dark reception room?

[rocksolid]

my fiance and i recently booked a venue with dark, mahogany walls and dim lighting. it is a beautiful room in person, but when i took pictures of it with my camera, the feel of the room was very difficult to capture. the lighting looked very yellow because of the wood, so now i''m worried that my wedding pictures will turn out the same way (both professional and ones that my guests will take).

have any of you had a wedding in a dark room, and how did the photography turn out? i''m wondering if i should find lighting experts to "whiten" up the room...thoughts? i have been to many dark, candlelit weddings, but no reception venues like the one we''re having. any ideas?

thanks!

 

[soontowed]

May I ask where you are having it?

 

[Winslet]

My parents had their reception at a venue much like the one you described. Their pictures were a little dark, BUT you could still tell that the place was absolutely beautiful and that their guests were having a great time. My point, and I'm probably not making this very clearly, is that lots of people get so caught up with turning their day into a giant, glamorous photo shoot that the photos seem to overtake the wedding itself. You don't need absolutely over-the-top incredible pictures to have an amazing wedding! Almost thirty years later, my parents no longer care about their wedding album, but they still talk about how special their day was and how much their guests loved their venue. And, your pictures will probably turn out MUCH better than theirs did for the simple fact that photographers today use more advanced equipment and try a lot harder to make their work great. I'd love to see pictures of your venue!

ETA: If you would feel more comfortable with lighting for the sake of pictures, then you should hire someone to help. But I think it would take away from the great mood that such a place has to offer.

 

[iheartscience]

My venue was very dark but I loved it! I just did light colors, white table cloths and bright flowers for some contrast. And my florist did candles in the centerpieces, which I loved. I don''t have pro pics yet but from what I can tell from the non-pro ones, I think the pro pics will be good. My thread is called Thing2of2''s Non-Pro Pics if you want to check it out.

 

[rocksolid]

Date: 7/30/2009 11:20:52 PM
Author: soontowed
May I ask where you are having it?

i am having it in a ballroom of a historical hotel...i''ll try to post some pictures of it

 

[rocksolid]

Date: 7/30/2009 11:27:03 PM
Author: Winslet
My parents had their reception at a venue much like the one you described. Their pictures were a little dark, BUT you could still tell that the place was absolutely beautiful and that their guests were having a great time. My point, and I''m probably not making this very clearly, is that lots of people get so caught up with turning their day into a giant, glamorous photo shoot that the photos seem to overtake the wedding itself. You don''t need absolutely over-the-top incredible pictures to have an amazing wedding! Almost thirty years later, my parents no longer care about their wedding album, but they still talk about how special their day was and how much their guests loved their venue. And, your pictures will probably turn out MUCH better than theirs did for the simple fact that photographers today use more advanced equipment and try a lot harder to make their work great. I''d love to see pictures of your venue!


ETA: If you would feel more comfortable with lighting for the sake of pictures, then you should hire someone to help. But I think it would take away from the great mood that such a place has to offer.

thanks- what you said is very true. i just don''t want the place to look old and run down in photos...i''m thinking i will have the photographer take a few pictures beforehand to see what it looks like. if it is still very yellow, i will think about using someone for lighting...

 

[rocksolid]

Date: 7/30/2009 11:33:26 PM
Author: thing2of2
My venue was very dark but I loved it! I just did light colors, white table cloths and bright flowers for some contrast. And my florist did candles in the centerpieces, which I loved. I don''t have pro pics yet but from what I can tell from the non-pro ones, I think the pro pics will be good. My thread is called Thing2of2''s Non-Pro Pics if you want to check it out.

i just saw your thread. your pictures are absolutely beautiful, and i just love your dress!! your venue is dark, but it doesn''t have the yellow cast mine does (which is only in pictures). i''ll have to post some pics when i get them loaded.

 

[4ever]

Are you worried that the room it's self is very yellow or that the lighting is very yellow in photos, or in person?

If it's yellow lighting you're worried about, all you should need to do beforehand is show a picture as an example to your photographer beforhand or tell him/her that the lighting appears very yellow in photos and you wish to avoid this. To correct this, a photographer with a perfesional camera will just need to correctly "white balance" the camera before shooting in this location. White balace tells a good camera what colour the light is in the room so it can compensate. The result is that white things should then appear white rather then yellow under the lighting.

As for the room being dark, the room would have to be VERY dark for this to be an issue in photos as well and the photographer should easily be able to correctly adjust the exposure for most situations.

Any photographers out there please correct me if I'm wrong. I am not a perfesional photographer but I am experienced with video and TV camera operation and know many of the same things apply with profesional camera equiptment.

 

[diamondgirl4382]

I think you should talk to your photographer about it. I definitely understand wanting to have great pics, although you should certainly pick a venue you love no matter what.

I don''t know much about photography, but I''ve noticed things that are a problem with normal point-and-shoot cameras often aren''t with pro photos. For example, my dress (which was taffeta) looked really shiny in the non-pro pics. In the pro pics, it looked a lot more balanced. The colors usually look more true-to-life too. I don''t think the darkness will be a problem--even my little Canon takes great low-light pictures, and pro cameras are much more advanced!

I like the idea of the photographer coming with you to the venue and take a couple of "practice" pictures, just so you can get a feel of what they would look like.

 

[honey22]

Date: 8/1/2009 12:34:17 PM
Author: diamondgirl4382
I think you should talk to your photographer about it. I definitely understand wanting to have great pics, although you should certainly pick a venue you love no matter what.


I don''t know much about photography, but I''ve noticed things that are a problem with normal point-and-shoot cameras often aren''t with pro photos. For example, my dress (which was taffeta) looked really shiny in the non-pro pics. In the pro pics, it looked a lot more balanced. The colors usually look more true-to-life too. I don''t think the darkness will be a problem--even my little Canon takes great low-light pictures, and pro cameras are much more advanced!


I like the idea of the photographer coming with you to the venue and take a couple of ''practice'' pictures, just so you can get a feel of what they would look like.

Ditto. I would be guided by my photog in this case. Perhaps he could suggest additional lighting?