Andrew Niesen

At wedding receptions, photographers have the luxury of lighting situations with flash.

Flash during ceremonies, however, can be very disruptive, and is usually not allowed by churches. Wedding photographers, charged with the important duty of creating images in nearly every lighting condition, must adapt to near-dark lighting conditions during wedding ceremonies.

The image above was shot hand-held with a 200mm lens at 1/8 second, and the bride's eyelashes are sharp. Here are some tips to deal with low shutter speeds during ceremonies:

1) Use a monopod or tripod. The floor is steadier than you are!

2) Steady your body. If you are shooting handheld, work to steady your torso and arms. Bend your knees slightly, pull your elbows in toward your sides, and draw your hands toward your chin.

3) Squeeze the shutter release. Use steady motion when releasing the shutter, and avoid jerking the camera when making the exposure.

4) Shoot repetitive frames. The slower your shutter speed, the lower the percentage of sharp photographs. Counter this by shooting more pictures.

5) Control your breathing. Hold your breath during the exposure. Don't forget to exhale after you shoot the photo!

6) Invest in fast glass. The faster your lens, the higher your shutter speed. Buy a discontinued Canon 200/1.8 on eBay!

7) Invest in IS/VR lenses. Newer professional series lenses come with an option for "Image Stabilization" (Canon) or "Vibration Reduction" (Nikon) technology. By using Image Stabilization, we have been able to shoot at shutter speeds down to 1/8 of a second with sharp results.

8) Shoot wide. Telephoto lenses magnify your body's shake. If you can get closer without being disruptive, shoot with a wider-angle lens to minimize the effect of unsteadiness. A good rule of thumb is to not let the shutter speed drop below the lens' focal length (50mm lens = 1/60 sec; 20mm lens = 1/15 sec).

Following up to my recent post looking back on the 1996 Olympics, I thought I would share one of the photos I made while assigned to cover the Rhythmic Gymnastics competition. Sports Illustrated ran a photo I made of the gold medalist, but my favorite photo from the competition was of Elena Vitrichenko of the Ukraine, left, who placed third overall. This picture seemed to capture just how amazing, shocking and humorous the sport is. These athletes were incredibly agile and flexible and exhibited incredible precision. Needless to say, it was a difficult sport to photograph because the action happened so fast. While positioned on the floor on the edge of the mat, I made this image with a Canon 200mm f/1.8 lens, which Canon unfortunately doesn't make anymore.

One of the most challenging aspects about shooting in dark settings is focusing. Even with modern autofocus systems, it can be tough to see to focus in a dimly-lit ballroom. Here are a few tips:

We switch between "AI Servo" (a.k.a. "Continuous") and "One Shot" (a.k.a. "Single Shot"). By default, I use "One Shot" because the focus will lock and confirm with a green circle in the viewfinder, and the flash will emit a red AF focus assist beam when it needs additional light.

"AI Servo" is best on the dance floor, or other times when the subject is moving and you need the focus to track the subject's movement.

Remember depth of field is your friend. Depth of field provides margin for error when working in dark situations. Three factors control depth of field: focal length, distance to subject and aperture. Depth of field is greater when:

1) The subject is farther away.
2) The aperture is stopped down.
3) The lens focal length is shorter.

On the other hand, depth of field is shallower when:

1) The subject is closer to the camera.
2) The aperture is opened up.
3) The lens focal length is greater.

Thus, if you shoot with a wider angle lens on the dance floor, (I wouldn't go wider than a 24mm lens on a Mark II — distortion reasons) and stay a few feet from the subject, you'll get a lot more sharp pictures.

Another factor is your choice of camera body. We shoot with Canon EOS ID Mark IIs, EOS 5Ds and EOS 20Ds. Each of these bodies has a different lens multiplication factor, which is determined by the size of the digital sensor. The EOS 5D "full frame" sensor has no multiplication factor, whereas the EOS ID Mark II has a 1.3 multiplication factor and the EOS 20D has a 1.6 multiplication factor.

The greater the camera's multiplication factor, the greater the effective depth of field. Depth of field is tied to focal length, and a wider angle lens has more depth of field. A 28mm lens has approximately the same field-of-view on an EOS 20D as a 50mm lens has on an EOS 5D (28mm times 1.6 = 45mm). Because the 28mm lens on the EOS 20D has more depth of field than the 50mm lens on the EOS 5D, the EOS 20D effectively has greater depth of field. We shoot mostly with EOS 1D Mark IIs, which focus much better than EOS 5Ds or EOS 20Ds in low light.

Finally, I find back button focusing to be very useful. I don't like having my focus and shutter release controlled by the same button. Because the focus is activated by the back button, I can stop the camera from focusing if it can't get an autofocus lock, override and manually focus, and still release the shutter.

During the summer of 1996, I was a photography intern for the Athens Banner Herald. Athens hosted three Olympic Sports and I was assigned to cover Rhythmic Gymanastics as well as all of the buzz around town surrounding the Olympics. During the Torch Run, leading up to the Games, I made a photograph of Edwin Kendrick holding the torch high and running into downtown Athens, surrounded by a sea of spectators. The photograph ran a full 6 columns across the front page in a special edition printing of the paper that same day. Because of that photograph, the paper quickly sold out and they had to rerun the presses, again selling out. It was an exciting time and the photograph seemed to perfectly capture the city's excitement and honor of hosting the Olympic Games. Last weekend, the Banner Herald ran a story about the torch runners as part of their 10 year anniversary coverage of the Olympic Games. The article states "Kendrick said his copy of the photograph, like the torch, is in 'a safe place.'" To hear that is such an honor because it reinforces how precious and valuable photographs are and how they enable the viewer to relive and experience the memorable moments of our lives.

Two LaCour weddings are featured in Atlanta magazines this month. Southern Seasons magazine shows off the vibrant fall colors of Barnsley Gardens Resort from Dawn and Adrian Sasine’s Nov. 4 nuptials – undoubtedly one of our favorite weddings. This couple was so crazy in love with each other, we felt so inspired and had a blast documenting their day. Southern Seasons also featured another LaCour wedding, Margaret and Mason Poe, in its previous issue.

I DO magazine features another favorite wedding, Kellie Burley and Steve Simon, one of three partners in Fifth Group Restaurants, which owns Bold American Catering. Kellie and Steve were married Oct. 15 at the chic Atlanta nightclub Compound. Being in the catering business, their food and décor were amazing and made for really different, dynamic detail shots.