Most event and wedding DJs now offer some form of DJ uplighting. It's often an inexpensive addon or even provided for free as an incentive to book. Having uplighting at your event for free or cheap can be and attractive offer. But make sure you do your research. Not all DJs & their uplighting are the same, some are professional level and some are not.
How can DJs offer uplighting at a lower price than high-end lighting companies? And how does DJ uplighting differ from the real thing?
High-end uplighting completed by professional designers can make a huge impact on the look of your event. If you've decided you want uplighting at your event, going with the cheap option might not be worth it.
Are you thinking of using cheap DJ uplighting?
If you're thinking about using a DJ to uplight your event, you may change your mind after reading about the downsides of cheap DJ uplighting. Here are some of the biggest differences between cheap DJ uplighting and uplighting by a professional lighting company or well-equipped & DJ.
Here are some reasons you should avoid cheap DJ uplighting:
Some DJs don't have many lights.
Most DJs offer a preset number of lights in their uplighting packages. Meanwhile, a professional lighting company will scale the uplights to the venue. An incomplete lighting design will be evident to guests and even more apparent in pictures.
For spring, summer, and fall weddings, you won't even see the full effects of the lighting until well into an evening event. By then, it is too late to make changes.
Speaking of changes, remember that DJs will be busy keeping the dance floor going during your event. This means they cannot make major fixes and pay attention to your lighting if something goes wrong. At least not without leaving the dance floor unattended.
Professional lighting companies typically have techs on standby just in case something goes wrong.
Many DJs buy nice speakers and cheap lights.
Most DJs do not compromise on sound. Sadly, that doesn't always extend to their lighting inventory. It's rare to see a DJ traveling with full-scale professional uplights. And who can blame them, you can make a down payment on a car for the price of a few professional lights.
Professional lights can be heavy and take up a lot of space. This isn't ideal for DJs, who are usually 1-man teams with small vehicles.
Cheap uplights are easy to come by and break just as easily.
Battery life could be a problem.
Batteries are expensive, and good batteries are even more expensive. Professional-quality uplights have high-quality batteries that are tested and replaced as needed by their in-house technicians. Unfortunately, your typical wedding DJ may not have access to the kinds scale of resources a full-scale production company does.
So, what's wrong with a cheaper battery?
At best, they have shorter lifespans. They may last for an entire event at first, but after just a few cycles, their lifespan starts to decrease. This can leave empty spots in your lighting design.
DJ uplighting often isn't very bright.
One way cheap lighting manufacturers compensate for poor battery life is by sacrificing brightness. This can be achieved by using lower-wattage diodes or by throttling the battery's output to make it last longer.
The lights may seem bright enough in passing, but compare them to a professional light and you will see the difference.
Colors can vary from light to light.
Cheaper lights usually have color variances. Companies that produce these lights use diodes from different manufacturing batches and various qualities.
This color difference can be very easy to spot or almost imperceptible to the eye. Your photographer's camera, however, will always pick up the differences. Sometime lights have different lenses installed in each light. This is very noticeable!
Wireless signal drop is a huge issue.
Many uplights use 2.4 GHz WIFI adaptors to receive signals from a control surface wirelessly. Once again, the manufacturers of cheap lights have been known to skimp in this area.
Your uplights might seem fine initially, but once 125-250 cell phones and people are in the space between the lights, the signal becomes spotty. Worst case, this can cause the lights to flash and change colors without being told to.
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