Rainforest wedding portraiture - is it possible?

[Ladybird]

Hi all,

I'm trying to plan my wedding for autumn next year and being a tree-hugger, would love to have some of our wedding photos taken in the rainforest. To be specific, this will be at Springbrook here in Qld, where the trees can be quite dense.

However, I'm concerned about the quality of portraits in forests? Can off lens flashes (or other lighting equipment) compensate for the low light levels? Will the dappled light (in certain areas) be too hard for the tog to work with? When I'm out and about searching for photo op locations, is there specific areas of the forest that will work better? ie. tree fall gaps, etc?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
L

[colin_12]

If at all possible I would look for an area that is right next to a cleared paddock or road. If it has a Northerly aspect all the better.
This will give you great light penetration into that first part of the forest. Unfortunately it is also usually the most dense.
Creek lines can also be a nicely lit area.
If you know somewhere where there is a small grassy clearing in your forest this would be perfect.
Hope that helps a little.

[tommyg]

The best thing is to go up and wander around with a camera and someone to take photos of and have a look how the lighting goes etc

[Aussie Dave]

I would think that finding a spot with even, low light in the rainforest would be best.
The photog could then:
A) take some nice low-light portraits
B) control the lighting to suit conditions and the shoot
C) possibly use some dappled light for effect in some shots

In the sun, the photog would need to negate harsh shadows with lighting/flash/reflector, so similar could be done in low-light to add shadow, contrast and mood.

I agree with Tom about surveying the area with camera and it might also be worthwhile to speak with the photog in question and see what they think and perhaps to survey a few found locations to get an understanding of what will be required on the day of the shoot.

Good luck

[the foto fanatic]

You can get some lovely light in a rain forest, but an off-camera flash with a portable soft-box would ensure that you had good lighting for portraits.

Watch your WB setting - everything tends to get a green cast in a rain forest, and that would be particularly off-putting if the bride is wearing white.

[gstark]

If it has a Northerly aspect all the better.

Actually, I would be looking for a southerly aspect. I would be trying to avoid direct sun; good filtered light without (as Trevor has pointed out) too many colour casts is what's required.

But I would think that your chosen photographer, if professional, should be aware of the many issues that he or she will be likely to encounter, and should be able to cope with them accordingly.

When shooting weddings, I was often called upon to shoot in parks with lots of trees and dappled lighting. While not a forest, the underlying issues were the same, and when distilled to a very local environment - that of where the shoot is actually occurring - I'm not sure that there's any great differences.

[aim54x]

I dont do weddings, but I would be up to a rainforest challenge, just for the experience!!

I would definitely scope out the area yourself before challenging a photographer to the job.

[biggerry]

I reckon this would be a great idea, however more dufficult then your average wedding location - the colours from a rainforest would really contrast well with the bridal colours i reckon.

Watch your WB setting - everything tends to get a green cast in a rain forest

most definitely...

surveying the area with camera

areas in rainforest can vary from really dark to quite bright, scoping it out for potential scenes would be at minimum, very essential!

This shot I took recently, in a very dark rainforest where there was a small gap in the canopy that allowed in some very nice light - insert appropriate model into frame

Another thing to consider is mozzies...aeroguard or whatever just make sure you do somethign about them, not much fun having a wedding night when you spend the whole night scratching itches

[Ladybird]

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for the comments. At least it sounds and looks like all is not lost!! Hurray!

I definitely aim at doing some serious checking out of the area for potential locations. However, my photography ability is very poor so taking my own photos and assessing them may be a waste of time. I will try though!

But by the comments, I should check out:
-mainly shaded spots with good filtered light (so no small sun spots)
-mostly lit areas (tree falls gaps, creek areas, edges) as long as the light isn't too harsh
-areas without high contrasts in light-shade
and I thought that dappled light would be bad but by the comments it may provide some extra mood if it can be set up right.

Have I left anything out?

In terms of the actual photograher, I'm planning on checking out potential pros to see if they have done some 'foresty' work. And I'm hoping to take them up a few weeks before to show them the areas/backgrounds I like, so they have an idea before the day.

Biggerry, thank you for the photo - that is exactly the background I'm hoping for. And also the mention of the mozzies. They love me, and I'd prefer not to turn up to the reception looking like I've suddenly come down with chicken pox.

Thanks,
L

[Manta]

Told you you'd get some good info here, LB!

[Ladybird]

Yeah, yeah Simon.

I suppose it's about time you got to say "I told you so" to me.....

[Matt. K]

Trap. Don't allow the forest to become the picture. The people must be the picture. I would suggest shooting against the light so that the forest leaves become luminous and glow....then throw the entire background out of focus and try for some creamy bokeh. This would mandate 50mm lens or longer and shooting at F2 or F2.8. Some fill flash should just be perceptible.

[jdear]

Rainforest won't be a problem for any good wedding togs. You just need to find one with a good understanding of light and perhaps additional lighting - off camera flash, videolight etc
certainly a good idea to take them there prior - even see if u can do an engagement shoot there to really trial the location.

Depending on the rainforest, it can be quite dark under the canopy - I've done ceremonies outdoors in similar environments where the ambient is at 1/60 f2.8 2500 iso odd. Primes will help if it's dark and off camera flash will help Bring up the quality of light hitting you

[Ladybird]

Thanks for the comments.

Matt, you make a good point. As I tend NOT to be a people person, I often get focussed on the natural beauty of the background as opposed to fact that WE should be the main focus of the photos.

Thanks jdear, you and many of the other members have confirmed what I hoped - that if I can get a good tog with experience in this sort of environment, all will be fine. I'm just a worrier and a perfectionist - that thankfully the other half can deal with (most of the time).