Ask any couple which photographs disappointed them and the answer is usually the reception: faces washed purple, a first dance lost in haze, the speeches lit by a phone screen. It is not the photographer's fault, exactly — it is the room's. A sangeet or a reception is lit for the people in it, by a DJ whose job is atmosphere, not photographs. Here is what that means for the pictures, and what we do about it.
What a reception is actually lit with
- Uplighting. Coloured LED strips around the walls — usually the wedding colour, usually magenta or blue. Beautiful on the walls; on skin it turns everyone the same colour.
- The DJ's lights. Moving heads, lasers, strobes. They sweep across the floor and change every second, so no two frames are lit the same.
- The LED wall or the stage wash. Bright behind the couple, dark in front of them — the camera exposes for the wall and the faces go dark.
- The chandeliers, dimmed to nothing. The one honest light source in the room, switched off for the party.
None of this is wrong. It is a party. But a camera needs a clean, constant light on faces to make a photograph that looks like the evening felt, and a reception does not give it one.
What we do
We bring our own light and place it before the guests arrive — two or three soft sources, high and to the sides of the room, that put a constant, flattering light on the dance floor and the stage without changing the room's colour. Guests do not notice them. The DJ's colour still fills the background of every photograph, so the atmosphere is there; the faces are simply lit like faces. For the speeches we add a small light at the microphone. For the entrance we light the door and the aisle, because the couple's entrance happens once, in thirty seconds, and it is one of the three photographs of the night.
The five moments of a reception
| Moment | What goes wrong | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| The entrance | Cold sparks and smoke swallow the couple | Light the aisle from the sides; expose for the faces, not the sparks |
| The first dance | Moving heads sweep across, faces go dark | Constant soft light from two sides; the DJ colour stays behind |
| The speeches | Lit by a phone screen and a spotlight from below | A small light at the microphone, one photographer on the reactions |
| The cake and the toast | A crowd, a flash from every phone | Positioned before it starts; we shoot the couple, not the crowd |
| The open dance floor | Everything at once | Both photographers on the floor, our light constant, the DJ's light as the mood |
The sangeet is a stage show
A sangeet has performances — cousins who rehearsed for a month, the parents' surprise dance — and they happen on a stage lit by the DJ's colour. We put one photographer on the stage side, one on the audience, and we light the stage from the front so that the performers' faces are visible and the LED wall behind them still reads. If a film is included, the cinematographer works the same light; the sangeet is usually the best part of the film.
What to tell your DJ and your décor team
- Keep the chandeliers at twenty percent for the entrance, the speeches and the first dance; drop them for the open floor.
- No haze during the entrance and the first dance. Haze is beautiful for the party and terrible for the two photographs that matter most.
- Tell us where the LED wall is. We place our light to balance it.
- Introduce us to the DJ at the sound check. Ten minutes together and the whole night runs better.
The DJ lights the party. We light the photographs. Done right, nobody can tell the second was there — except in the album.
Frequently asked
Do you use flash at Indian wedding receptions?
We use our own soft, constant lights placed high and to the sides of the room before the guests arrive, rather than an on-camera flash. They light faces without changing the room's colour, so the DJ's atmosphere stays in the photographs and the couple's faces come back.
Why do reception photographs come out purple or dark?
Uplighting and DJ lights are made for the party, not for the camera: coloured LEDs turn skin the wedding colour, moving heads change every second, and an LED wall behind the couple makes the camera expose for the wall and darken the faces. Our own light fixes all three.
Should we tell the DJ anything before the reception?
Three things: chandeliers at twenty percent for the entrance, the speeches and the first dance; no haze during the entrance and the first dance; and ten minutes with us at the sound check so we know where the LED wall and the moving lights are.
How do you photograph the sangeet performances?
One photographer on the stage side, one in the audience, with the stage lit from the front so the performers' faces are visible while the LED wall behind them still reads. The cinematographer works the same light.
Planning your weekend?
Tell us the date and the venue. We reply within a day with availability and a collection built around your weekend.
Check Your Date