Wedding Videography Lighting Guide (2026)

For most wedding videographers, the honest answer is one controllable full-color COB light with a way to focus its beam. Put it on a stand, plug it into wall power so it runs from the processional to the last dance, and fit a small fresnel on the front. That one light will key a first dance from across the room, lift dark speeches, and clean up the muddy color most venues throw at you. You add a second light or a bigger fixture when the room outgrows the one you have, not before. You do not need a three-light kit to start. You need one good light you can aim, focus, and dim, plus one soft modifier for the moments that light points at people up close.

That is the short version. The rest covers the real decisions: whether to bring lights at all, when an on-camera light is fine and when it lets you down, how to power everything for a full wedding day, and when to upgrade. Each budget below gives you two kits, one from Aputure and Amaran and one from Nanlite, because mixing the two means juggling two apps and two sets of accessories on a day when you have neither hand free. Every fixture is in stock at Filmgear Canada, so you can see it on a stand in our Vancouver showroom or have it shipped across Canada.

Pick one brand per kit, and here is why

A wedding day moves fast. The DJ kills the lights for the first dance, and you have about four seconds to change your key light's color before the moment is gone. That is not the time to remember which of two phone apps controls which light.

Aputure and Amaran fixtures run on the same Sidus Link app. Nanlite fixtures run on Nanlink. They do not talk to each other. Buy an Amaran key and a Nanlite tube and you are switching apps mid-reception, and their mounts, batteries, and accessories do not share either. So build your kit inside one family. One app on your phone, one set of spares in your bag, one less thing to think about when the room goes dark. That is why each budget below gives you a clean Aputure/Amaran kit and a clean Nanlite kit instead of a blended shopping list.

The quick answer: brand-matched kits by budget

Here is the whole guide in one table. Find the row that matches your budget, pick the brand family you want to live in, and you have a starting kit. You can climb without throwing away what you bought.

Do I even bring lights, or rely on the venue?

This is the question working videographers argue about, and it is the right one to ask first. Some travel light and lean on whatever the room gives them. Others bring their own light to every job. Both camps are reacting to the same problem: you cannot trust the room.

Plenty of reception halls are simply too dark for clean video. Many use mixed color sources, so one wall reads warm and the next reads green. The venue's mood lighting was chosen to look romantic to a guest's eye, not to play nice with a camera sensor, so it quietly fights you all night. And after dinner the DJ usually takes over and turns the dance floor into a color-changing light show, which is great for the party and a small disaster for your white balance. Your eye rolls with all of this. Your camera does not.

So the practical answer is yes, bring at least one light you control. You are not trying to flood the venue. You are bringing one fixture you can aim, dim, and set to a known color, so the couple reads clean no matter what the room is doing. That one light is the difference between footage you can grade and footage you cannot save.

On-camera light or off-camera light?

This debate is real, and the honest answer is that both have a place. Do not let anyone tell you an on-camera light is always wrong.

An on-camera light earns its keep in run-and-gun moments. Reactions in a dark hallway, a quick exit, candid guest moments where there is no time for a stand. A small light on your camera, dialed low and warm, fills a face that would otherwise vanish into the dark. For a one-person crew moving fast, that camera-mounted light pays for itself.

Off-camera wins for anything you have time to set up: speeches, the ceremony, the first dance, the cake cutting. A light on the camera hits the face flat and straight on, from the worst possible angle, and it can blind your subjects the moment you step in close. A light on a stand, off to one side, gives you shape and depth. Experienced shooters key off-camera and use small lights for accents, not the other way around.

The trap is buying only an on-camera light and then fighting every static scene you need to light properly. Most setups settle into one good off-camera key plus one small light that can ride on the camera when things move fast. That is the ladder below.

Power: plan it like a pro, not like an optimist

Here is the part most first-timers get backwards. Your key light should run on wall power, all night. It goes up during setup and stays on through dinner, speeches, and the last dance. If that light runs on batteries, someone has to notice it dying and walk over to swap packs in the middle of a reception, and wedding crews never have that spare person. Nobody signs up to be the battery attendant at a wedding.

So the power plan looks like this. The cleanest setup is a portable power station sitting at the base of the light stand. EcoFlow is the name most people know, but any power station in that class will run an LED key for the evening. No cable run at all, and in a room full of guests that matters, because an extension cord across a walkway is a trip hazard waiting for its moment. If there happens to be an outlet right where your light goes, use it and tape the short run down. But when the nearest outlet is across the room, and it usually is because the DJ and the dessert table claimed the good ones long ago, the power station under the stand beats forty feet of cord every time. We do not sell power stations, but we recommend them anyway, because they solve the actual problem.

