This is not intended to be an all-intensive list, just a starting point to what shots you may not want to forget..

For those of you arguing about price- price is an overrated measure of a photographer’s ability. My wedding photographer was $1000, which I had a hard time justifying to myself at first! Note that I found her through a friend (we saw her hustling around taking pictures at our friends’ wedding, & were happy with the quality as well). It turns out our price is her independent price- she also works for a studio in the area where they charge $2-3k! For the same photographer! And we had no limitation on the photos- it was actually one of our requirements to find a photographer who would give us all of the photos on CD/DVD afterwards. We were very happy with the results (minus a few shots I would have liked to see- I may not have communicated it very well, though).

I actually did want photos of us at each table with the guests. We told our photographer, who said “Why don’t I just follow you around and take candid shots?” which we agreed to… the trouble was that we wanted pictures of us with everybody, and we ended up with only pictures of half of our guests!

Also – I am also asked by “Uncle Joe types” and “Advanced Amateurs” how to navigate your way into wedding photography. This is very simple. You need to have a solid foundation … having a SLR and taking decent photographs are not sufficient. Almost every major college/university has a continuing education department – find a school in your area that has a good arts education reputation and enroll in a photography certificate program. They are usually the concentrated “major” courses that you would have to take if you were enrolled in an Associates degree program or as a BFA minor. If there is no formal certificate program take at least a photography 101, history of photography, composition course, a lighting course, a portrait course, etc. Also immerse yourself in art & photography – go to exhibits and look through the top wedding photographers portfolios … take notes and really analyze each photograph. Read a lot … I have found that blogs are better then the books at B&N. Assemble your basic equipment – you will need a professional level DSLR {film is fine, but it is very labor intensive} in addition to your stock standard lens that most likely came with the camera you should also have something along the lines of the Canon 50mm f1.8 with runs about $250 which you will need for low light conditions – you will need a flash like the Canon 580 – a comfortable and easy to use camera bag – multiple compact flash memory cards – additional battery for your camera and flash – lightweight tripod – your camera manual {just in case something goes awry} Register with the WPPI and read through their website and materials extensively – also a great resource for insurance. DO NOT PHOTOGRAPH A WEDDING WITHOUT INSURANCE and now more and more venues will not allow you to photograph on their premises without it … do not worry it isn’t expensive. Find your local camera shop and see if they have a rental program – great way to fake it until you make it equipment wise. Invest in a website and proper business materials – schools with an IT program and Graphic Design program are a great resource for this … contact professors and post an add for junior/senior students to design your materials and develop your website for a fraction of the price. Talk to other photographers in the field – http://www.meetup.com is a great resource for that. Once you have done all of this prep then you are ready to start photographing weddings. How do I build a portfolio? offer friends and family who are engaged to do free/low cost engagement portrait sessions … offer to do bridal portraits before the wedding {very popular in the south} … do trash-the-dress portraits for friends and family after their weddings … be creative! One of the best ways is also to assist an already established wedding photographer … don’t be shy they might not be advertising for one but call the ones in your area and let them know you are available at a moments notice as a back up … you would be surprise at how much experience that will give you!
But NEVER EVER just start photographing a wedding because you have a camera you are handy with and take “good” photos … would you have just been satisfied with “good” on your wedding day?! Besides are your friends and family and colleagues going to give you an honest assessment of your skills … probably not! Before going through the expense and process just try exhibiting your photos at a local juried photo exhibit and see how you do … that is a good judge if you are on the right track to becoming semi/pro!
Oh and make sure you really like working 12+hrs straight almost always on weekends … it’s not for everyone!

Here is some more unsolicited advice – always try to get candids of the parents and grandparents during the ceremony and reception … the B/G want to see them enjoying themselves and will treasure those especially later in life.

Always try to capture that one moment where they bride finally lets go of the “I’m a bride persona” and does something funny or goofy or endearing … those real moments the groom wants to see.

Never photograph the Groom’s mother crying at the ceremony especially if it is the ugly cry – the Bride will always take it the wrong way and you don’t want to be responsible for WWIII but if the Groom’s father is crying too or looks otherwise emotional then it is okay.

ALWAYS check with the ceremony and reception venue and ask to have a copy of their photographer’s requirements – if there is something they restrict that is important discuss it with the venue first and see if that rule is firm and if it is then give the B/G a heads up so they understand how it will impact their photography. Since some churches do not allow ANY photography during the ceremony and many do not allow flash or the photographer on the altar. When I am faced with the no photography dilemma I make an appointment to speak with the officiant and discuss my “method” and usually I am able to persuade them to allow me to photograph from a balcony or last pew without flash – it isn’t ideal, but I always manage to get some fantastic shots. But under no circumstance break the rules – it is unprofessional. Also if you are unfamiliar with a location or religion do some research.

A lesson for Joe is this: A photographer needs to know their equipment like the back of their hand. In my experience AND opinion, the best way to start into wedding photography is to shadow a professional photographer at their weddings. In other words, be a second shooter. Have your professional tutor you, listen to them, learn your equipment, and always always ALWAYS have extra batteries, memory cards, backups, and an extra camera on standby. If you can’t find someone nice enough to do that for you, ( alot of photographers are pretty conceited) then you should research wedding photography to death before ruining someone’s wedding. But I would never recommend jumping into it unless you know what your doing to an extent.

Read this
RE: Hire A Student Photographer For Your Wedding
By db (Guest Post)
NOT something I would do unless you really don’t care about your photos AND can hire them for a few cents on the dollar. In small claims court, we see more lawsuits about wedding photographers than you can imagine. They aren’t responsible for you being fat, having bad makeup/hairstyle or cheap/ugly clothing and decorations but these lawsuits abound.

A student is not a professional. Would you hire a student chef or a student dress designer??? With a higher than 50% divorce rate; people honestly may have no use for their wedding photos so it wouldn’t matter in that case.

But if you want to record memories and need to be cheap about it, try giving out digital cameras for use or finding 2 or 3 friends who can take a bunch of your shots. See if friends can loan you cameras, etc. That way, all you would have to do would be buy the memory cards and can then pick and choose from hundreds of photos. Photo editing software is better than ever and you can do wonders on your own if you make the effort.

Once someone is paying to have a job done; they forget that they should only expect to get what they have paid for. The extreme anger and disappointment isn’t worth saving a few dollars on what we hope is a once in a lifetime event.

Thanks!!

Cynthia

Everyone has said enough to “frustrated”, but I’d take $975 to photograph a wedding. :)

All in all, I don’t aspire to be a wedding photographer, but I want to be good enough to help friends out and not have them feel like they’ve “skimped”. I have my sights set on getting good at other areas, but want to be skilled all around.