Wedding photography

1. Interview with Jeff Ascough, Wedding Photographer
a photo.net interview by Mary Ball
•
Jeff Ascough has been a professional wedding photographer in the United Kingdom
since 1989. He has covered over 1000 weddings with a documentary photography
style. Ascough emphasizes capturing the moment without any prompting or
interference and using available light. American Photo voted Ascough as one of the
ten best wedding photographers in the world.
Ascough was asked questions in the photo.net wedding photography forum, moderated by Mary
Ball. Mary Ball edited and reorganized the interview into the article below.
Ascough's development as a wedding photographer
Jeff Ascough
Ascough: Around 1994, about five years into my career as a photographer, I started to be
disillusioned by traditional wedding photography. I'm glad I first took a traditional approach, as
it taught me a lot about lighting, face position, camera heights etc. However, it seemed to me I
was being too intrusive on the wedding day.
Around this time, I switched from Leica rangefinders and bought my first SLR: a Canon EOS 100
and a cheap 28-80 lens. Between the formal images, I took candids, mainly for my own pleasure
just to keep my interest going. What surprised me was the client reaction: they loved these
informal images. I knew then I was onto something. I could satisfy my own artistic desires and
please my clients.
His photojournalistic wedding style
My style is all about anticipation. Compared to others, I capture relatively few images at
weddings. I like to see a picture, set the composition and angle relative to the light, and then wait
for something to happen within that picture. I may take several frames to get the perfect capture.
If something doesn't happen, I go and look for another image. I'm very deliberate and controlled
in what I do, most of the time anyway.

2. If you ever get to see the film War Photographer (2001), with James Nachtwey, the way he
photographs is very similar to how I do things. Nachtwey is very deliberate and takes his time
over the image. I am drawn to the sheer aesthetic beauty of his images. Forget the content and
just look at the use of his composition, the light and his understanding of the decisive moment.
Nachtwey is a genius with a camera. In many cases, he has achieved fantastic images while being
under intense stress, far more than you or I will ever witness with a camera. That is what is so
special about the guy.
I will take several frames of each picture to make sure I nail the decisive moment. Unfortunately,
I have to capture several frames with DSLRs as the view finder goes blank at the point of
exposure. When I used to photograph with rangefinders, I could see the moment as it happened
so my actual frame rate was lower. I position myself for the picture I want to achieve and go for it.
I don't move around too much, nor do I blast away with the camera, as this is distracting to the
subject.
Finding and using natural light vs. flash
Jeff Ascough
In my world, sufficient light means enough illumination to get a photograph without too much
subject movement. This could be 1/15th sec, f1.2, 3200 ISO for static subjects, or 1/50th sec, f1.2,
3200 ISO for slightly moving subjects. However, the light needs to be good as well.
If I'm completely in a bind, I will use flash to either clean up the light or to freeze movement.
However, this is usually a last resort. The flash is always balanced for the background. The only
time I've used flash this year (2007) was for the first dance at two weddings. During the summer,
I don't use flash at all.
Find the rooms where the wedding will take place and look for the main light source. Get your
assistant to move around the light source while you see how the light plays on the person. Look at
the angle of light and how it changes as you also move in relation to the light and the person. You
will then get a better idea of where to be in relation to the subject to take your pictures at a given
time.
Great light and composition are more important to me than anything else in a photograph.
Cartier-Bresson, one of my heroes, always looked for the composition first and then waited for
the decisive moment. He enjoyed the mathematics of composition. I'm the same. If I can combine
great composition, great light, and something interesting within the image, I have the makings of
a great picture. I always go for composition and light first.

3. I follow my clients, looking for the light within the environment they are in. In some cases they
may never venture into the best light. That's the way it goes-I won't ever ask them to move into
better light as I'm not there to interfere.
If the light was bad, I would capture the image with a wide angle and make the subjects very
small in the frame, allowing the rest of the frame to tell the story. That way the client would get
their processional image, which would look great, and you wouldn't have to worry too much
about the light on their faces.
Sample wedding photos illustrating using natural light
Regarding exposure and backlighting: I tend to overexpose by 1-2 stops to
get detail in the faces. I then run my 'highlight paramedic' action to bring
back detail in the highlights.
Jeff Ascough
Similar lighting outdoors.
Jeff Ascough
Side lighting with the bride's dress acting as a reflector.

