Photograph by Kathleen M. Huggans

Recently, a reader asked how to expose a bright, white wedding dress in a way so as to not lose detail in the dress or blow it out (exposure-wise). But, as I started writing my reply, I realized the comment was going a little long. So, I thought this question was best answered through a post.

For the wedding that my husband, sister, and I photographed last year, we each approached the problem differently — and the same. But, what do I mean by that?

Let’s start with the differences. Though my husband is a technically skilled photographer (far better than me, actually), he was using a borrowed camera. Also, he didn’t want to lose shots that he’d not have a second chance capturing. Next, he isn’t a big fan of the flash. So, he captured the wedding using the camera’s Program mode (e.g., the P mode on a Canon which is automatic mode without the flash). He put his trust in the camera (rather than trying to learn how to use it during the wedding) and got great results. In contrast, my sister utilized a remotely triggered soft box, a bounce flash, and various lenses throughout the day. She wanted a certain look (colors and saturation) that her camera’s programed modes offered, too. So, she photographed the wedding in Portrait mode. She, too, captured awesome photographs (as you can see in the example, above). I, on the other hand, borrowed a lens (not something I’d recommend, actually, but I’d practiced with it for a day before the wedding) and was very comfortable changing up aperture settings and shutter speeds. So, I photographed the wedding in a way that alternated between aperture and shutter priority modes. Likewise, I changed focus points at any given moment (though, I primarily focused on and exposed the image for the bride), swapped lenses often, and adjusted the ISO up as light faded into dark. Again, the photographs were good enough to make the mothers cry with happiness. Yet, we each photographed the event in very different ways.

Now, for what we do that is the same. The major similarity is that we all look at our photographs as we take them. We can tell by our images (and the histogram data provided by our cameras) whether or not our exposures are any good. And our evaluations guide us to adjust everything from exposure, to focus, to zoom, to our position, and on, and on as it makes sense to do so. Next, we all had the same great, natural lighting. For the wedding, the conditions were a mixture of patchy clouds and sunshine. After the ceremony, we placed the couple in open shade to photograph them. Though there was lots of light bouncing around, there wasn’t so much directly falling on the couple. Another similarity is that we all practice. A lot. We’re all photo junkies and love to capture the world through the lens. Plus, I practice image processing all of the time. Which leads to the last similarity: All of our photographs for the wedding were processed by me. That added to the consistent look of them all, making it difficult to tell who took what — even though we all shot the event differently!

Truly, I think the best answer to the question is to practice: With your camera and with Photoshop Elements. Get to know your camera and how it works in different lighting. For example, shoot white and black clothing together in different lighting conditions. Meanwhile, practice adjusting the white balance and exposure compensation settings, too. Finally, during the photo editing process, practice revealing the detail that may be hard to see, but is present in your photographs. Photoshop Elements is a great tool when it comes to recovering details and exposure compensation. The following tutorials can help you get started:

• Matt Kloskowski’s tutorials, Dealing with Bright White Situations and Add Detail to Overly Bright Images, are excellent starts. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to bring back details of a wedding dress!
• In Making Adjustments to Images, Mike Rodriguez shares how to adjust the lighting, contrast, and saturation of images.
• Check out Dave Cross’ video, Using a Gray Card and Levels, too. This tutorial will help you get the colors and light levels adjusted together (an important technique for white dresses!).

Finally, best wishes to you as you photograph your next (or first) wedding!