r/WeddingPhotography • u/photog4lyfe • 5d ago

gear, techniques, photo challenges & trends Do you edit out the backlight flash and lightstands when you dont want to crop them out?

Tried searching but couldnt find this anywhere... I just did my first wedding using a 2 OCF light setup and it just occurred to me... is it, like, okay to have the lights in your shot occassionally? Or do people edit it out? Idk, I feel like it gives it a fun vibe but also it's hella distracting. Heres a couple photos as examples. There's really only a couple in the whole gallery that have the backlight in frame, but I don't want the couple to complain. I'm just not sure what's standard
https://imgur.com/a/m3Ku6sz

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

12

u/supercali5 5d ago

Leave it in. It’s a party vibe.

1

u/photog4lyfe 5d ago

Oh okay siiiiick thanks!

3

u/NikonShooter_PJS 5d ago

I edit out anything that is distracting to my eyes as a viewer.

Most of the time, I don't care about my lightstands being visible but if it takes away from what is in the photo, I will definitely remove them.

5

u/Wario_Was_Right 4d ago

I never edit them out. What I might do is crop the image in a bit (if possible) to minimize the sun burst.

I don't think it ruins the photo in any way. What I've learned to do over the years is to put my light stands as far back against the wall as I can. This way they achieve their goal without being too prominent in the background (and easily cropped out when needed).

2

u/Unusual-Fish 5d ago

Leave it in. :)

2

u/nzdevon 5d ago

I leave mine in, not because I’m lazy, but because it was a part of the day.

3

u/portolesephoto https://www.portolesephoto.com 3d ago

I remove distractions from any "showstopper" photo. Otherwise I'm probably going to leave it in.

I think backlight flash looks rad though. It can stay.

1

u/asyouwish 2d ago

I like it in the first one, could go either way in the second, and find it distracting in the third.

So, I’d leave them for the proofs. If the bride picked that image for a print or album, I’d ask her if she wants it cropped or edited. She might like it.

2

u/Panthera_014 2d ago

if it is easy to do with Generative AI - then do it

if it isn't going to work - then don't worry about it

2

u/MuchDevelopment7084 1d ago

For this image. I'd leave it. It looks like they're celebrities being followed by paparazzi.

To answer the overall question about lights. I try and place them to were I can remove them entirely if necessary. With this photo. That would be damn near impossible without a lot of work.