from the rain, perfect shade during the hot months, and awesome backdrops for your photos. Still, when the wedding celebration takes place indoors, photographers need to get really creative to take pictures that deliver the feeling of natural light. Moreover, the lack of daylight and unexpected shadows can make photography truly challenging. In this article, we collected the best tips on how to capture brilliant indoor photos even if the venue has a lot of dark spaces and insufficient lighting. Read on to discover all the secrets of professional photographers.
Expose for the Ambient
Professional photographers agree that the first step to truly amazing wedding photos is to make sure that the pictures show the ambient light of the celebration venue. It is essential to choose a correct combination of settings that will preserve the soft lights under which the couple will surely spend a great portion of the evening reception. Also, photos look really awesome when the camera flash remains the only source of light that illuminates people and makes them the brightest part of the frame, while the background is rather dark and is only slightly illuminated by the distant lights. Finally, to avoid motion blur during fun activities and dances, professionals recommend keeping the shutter speed above 1/60s.
Photo by Pablo Laguia
Focus on People
A wedding is the time when so many close people the couple loves gather to celebrate the big day. That’s why it is a great opportunity to take awesome pictures of friends and family members spending amazing time together. After all, all these dancing, laughing, and partying people create a festive atmosphere. Many photographers try to capture genuine moments, emotions, and gestures of guests during the reception because these photos preserve the uniqueness of the celebration and will definitely be worthy of getting into the wedding album.
Photo by Ariana Tennyson
Set Your Flash to Second Curtain Sync
Photographers use second curtain sync to take clear and vivid photos, even if the light is dim and the people are in motion. This setting will also allow you to create various artistic effects by dragging the shutter at 1/15th of a second. However, it is highly recommended to practice dragging the shutter before trying to do it during the wedding. What’s even more important, you feel like you still haven’t mastered the skill of dragging the shutter, don’t try doing it during the key moments of the celebration because if you won’t take the pictures of the important moments, the couple will not be satisfied with your work. At the same time, during the party, you’ll have a chance to practice some new wedding photography techniques.
Spotlight Noteworthy Moments
Every wedding is full of special and unique moments, therefore, as a photographer, you have no right to miss them. Oftentimes, the bride and the groom are so consumed by their emotions during the wedding day that they miss some important events. That’s why the photographer’s goal is to make sure that all precious little moments are captured. The first look, a kiss in front of the altar after the exchange of vows, the first cut of the wedding cake, the loving looks of the newlyweds - these are only a few of the great moments that definitely should be photographed. So be attentive and try to take the shots that deliver the emotions and the character of the celebration.
Photo Lauren Rader
Gel Your Flashes
Indoors photoshoot can be rather challenging because the lights can be dim and the color palette of the venue can be unfavorable. To capture the warm light of the candles or chandeliers, professional photographers suggest taking a few pictures to determine the suitable white balance on the camera. It is also essential to select this combination of settings to ensure that the bride’s gorgeous wedding dress and the guests’ skin tones do not look muddy in the pictures. While many wedding photographers don’t know about these settings, it is very important to gel your flashes if you’re shooting indoors.
How to Set The Flash Power Properly
Getting started with the flash power can be rather challenging, especially if you are a beginner wedding photographer. Experts agree that it is great to start at 1/32. At the same time, it’s critical to keep in mind that the shutter speed determines not the flash itself but only the ambient exposure. Therefore, it is recommended to use the inverse of the ISO. Even though there’s a lot of space for the experiment, this simple rule will give the general idea of how to set the flash properly.
Seek Out Windows
Not all wedding locations have great lighting. That’s why when you’re shooting indoors, try to find windows because they open up endless opportunities for atmospheric wedding photos. Windows can serve as a great source of natural light or a frame for a romantic silhouette. No matter what composition you choose, you’ll get amazing shots.
Photo by Photography Antropology 
