Photographers' Guide to Wedding Photography - Ghosting

As an experienced wedding photographer in Liverpoolnegative effect ghosting gives.
and Manchester, I have found ghosting to be a majorThe best and simplest way I have found is to step
problem that arises on a regular basis. It is causedsideways away from the window and angle the
when light is reflected from either inside the lenscamera till no ghosting can be seen. Take a
barrel or elements.photograph, check it, move further sideways, take
When photographing a wedding, it can often occur asanother and so on until no ghosting occurs.
strong light sources such as huge windows (OftenMany of the images I take are on angles anyway
seen in fantastic Tudor style buildings used forand so if I move away from 'Straight on' towards
weddings), are a favourite haunt for photographersthe window, lets say left, angle the camera to add a
wanting to make the most out of the surroundings.funky look to the image and then press the shutter,
Liverpool, Merseyside and Manchester are litteredghosting is minimized and a cool looking photograph is
with venues like this and are regular haunts for mecaptured.
on a daily and weekly basis.When photographing weddings, one of the most
It is often the case that as soon as the camera isimportant elements is that you do not keep the bride
pointed towards the subject (Let say the bride -waiting. Photographers who are standing around for
sitting on a medieval seat right in front of thetoo long attempting to get the perfect shot will only
window), the risk of 'Ghosting' will be dramaticallycause concern for the bride and cause negative
increased.feeling towards you. I find as a photographer that its
Doing little or nothing about this could potentiallybest to play it safe. That is why funky angles are
destroy what would be a fantastic photograph.common place in many of the photographs I take.
However, some simple techniques can solve theShould you as a photographer REALLY want the
problem...straight on image in front of the window, then either
Firstly, good lenses 'Claim' to reduce the risk ofget the lens, filter and spend time editing or simply
ghosting, although I have yet to find one thatuse the angled option, thus helping reduce the time in
completely stops this. Secondly, using a good UVpost production.
filter will also help, but again, these can only 'HelpAn after thought... Ghosting can be a desirable
reduce' the risk and it is often the case that shootingeffect... Shoot a few straight on and they may just
directly towards will still result in slight ghosting. Usingwork. Remember photographers are (Meant to be)
packages like photo shop can also help, as spendingartists, there is no right or wrong way. It is not
time darkening the problem area will help reduce themaths... This is just a guide...