Camera Lighting Equipment

As a wedding photographer do you need back lighting even though you use a digital camera?

is it just with film cameras you need lighting drops?

Public Comments

1. The only difference, really, is that a digital camera uses a sensor and memory card to record the image, whereas film uses film to capture the image. All other things are the same.
2. i have used my digital camera on special occassions and i never used any back lighting but my pictures turned out to be really good..maybe it depends on what Brand of camera you will use to obtain a good result..i used SONY..
3. Are you referring to using a "hair light"? Maybe for the formal portrait of the bride and groom, but that is really separate from shooting the wedding. If it is your style to use "back lighting" for a dramatic effect, well then go for it. But to mirror the answerer "gryphon1911" re: Digital vs. Film. Just shoot the same way you did with film, although exposure wise digital sensors respond to light more like transparency film. Perhaps that is why editorial photographers made the transition so easily over to digital ...
4. I think you are confused as to what constitutes "backlighting". A subject is "backlit" when the light source is behind the subject or, in the case of translucent subjects such as leaves, the light is coming through the subject. I have no idea what you mean by "lighting drops" - and my experience with photography spans 36 years.
5. I assume by "lighting drops" you mean backgrounds? Some wedding photogs use backgrounds, but most do not. The family paid a lot for decoration and they chose the venue and usually want to see the things surrounding the wedding. And backlight is as Edwin has noted, and has nothing to do with what media you are using to capture the image. You have asked several wedding questions lately. From the things you are asking, I wonder what experience level you have in photography or weddings? Are you planning to get into the business? If so, I highly recommend you assist an established pro for a while. No matter how skilled you are as a photographer, there are things about weddings that are difficult to learn by doing. Putting a couple's images of a very important day on the line is not, IMHO, a good way to learn.
6. ummmmm, digital photography's relationship with lighting has nothing to with what brand the camera is. Light is light, whether captured digitally or analog. So if you want a hair light, use one.
7. If a subject needs, or can be enhanced by back lighting, the digital camera will not change the situation. I'm curious. Where did you get the idea that, perhaps, this might not be so?