This was an adventuresome couple and they were lots of fun to photograph at San Francisco city hall. We decided to put Angela and Michael in front of the Freight elevators at city hall for this shot. Yes, the freight elevators! It seems like everything about city hall is photo worthy, even some of the things you wouldn't normally think of of. We carefully placed an off-camera remote slaved flash behind them to light up the veil and also create drama in the image. We used one on camera flash and then an umbrella mounted on the other side. This great pose was created by Toni, but carried out quite effectively by the couple! The happy couple liked this photo so much that they ordered a large size wall portrait for their home. It's not truly a Silhouette image, but we used the same technique to accomplish it. We place an off-camera flash behind the couple and control it with a Radio Slave. The light behind them not only lights up the veil, but it also bounces back to the wall behind them and provides a brighter background. This helps us create a silhouette look if so desired. San Francisco City Hall has many locations that make the creation of this type of wedding image possible. Even freight elevators! We decided that this particular photos, even though not as much of a silhouette as some of the others, was our favorite. Obviously the newlyweds loved it too!
I feel like so many San Francisco city hall wedding photographers take pictures here, but do not take advantage of lighting opportunities. The building is made for it with it's pretty walls and backgrounds. I see so many wedding photographers just camp out on the Grand Staircase and take all of their pictures in that one area. They are missing out on some great alternative places to bring their brides and grooms for amazing photography. In addition, there are a large number of spots that afford the type of privacy needed for this type of shot and lighting set up. I mention this because one of the challenges of photographing weddings at SF City Hall are the other people and tourists mulling around that can sometimes get in our way. So knowing where to bring our couples to set up a more complicated pictures like the one above is vitally important. Our 14 years of experience here, certainly helps in that regard. Again, fitting in a few complex lighting set ups makes for a much more successful shoot, but it can be difficult in crowded areas. The background above is actually very close to the Mayor's office and utilizes the Service Elevators as a background. As you can see, it worked quite well. Pretty crazy huh?
When searching for the best San Francisco city hall wedding photographers, be sure to ask them about off- camera lighting and how they like to use it. If they don't understand what you are asking about then they may not be the best option for you. We strongly feel that some sort of lighting is needed at many parts of City Hall and not just because it is too dark. In fact, in most places there is plenty of light, but it can come in from the wrong directions sometimes and cause less than complimentary light. For example, overhead light as you will find at the bottom of the Grand Staircase is not very complimentary and can cause "racoon eyes" and weird skin texture.
The ring exchange is the highlight of the city hall wedding ceremony
We pride ourselves on making your city hall wedding photography experience positive and fun. There is more to hiring a professional wedding photographer than receiving great images. Since your wedding photography experience is such a large part of getting married, you should also enjoy it Who wants to look back on their wedding and remember the awful photographer that was too bossy or rude. We make sure you enjoy the experience and have fun! We do all of this with affordable pricing and packages. We also provide our clients with lots helpful advice that comes out of our years of experience at San Francisco city hall.
The best photographs are not flat looking. Like any good art, you want to see depth. Ideally, you have a a defined foreground, background and main subject. This gives the image a sense of realism and interest. We have been talking quite a bit about SF City Hall photo lighting techniques on this website because we think it is the key ingredient to obtain great wedding pictures. We do this mainly with off-camera light, but also natural light. We will love to use back lighting or dimensional lighting, whatever it takes. As mentioned above, for this photo we put a light behind the couple to get some glow from the the veil. The background behind them also served to help outline the subjects with rim light. This helps separate the subjects from the background and adds depth to the final wedding picture. San Francisco city hall offers many great places to do this with its beautiful architecture and repeating lines.
