Your Best Friend’s Wedding
In this tutorial, Natalie Norton shares 10 great tips that will help you survive shooting your first wedding.
Photo Credit: My good friend, wedding photographer Jonathan Canlas the great.You were asked to shoot your friend’s wedding? Hmm. Already got suckered into it? Tut, tut, tut. Fear not! By maintaining a good attitude, establishing a strong game plan and setting realistic expectations, you truly can make this lemon into sweet lemonade.
Here are 10 tips to making your first weddings a success.
1. Light Right:
If you haven’t already mastered lighting and proper exposure, I REALLY, TRULY recommend shooting in Aperture Priority. If you struggle with Aperture Priority, well you’ve just got to shoot in plain old Automatic. And hey, that ain’t always such a bad thing if I do say so myself. The bottom line is that you just cannot afford the chance of improper exposures when the dude (or nowadays the chick) says “you may kiss the bride.”
2. Under Promise, Over Deliver:
If you’re going make this work, particularly if this is your very first wedding, you’ve got to set yourself up for success by managing expectations. You recall the adage, “you get what you pay for?” Well friend, that doesn’t really hold true for brides. They generally expect to get what they want. Period. I’m not knocking brides. It’s their WEDDING DAY for Pete’s sake. They should get what they want on this great day of days. But you can’t assume that just because you’re shooting for next to nothing (or in fact nothing) that there won’t be high expectations for you and your work. Under promise, over deliver. You’ve got to set clear expectations that you know beyond a doubt in the Heavens you’ll be able to achieve. If for example you really believe that you will be able to deliver 100 knock out images for each hour of shooting, promise only 50. That way when you show up with 75 awesome images from each hour you shot they’ll be ecstatic!
3. Don’t Go it Alone:
Get an assistant to come shoot with you. Two cameras are always better than one. Particularly if you’re not all that familiar with yours. It’s VERY important to have a back up to make sure you’ve got two chances at each key shot.
4. Request an Infiltrator:
Have the bride/groom assign someone to you to be sure you get shots of all the key players. Its important that you document all the key attendees, especially if you’re familiar enough with the family that you should (but don’t) know them all by name. If every time your bff talks about her favorite Aunt Bessie you’re only half listening and don’t have a clue who she is, you better be sure you’ve got someone there to point her out so you can grab that shot of her wiping her eyes during the ceremony.
5. Click, Click, CLICK:
Take pictures until your trigger finger bleeds. If you’re not totally sure, check that LCD and try, try again. You’ve got to nail it. You only get one chance at this. There isn’t going to be a do-over. Shoot and shoot and then shoot some more. In this new digital age, particularly as of late when storage space is so cheap on memory cards, you really don’t have a single reason I can think of NOT to shoot like a bat out’a hell.
6. Tell the Story:
There are a handful of shots you’ll need to be sure to include. Clearly you’ll need to cover the ceremony in it’s entirety. ie rings, smooch, tears, cake cutting, bouquet toss etc. Beyond that, be sure to get a good establishing shot of the venue, some good detail shots of all the stuff she spent WAY too much money on to decorate said venue, some good detail shots of her dress (don’t forget the shoes . . . oh and the rings!!), bride and groom with their groupies, a zillion pics of the bride alone and with her man, and then any and everything else you can possibly think of.
7. Know Where to Go:
Check out your venue before hand. Make sure that you know EXACTLY where it is, even where you’re to park. It would not be a happy day for you to come out from your pro bono wedding only to have to fork out $200 to get your car off the impound lot. It’s also a helpful rule of thumb to know what you’re getting yourself into for a shoot. Try to visit during the same time of day the wedding will be held. Check out the lighting situation. Ask about the seating and be sure you’re going to be able to photograph from the proper angles without obstructing the guest’s view.
8. Get the 411:
Talk to the individual who will be performing the ceremony. There may be rules about photographing in a certain cathedral or religious reasons you can’t photograph certain parts of the ceremony. It’s your responsibility as the photographer to make sure that these concerns are addressed with the Priest etc before you show up on the wedding day.