And whichever way you power it, sandbag the stand legs. Every time. A reception is a room full of people in formal shoes who are not looking down, and sooner or later one of them finds your light stand. The sandbag is the difference between a bump nobody notices and your key light meeting the floor mid-speech.

Batteries belong to the mobile layer: the pocket light in your hand, the tube your second shooter carries to the golden-hour portraits, the accent you drop behind the head table. Those lights move all day and never need to survive the whole night on one charge. AC for the anchor, batteries for everything that moves. Get that split right and power stops being a thing you think about.

Under $1,000
Getting off venue light without overspending

You are shooting your first paid weddings and do not want to drop four figures before you know what you actually reach for. This band has two honest entry points, depending on which brand family you want to grow into.

Aputure / Amaran: start small, or start with the one-light key

The cheapest sensible start is an on-camera light plus a pocket accent. Be clear about what you are buying here: neither of these is a key light. They are too small and not powerful enough for that job. What they are is the run-and-gun layer. The Amaran Ace 25x (about $95 CAD) is a genuinely good on-camera light, bi-color so you can match the warm or cool feel of the room, dialed low to fill a face in a dark hallway. The Aputure MC (about $138.99 CAD) is a pure accent light. It does not mount on a camera, and it is not trying to. Tuck it behind a bouquet, drop it in the getaway car, slide it along a head table. Together they cover the moving moments for about $234 CAD. Total about $234 CAD

If you can stretch within the band, skip ahead to the one-light workflow the rest of this guide is built around. The Amaran Ray 120c (about $369 CAD) is our best-selling light of the year. Add the Mini Fresnel (about $84.99 CAD) to focus the beam, the Mini Reflector 25° (about $28.99 CAD) for a tighter spot, and one MC for accents, and you have a real key light for about $622 CAD, all inside the Sidus Link app. One honest note before you add a second accent: read the softening section further down first. An $85 softbox does more for wedding footage than any second small light. Total about $622 CAD · or about $761 with a second MC

Nanlite: two tubes, then a plug-in key

If you would rather build around Nanlite, start with two tubes. The PavoTube II 30C (about $279.99 CAD) is a 4ft RGBWW tube, and the PavoTube II 15C (about $214.49 CAD) is the 2ft version that squeezes into tight spots. Both carry a built-in battery, per Nanlite, which is exactly what you want from the mobile layer: stand one beside the couple for a soft edge, lay one along the head table, or hand one to a second shooter. Both run on the Nanlink app. Total about $494 CAD

When you are ready for a true key inside this band, add the Nanlite FS-300B (about $336 CAD), a 300W bi-color COB that plugs into the wall and runs all night, which is how a wedding key should run anyway. Tubes plus key lands about $830 CAD. Total about $830 CAD with the FS-300B

$1,000–$3,000 · the go-to
The working kit

This is where we point almost anyone past their first few jobs. The idea is simple: stop thinking in three-light diagrams and commit to one strong, controllable key that handles most of the night by itself, with small accents on top.

Aputure / Amaran: one key, two accents, one tube

The center of this kit is the Amaran Ray 120c (about $369 CAD), the single best-selling light in our store. It is a 120W full-color COB. The COB design puts out real punch from a single point, enough to key the couple cleanly across a room. The full-color control lets you match the venue or pull a colored wash when you want one. Set it up where the action will be, run the cable, tape it down, and it works the rest of the night. Because we sell so many of them, it is the light we have put on the most stands and helped the most shooters dial in.

The piece that turns it into a real wedding tool is the Mini Fresnel (about $84.99 CAD). It focuses the beam so you can key a first dance from the edge of the hall without standing in anyone's shot and without blinding your subjects. Do not skip it. Add the Mini Reflector 25° (about $28.99 CAD) for an even tighter spot during a speech, two Aputure MC pocket lights (about $138.99 CAD each) as pure accents, one behind the couple for a hair light and one wherever the frame needs a pop of color, and the Amaran T2C tube on its battery bundle (about $387.99 CAD, or about $268.99 for the tube alone) for a soft, movable edge that goes wherever the day goes. Round it out with the Light Dome 90 softbox (about $138.99 CAD), which the next section explains, and the whole kit lands around $1,288 CAD, all on Sidus Link. Want an on-camera light in the bag too? Add the Ace 25x for about $95 CAD. Total about $1,288 CAD

If you would rather have a longer soft source than the short T2C, swap in the Amaran T4C 4ft tube (about $438.99 CAD) and the kit lands in roughly the same place.