4. Jeff Ascough
3/4 lighting. As above but with the bride's face at 45 degrees to the light.
Jeff Ascough
Good old tungsten light at the reception.
Jeff Ascough
Tungsten light at the reception used as a backlight.
Jeff Ascough

5. Bright sunlight outdoors--light reflected off the building
behind me to light the bride's face.
Jeff Ascough
Bright sunlight used as a spotlight in church.
Jeff Ascough
As you can see, good light gives a great three-dimensional
quality to an image. It can be hard, soft, or angular. As long as
it lifts the image I'm happy.
Jeff Ascough
Poor shadowy lighting. Some dodging has been done in
Photoshop to lighten the bride's face. The eyes are still quite
dark, but the expression and my relative distance from the
subject allows me to get away with it.
Jeff Ascough

6. Really strong full sun. This photograph wasn't possible when the bride
looked up, so I waited until she looked down, in order that the poor light
doesn't affect her face negatively.
Jeff Ascough
Full sun again. This time I've included a lot of the environment in order to
'hide' the poor lighting on their faces.
Jeff Ascough
The two things you have to consider when photographing in dim light are your focus and your
shutter speed. Focus is fine as long as you can confirm it, and the camera has some help. To this
end, I use aCanon EC-A microprism screen in all my cameras. It allows me to judge whether or
not the subject is sharp in low light. It also allows me to manually focus if necessary. In really low
light, I use a Canon STE2 Speedlite Transmitter on its own. This throws out a beam of light that
helps the camera to focus. I don't try to photograph subjects that are moving about in dim light.
That is the domain of the flashgun. If I can get a shutter speed of 1/30th, I'm ok. I can handhold a
35mm down to 1/8th sec without issue, but there will always be subject movement.
I always squeeze off three frames at a time. I can guarantee the second one will be sharper as I
relax momentarily.

7. 85mm, f1.2, 1/40, ISO 1600. It has a little softness to it, but I
think that is part of the charm. I'm braced against a wall, and
this was the third image in a continuous capture sequence. The
B&W is done via my actions.
Jeff Ascough
Some really, really strong backlighting. The rim light is fine on
the groom's face. I had to wait for the expression from the
bride. However, the lighting isn't the greatest on her face. By
including more of the environment, I've hidden the poor light
on her face. The expression more than makes up for it.
Jeff Ascough
I don't own any lighting equipment other than a Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash (review) and a
beat-up Canon 550EX (discontinued model). I certainly wouldn't be interested in bringing out
any sort of large light modifier just to do two or three formal shots.
I wouldn't photograph formals in any place where I couldn't control the light. If the ceiling is too
high or dark, I would move the couple to an area with a lower, whiter ceiling, even if it means
sacrificing a slightly better background. If I have to do formal portraits in a high-ceiling
environment and I need to use flash, I'll flip out the white diffuser on the top of the Canon
Speedlite 580EX II Flash (review), angle the flash head upright, and bounce into that.
Thoughts and methods regarding digital wedding photography
Jeff Ascough
Digital has allowed me to make my product better. I have total control over everything now,
something film never allowed me to do. However, my product is exactly the same as it was when I
used film, just more refined and true to my own vision. Digital cameras allow more artistic
expression through post processing, far more than film ever did. Photographers doing something

8. unique with post processing will inevitably be copied, and then the post processing becomes a
style. This is what is happening now.
My White Balance (WB) is preset to daylight. I leave it on that all day unless I am in tungsten
light. Then I'll switch it over to tungsten or do a custom WB if I get the time. Since Photoshop CS3
and Aperture 4 have arrived, I could photograph an entire day using Auto White Balance (AWB)
and do the WB correction later in the software.
Regarding actual pictures, I take around 300 composed images. This translates to anywhere
between 1000 and 1200 actual presses of the shutter, given that I take 2-4 images in continuous
capture mode for each composition. All finished files and original images are backed up to
external drives. All finished JPEGs are backed up to Gold CDs.
My Canon EOS-1D Mark II N (review) is set to neutral and the contrast is backed off by one click.
The images come out of camera pretty flat. I use one of my actions to boost the color and contrast.
Most people use curves to do this but I find it blocks up the shadows too easily. My actions are set
so the shadows don't block up.
Jeff Ascough
I like my color images to look like film: my colors should be real as I'm documenting reality. I'm
not into heavily saturated colors or too much contrast. I also like my flesh tones to be on the
warm side, so I usually boost the WB a little to get this. I retouch blemishes in closeups only. I do
a fair amount of work through actions on each image though. This is to emphasize different parts
of the image rather than trying to polish it. In the future, as RAW software becomes better at skin
tones, and camera resolutions become greater with better highlight detail, there will be more
emphasis on subtlety and true color rather than the heavily saturated stuff that we see now.
Many photographers claim that photographing RAW actually speeds up workflow. I've always
found the opposite. However, while browsing one of my favorite web
sites, www.digitaljournalist.org, I came across an article on how photographing in JPEG actually
makes you a better RAW photographer. In theory, JPEG photographers tend to get it right in
camera. If they carried over their photographic technique to RAW, the images straight out of
camera should require very little manipulation in the RAW software and should be ready to be
converted to JPEG without messing too much with the files. The advantage here is that less time
is spent adjusting JPEGs in Photoshop. I am constantly trying to improve this major area of my
workflow.
Post-processing with RAW images

