Re: Reception Lighting

The situation was much worse when I was doing weddings with tube and early CCD cameras, and I survived it.... but I think you need to pick an overall philosophy and stick to it. Mine, that I shared with my clients, was pretty much to always stick to existing light only, using supplemental lighting only at the reception and then only for a few key moments, as has been suggested. The rest of the time I was expected by everyone involved to be as inconspicuous and non-distracting as possible. When people are losing themselves in a moment of candid behavior during a dance, you just document it and don't interfere to spoil the moment by blazing them with a 1K spot on the camera.

People coming in with vest-mounted steadicam arms and big PAR's, making a big to-do about their working the event... that's just not what I or any of my clients ever wanted. Makes people too self-conscious and unnatural in their behavior. Now some brides may actually WANT that ostentatious "my wedding is Trump-level and we're shooting it like it's a real movie" look, but nobody I ever knew did.

I used to have pretty good luck working with the DJ, who normally had lots of lights, to find a level with his colored banks and spots that worked okay enough for both of us. You can use a LED lightpanel or dimmable or a china ball affair for interview close-ups. You can use a spot for the first dance, even if you just bounce the ceiling with it. But for the general walking around the reception, I'd just go with upping your gain a bit and enhancing it in post.

You guys today with your way more sensitive cameras, complaining the light is too low, make us old guys with onions on our belts laugh until our upper plates fall out:-)