Soften it: the piece that keeps a COB wedding-friendly

A bare 120W COB is far too bright to point at people at reception distance. Guests squint, the couple gets a harsh hotspot, and every close shot picks up hard shadows. The fresnel earns its place when you throw light across the room. The moment you work close, for speeches, a seated couple, or the cake table, soften the source. If your 120c kit came with amaran's small octa dome, use it from day one. The step up in size and control is the amaran Light Dome 90 (about $138.99 CAD), the Bowens softbox we pair with the Ray 120c most often. It sets up on quick-release rods, includes a grid to keep spill off the dance floor, and turns the COB point source into a soft key nobody minds looking at. Tighter budget or tighter bag? The Light Dome 60 (about $84.99 CAD) does the same job one size down, and our house-brand FPS P55 (about $85 CAD) folds fast for run-and-gun work.

For the reception itself, a lantern beats everything. The FPS L90 lantern (about $90 CAD) is a 35-inch Bowens ball that spreads soft light 360 degrees. Run it high on a stand over the dance floor or dinner area and it lifts the whole room without a visible beam or a blinded guest, while your fresnel-fitted key does the directional work. The smaller FPS L65 (about $70 CAD) does the same over a head table. Both fit the Ray 120c and every other Bowens light in this guide.

Nanlite: a plug-in key, battery tubes, one soft panel

The Nanlite version of this band follows the same power logic. The key is the FS-300B (about $336 CAD), a 300W bi-color COB that runs on wall power from setup to last dance. It is the budget workhorse of the Nanlite line and one of our steadiest sellers. Around it go the battery layer and the soft layer: two PavoTube II 30C tubes and a 15C for the moments that move, and the PavoSlim 60CL (about $649 CAD), a flat RGBWW soft panel that wraps a face for seated interviews and prep-room scenes. The FS-300B is Bowens-mount too, so add the FPS P55 softbox (about $85 CAD) for speeches and close work, the same softening logic as the Amaran kit. Everything runs on Nanlink. The kit lands around $1,565 CAD. Total about $1,565 CAD

Prefer a bi-color key with a bit more shaping in the Bowens ecosystem? The Forza 60B II (about $469.99 CAD) is the compact alternative, also mains-powered, and small enough to ride in a backpack to a second location.

Over $3,000
Two shooters and bigger rooms

You have a second shooter, you are booking larger venues, or you have hit the moment where a 120W COB runs out of punch. Big halls with high ceilings, a dance floor you want to light off one bounce, a room so wide a smaller light cannot reach the far side. This is when you upgrade the key, not when you add a fourth small light.

Aputure / Amaran: a bigger key plus a second matching key

When the Ray 120c cannot fill the room, the Amaran Ray 660c (about $989 CAD) is the next key up, and it is the same Ray full-color family you already know. It is a 660W-class COB, a real step up in output, so it gives you the punch to light a larger area, push through a big space, or bounce a clean source off a high ceiling to wash the dance floor. Staying in the Ray family means your beam-control accessories and color behavior carry over, which keeps a two-light setup easy to balance. This is the honest upgrade trigger: buy it when you have stood in a real venue and watched a smaller light come up short, not just because it is bigger. At this output, treat it as your distance-and-bounce light: throw it into a ceiling or wall for a dance-floor wash, or shape it with its own Ray Fresnel from across the hall. For close, soft work, the second Ray 120c under a dome stays the kinder tool.

For two-shooter coverage, a second controllable key beats one giant light. A second Amaran Ray 120c (about $369 CAD) gives each shooter a key, or covers a ceremony and reception space at once, and two matched lights are far easier to balance than two different fixtures. Round it out with the Mini Fresnel, the Light Dome 90 for the 120c's close work, an FPS L90 lantern (about $90 CAD) to float soft light over the reception, two MC accents, two T4C tubes (about $438.99 CAD each) for tall soft sources, and the Verge Max kit (about $359 CAD) as a desk and talking-head panel for prep-room or seated interview shots, where its soft flat field flatters a face up close. The kit lands around $3,187 CAD, all on Sidus Link. Total about $3,187 CAD