9. To make RAW work for me, it needs to significantly cut down the time I spend tweaking JPEGs in
Photoshop. Aperture and Lightroom don't do that. I need an application that will give me the
quality that I want, especially in the realm of skin tones, with absolutely minimal work required
afterwards in Photoshop. Then I could take this RAW thing seriously as a solid workflow option.
I think I have found the answer: Capture One Pro. I had completely overlooked this program
because of its price tag and its unique workflow. The user interface took some getting used to, but
it does make sense. The noise reduction is excellent. High ISO images have never looked so good.
I haven't gotten into the different profiles yet, but the black & white options look interesting.
Jeff Ascough
The last three weddings I've captured in RAW and processed the images in Capture One Pro. I am
delighted with the results. The colors straight out of the camera and into the software are
beautiful. The files generally only need a quick contrast/exposure tweak and they are done. This
is saving me so much time as I don't have to then load the images into Photoshop to process the
images. I'm impressed.
Could this be the start of a new beautiful relationship? It's too early to tell. I am still learning
about the software, but I have to say it's so far-so good. I'm still not convinced that the quality
from Capture One Pro is better than from my JPEG workflow, but it's not taking as long to
process my images. I'm sure the technical quality will improve as I get used to the software.
Lens choices for wedding photography
Usually, I have a 24-70 on my Canon EOS 1D Mark II N and a fast prime, most often a 50L on the
backup body, same model. In the pouch, I have a 35L and sometimes an 85L. That's pretty much
it for how I work. If I need to carry more lenses, I use a small satchel-type bag. My current bag of
choice is theLowepro Rolling Mini Trekker AW. I try not to work while wearing it, though, as it puts
pressure on my back. For my spare kit, which lives in the car, I use a Lowepro Compact AW.
During the summer, I'll ditch all the primes and just use one body with a 24-70. That's my most
preferred way of working, but I need a good sunny day to do that.
For more information regarding Ascough's cameras and lenses, please view his equipment page.
Black and white wedding photography
I love B&W images. It's what drew me to photography in the first place. Photography to me is all
about light, shape and form: B&W allows you to strip away the distraction of color and get right
to the heart of the image. With that in mind, I capture most of my images knowing they will end
up being B&W. I rarely try a B&W conversion out on an image just to see what it will look like; I
pretty much know which images will be B&W even before I've downloaded the cards.

10. Wedding photo albums and design
Jeff Ascough
Album design is my sole responsibility. Clients don't have any input into it. It's part of the service
we provide. I use Jorgensen Album Designer Software and Yervant's Page Gallery 4 for designing the albums.
My albums are Jorgensen exclusively. The number of pages and album shape/design varies
according to client's taste.
Some people have objected to having a completed album, but in all honesty they are very few and
far between. Once I explain my philosophy behind my approach, they are quite happy with it. I
photograph for the album, not to sell pictures after the event. The album is the vehicle for my
work and I capture images accordingly. It makes a difference to me as an artist to have that
freedom, without having to work within the constraints of taking pictures, which I have to sell
afterwards.
The clients get their albums within six weeks of the wedding and they don't need to visit me,
choose pictures, or even have to contact me again. With my clients' busy lifestyles, most of them
appreciate this hassle-free approach.
If you proof your images, you are saying to the client, "I can't decide which are the best pictures
from your wedding. I'm going to let you decide even though you don't have any experience
looking at wedding photographs." Furthermore, if a client has to choose a set number of images,
how will she do it? She'll look out for the pictures she doesn't like, implying that there are pictures
in the set that aren't very good. In my opinion, that's too negative a standpoint to take. I would
rather present my clients with an album compilation of only the best images.
We have a Skooks Shopping Kart available on my web site for clients to see their wedding pictures
while the album is being made. It also allows guests to order prints after the wedding.
Also important is a relationship with a good lab: I have a good lab. We are fully color-managed
and use the lab's recommended color space. The lab's printing profile is assigned to the images.
My actions also ensure there is no color cast in the images before we send them to the lab. The
prints we get are perfectly neutral and consistent over the whole wedding.
The occasional obligatory posed image
My formals are very simple. They are very quick to do and the clients appreciate that