My unexpected approach to sparkler and glow stick exits! – tips for low light photography

I’m nervous and excited to tell you all about my strategy to exit photos today.  It is like my dirty little secret in a way. Have you even seen a glow stick exit picture and the glow sticks aren’t even glowing? They turned into just a colorless object in people’s hands?  Like why bother with glow sticks or sparklers if they don’t even show up in the images right?   So ever since I first started getting into digital photography I was fascinated by shooting in the dark.  I really enjoyed pushing my camera to the limits to see what it could do.  I knew when I took a huge leap and invested in my Nikon D4 that low light shooting was very important to me.  So here is my secret…. my favorite results come from NO FLASH exit photos.  Omg I said it!   No flash at all, no strobe, nothing.  I do have a video light that I use now, but I will get to that.

Ok so let me tell you a little bit about this evolution and I will get to the HOW I do it.  So I do shoot with flash and OCF (off camera flash) for receptions, and I’m very comfortable with it.  This has nothing to do with if I can or can’t.  I have done plenty of exits with light vs without….. and what I’m saying is that my favorite results are with no flash.  So please don’t go out photographing exits this way with out properly preparing and knowing that if you need the flash you are ready to do that too.  I can do both.  I just prefer these results!  I love pushing the low-light limits and I’m not afraid of a little grain, noise, or texture whatever you want to call it.

So keep in mind:

-From day 1 I practiced like crazy shooting in the dark, I have ALWAYS been comfortable with that and understood my camera’s limits.  So if this interest you at all, practice practice practice.

-I’m always prepared to shoot with flash if its needed, I access my surroundings and make a judgement call as to which approach will get my the best results.

-I started using a video light, this helps my camera focus faster and really helps in extremely dark situations.  I attach it to my camera and adjust it to how bright I think I will need it. But it allows a tiny bit of light on the couple but lets the background stay nice and dark.

-There is no right or wrong, find what best suits your style, and be sure you can deliver quality and consistency to your clients.

So lets look at a few:

Here are my settings:  50mm lens  ISO  3200,  F 2.2,  1/200

These two were taken with the video light and NO flash.  This was taken in May of 2017.

Ok Glow sticks are the same idea.  They are not as bright as sparklers, but you can at least get them glowing when you work in low light.  I did use the video light here.

50mm lens, ISO 3200,   F 2,  1/200

This set was one of my first times doing this at a wedding.  Summer 2014.  I have definitely improved, but I still love how smokey and bright the sparklers are.

Summer 2015!

Fall 2016.. So this image was taken by my 2nd shooter Heaven, I was using OCF from above and actually liked HER result better with no OCF.

It can totally work with bubbles too!  Here there was enough ambient light and a hint of twilight left.

ISO:  2500, F 2.5, 1/250     September 2017.

Some would say that Nikon has better low light capabilities.  I’m not here to make that argument, but just be sure you know your camera’s low light limits before trying this at a wedding!

You can also see the huge evolution in my edits.  I’d love to share those secrets with you as well!  I created a tutorial on exactly how I edited these 2017 images.  You can sign up for that video here!