Nanlite: the big-room kit

The Nanlite answer at this level is a bigger plug-in key. The FC-500C (about $1,299.99 CAD) is a 500W full-color spotlight with the output to key a large hall or throw clean light across a wide room, running on wall power like every key should. Behind it, the FS-300B (about $336 CAD) becomes your second key for the other shooter or the other space. Keep two PavoTube II 30C tubes and a 15C as the battery layer, the FPS L90 lantern (about $90 CAD) floating soft light over the room, and the PavoSlim 60CL for prep and interviews. All of it on one Nanlink app. The kit lands around $3,150 CAD. Total about $3,150 CAD

A few useful extras

Want a smaller one-light kit for tight venues or as a backup? The Amaran Ray 60c (about $269 CAD) is the smaller sibling of the 120c in the same family, and it takes the same Mini Fresnel and reflector. Need a simple bi-color key for a prep room? The Amaran Halo 100x (about $238.99 CAD) is an inexpensive bi-color COB. Neither replaces a proper key for the main events. They are pieces you add once you know your own style.

Wedding videography lighting FAQ

Do I even need lights for filming weddings, or can I rely on the venue?

You need at least one light you control. Plenty of venues are too dark, use mixed color sources, or change their lighting through the night once the DJ takes over the dance floor. Your eye adapts, but your camera records muddy, off-color footage you cannot fully fix in editing. You do not need to light the whole room. One controllable full-color light, aimed at the couple, is what keeps your most important footage usable.

How do I power video lights at a wedding venue?

Run your key light on wall power for the whole event. A key has to stay on from setup through the last dance, and battery-powering it means someone has to keep walking over to swap packs, which no short-handed wedding crew can spare. The cleanest source is a portable power station, an EcoFlow or anything in that class, sitting at the base of the light stand, because a cord run across a crowded room is a trip hazard. Use a wall outlet when there is one right beside your position. Either way, sandbag the stand legs, because sooner or later a guest will find them. Save batteries for the small mobile lights: pocket lights, tubes, and anything a second shooter carries.

What is a good on-camera light for a dark reception?

For run-and-gun moments, a small bi-color panel on your camera works well, dialed low and warm so it fills a face without blinding anyone. The Amaran Ace 25x is a sensible entry choice because it is small, bi-color, and inexpensive, and it comes off the camera onto a stand when you have time to set up. Just know the limit: an on-camera light is a flat, straight-on fill. For speeches and the first dance, an off-camera key on a stand will always look better.

Should I light the speeches and first dance with one light or a full kit?

One light, for most weddings. A full-color COB like the Amaran Ray 120c, fitted with a small fresnel to focus the beam, can key the couple from across the room, lift a dark speech, and shape the first dance on its own. The focused beam lets you light from a distance without standing in your own shot. Add a small accent like the Aputure MC for hair light, and you have a finished look without hauling a three-light kit into a crowded reception.

How do I keep video lights from blinding wedding guests?

Never point a bare COB at people at close range. For speeches and anything within a few metres, put a softbox on the light: the amaran Light Dome 90 or the FPS P55 turn a harsh point source into soft light guests barely notice. For room-wide lift, hang a lantern like the FPS L90 high on a stand so it spreads light 360 degrees with no beam in anyone's eyes. Save the bare-COB-plus-fresnel look for throws across the room, aimed above eye lines, where distance does the softening for you.

Can I mix Aputure, Amaran, and Nanlite lights in one wedding kit?

You can, but we would not. Aputure and Amaran run on the Sidus Link app, while Nanlite runs on Nanlink, and the two do not control each other. On a fast wedding day you want one app on your phone, not two, plus the mounts, batteries, and accessories match inside a single family. Build your kit around one brand, and if you ever do cross over for one special fixture, go in knowing it lives on a second app.

Where can I buy wedding video lighting in Canada?

At Filmgear Canada. We carry every light in this guide in stock, including the Amaran Ray 120c and its Mini Fresnel, the Aputure MC pocket light, the Nanlite FS-300B and FC-500C keys, and the tubes and panels from both families. We are a cinema and lighting specialist with a Vancouver showroom where you can see these fixtures on a stand before you buy, and we ship across Canada. If you are not sure which brand family or budget fits your weddings, that is exactly the kind of thing we help solo videographers and small studios figure out, so you buy one working kit instead of guessing.

Prices are approximate and current as of publication. Check each product page for live pricing and stock. Filmgear Canada · Vancouver showroom · ships Canada-wide.