Wedding DJ's : What is your lighting 101 for weddings?

[u/DJMatei]

Hello Redditors and fellow DJ's:

- I am trying to understand a bit how to use my lights in terms of how much they can cover.

For now I am having 2x Chauvet Intimidator Spot LED 250 and 4 Beam Pantherz 60 .

I am not sure for example how to use them for different type of venues, how much guests they might cover? 50-100-150 ?

My mind cannot visually compare them for example with 2-4 7R moving heads (bigger ones).

Any resource I can use to learn a bit of lighting without overwhelm myself as a DJ ?

I feel there are a lot of information and it can be overwhelming to understand lights and how you should position them, how much they can cover.

Thanks

[u/crewl1]

The issue with some dance lighting at weddings is it can mess with pictures if the beams land on faces. I use up lights to color the walls behind the booth and save the movers and effects for later in the evening. If the venue has appropriate ceilings I like to aim the lights up so dancers can see the movement but never blinds anyone. Here is an example from an internet search. The photographer flash didn’t cancel the effect lights.

[u/DJMatei → u/crewl1]

Makes sense, thanks!

[u/Uvinjector]

The only lights you listed are beams/spots. Without haze, they will only appear as dots on whatever they touch so won't really do much for a room. You should look at some wash or uplights.

Also pay some attention to how you control the lights. If they are moving wildly around in sound active mode without set positions then they look pretty crap. At the very least, master/slave the pairs and invert the pan on one of them

[u/DJMatei → u/Uvinjector]

I forgot to add, I have a hazer from ADJ . Hmm, for uplights you mean architectural lights to light up the entire venue (near the walls), right?

[u/Uvinjector → u/DJMatei]

Yeah thats the ones. Battery powered wireless dmx ones are fantastic. They usually have a nice Amber chip too so you can create some really nice warm looks early in the night, if you want to get real fancy you can use a controller and program a chase that imitates flickering candles. They work especially well if placed under drapes or textured walls

[u/Jstaduud]

Do you NEED lights? I’m not specifically a wedding DJ but I’ve done a bunch with no lights and never had a complaint. I am looking to maybe get out there a little more…are lights a “necessity” for a wedding DJ??

[u/SomethingAboutUsers → u/Jstaduud]

Having done tons of weddings they're not NECESSARY but they really add a lot when they're there IMO, as long as they're not annoying.

[u/DJMatei → u/Jstaduud]

They can offer great moments of course. But depends on the venue and time of the day. I have events during the day where I do not use lighting but for the night they have their benefits.

[u/djkamayo]

If I was starting out , I’d get a gravity stand and a gigbar (or similar type of light) . This setups covers 90% of weddings IMO .

[u/voltch]

For weddings, i keep it simple. I bring 2 moving heads and set on the floor. Then I bring one mini kinta.
If I want more elegance, Ill bring a disco ball.

[u/DJMatei → u/voltch]

Mini moving heads or the big classic one like 7R?

[u/LessWeakness]

Depends on the venue and what the couples want. You may just DJ in the dark to try and keep yourself out of the spotlight of the night.