The Glow Stick Exit - How To
Monday, September 21st, 2009I have had a few emails lately asking about glow stick exits from receptions. Its all the latest rage. Here is a recent example, followed by how it was accomplished….
1. Make sure the venue exit is dark. And when I say dark, I mean DARK. Any ambient light will interfere with the effect. Glow sticks are much dimmer than any light bulb.
2. Use the long skinny kind that really move when you wave them, the more motion, the better.
3. Unlike sparklers, glow sticks will not provide enough light to stop any motion in the picture, especially not a running bride or groom. So unless you are going for something especially creative, you are going to need to drag the shutter, big time.
To give you an idea, the above image was shot at ISO3200, 1/10 shutter at F2.8. I tend to shoot them wider angled to keep as much of the crowd in the shot as possible, just a personal preference. The Flash is on a TTL Cable, allowing for more directional lighting, again, personal preference. The flash is firing rear sync, to help keep any ambient motion off of the subjects.
Hope that helps, please email me your shots!

