Sunsets at Brooklake, a favorite venue of NJ & NY wedding photographers
There’s a reason your wedding faces in a westerly direction at Brooklake. For one thing, it’s so you can overlook the scenery of our rolling hills, gardens and beautiful lake. Secondly, there’s the delight of the open sky and setting sun. Ahhh… the sunsets. The colors. That special glow. The sparkling light upon the lake. The open space and open sky of Brooklake is a fantastic backdrop for your wedding photos.
Lighting magic
It seems like taking sunset photos is pretty simple – just point and shoot. That might be okay for a dark silhouette of the two of you against a bright sky. But to get a truly exceptional sunset photo, your photographer will need to work a little lighting magic. This involves some off-camera flash, to light you up in relation to that colorful, glowing sky. Your photographer should be working with at least 2 off-camera flashes to set up a nice ratio of light, so that your photo has depth and the lighting has direction. They may even use a third or fourth flash to help brighten up part of the foreground closest to you – think trees, vegetation, etc. – so that your photo is truly dimensional and not flat.
Time it before the sun dips
The most important factor in achieving epic sunset photos is, of course, timing. You’ll want to start at least 30 minutes prior to the actual sunset time, when the sun dips below the horizon. If it’s a cloudy day, you may even want to start an hour before sunset, as the sun will tend to disappear earlier.
You can find the sunset time for your wedding or engagement session date and location in most cell phone weather apps, and online at www.timeanddate.com.
Planning in advance is key
If you want sunset photos at your wedding, this will involve some careful planning to make sure you’ve given yourself enough time in your schedule. At a minimum, your wedding ceremony should start 1.5 hours before sunset. This will give you 30 minutes for your ceremony, 5 minutes afterward to sign the license, and roughly 20 minutes for some family portraits. Then you’ll have a good 30 – 40 minutes of golden light to work with for those gorgeous sunset photos. Planning in advance is key, so that everyone–the wedding coordinator, DJ/MC, caterer, etc.–are all on the same page, and know when to start your reception and how to keep your guests occupied in the meantime.
Whether planned or not, at the end of the day at Brooklake, you’ll have gorgeous views of the sunset that will make you want to escape from the dance floor for just a few minutes to capture lovely evening portraits as a newly married couple. The large floor-to-ceiling windows and the westerly panoramic view of the lake under the changing colors of the setting sun is the perfect backdrop for your wedding. Brooklake is a spectacular facility within a gorgeous setting! Book an appointment with a Brooklake Wedding Specialist.