9. Cover Your Bases:
It just may be a good idea to have a contract. I know it seems like an awful formality, particularly between friends. It’s a wise step however to solidify expectations (an extension of what we discussed earlier about managing expectations) in order to preserve the relationship. You really love this friend of yours, as evidenced by your willingness to shoot his/her wedding, protect that relationship by insisting on a contract.
10. Go for it!
You’ve made the commitment already, now jump in with both feet. Don’t let your fear and anxiety plug up your creativity. You’re going to be great!
A QUICK NOTE IN CLOSING: I’m really upbeat by nature. I generally err on the side of complete and absolute optimism. I really do believe in YOU and your remarkable ability to be a fantastic xxxx (fill in the blank: photographer, singer, dancer, plumber, pastor, whatever). I am 100% of the opinion that if you want it, it can be yours. Faith, hope and a sane amount of persistence and the world is your oyster. Truly. That said, photographing a wedding is not to be taken lightly. It is arguably the single most important day in a couple’s life. If you want experience shooting a wedding ask to shadow a pro. Shadowing is the perfect way to gain experience, there’s no pressure, no expectations, just you, your camera and a wedding you’re not responsible to document. Ah, beautiful. Not so beautiful however is your under-experienced self, a camera you don’t understand, a thousand overexposed images from the wedding day and Bridezilla, Queen Kong (mother of the bride) and the mother-in-law from you know where all in cardiac arrest when you break the news. Ugly. Ugly. UG-LY. Particularly if Bridezilla used to be your bff. I’m not saying this to discourage you. I merely want to ensure that you prepare amply before you plunge into an event as paramount in someone’s life as a wedding!
Happy Shooting and Good luck!
Natalie lives and shoots on the North Shore of Oahu with her wonderful husband Richie and her 3 crazy boys. You can view more of her photography and enjoy a selection of her writing by visiting her at natalienortonphoto.com.
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April 10th, 2008 at 12:41 am
This is sort of a “#5, part b”: shoot in RAW (or RAW+JPEG if your camera has that mode) even if you normally don’t.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Your Best Friend’s Wedding - DON’T.
Unless you really know what your doing (you eat manual mode for breakfast, and profoto lighting for lunch.). Don’t mess up the important day.
You might want to start as a real wedding photographer’s assistant, do some work, learn learn learn, and then photograph a wedding yourself. But if you did that you wouldn’t be reading this now, would you? ;]
April 10th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Another great article from Natalie. Thanks for the tips!
Question for Matthew Miller … does shooting in RAW really make a big difference? What software is used to edit RAW images? I’d love to plunge into the world of RAW images, but I’M AFRAID TO! LOL…
April 10th, 2008 at 1:43 am
awesome post!!! :) And no. 7 is SOOOOO TRUE!!!! I once played at a wedding where the PHOTOGRAPHER was 30 minutes late ….. err!
April 10th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Keep an eye out for blown highlights. White dresses are prone to that.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Taryn,
There is no standard for RAW files. Nikon, Canon, etc all have their own RAW file formats. Even within a single company the RAW format can very from camera to camera. Photoshop supports many of these formats. With my Canon, I also use DPP (Digital Photo Professional) which can with my camera. Lastly, don’t be afraid of RAW. It opens up a whole new world of post processing.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Very well written; thanks! These tips are great and provide me with good insights that I’ll keep in mind if anyone ever asks me to shoot their wedding.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:05 am
Good stuff in here. Have never been asked to shoot a wedding before, but hey, you never know.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:09 am
To Taryn,
actually shooting RAW can make a big difference in some situations. It gives you more control over exposure, color, noise, sharpening and a number of other parameters BEFORE a jpeg is generated, assuring more quality over the processed image. In some cases shooting raw you can even recover blown highlits. The downside is a longer processing time.
For beginners like me I believe Photoshop elements is a great program to start processing raw files.
Anyway you can find lots of informations online on shooting raw, even on here DPS forums.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Very, very good advice! I would like to add just a couple of things, though if that’s ok…
I would get a very small deposit (you know, like $50-$100) that way the other party is committed as well. Or put some type of cancellation fee in your contract. Unfortunately I DID NOT do this with a cousin who was going to have me do her wedding pics almost-free (grand total: $150.00) She didn’t even let me know I wouldn’t be her photographer until 2 days before her wedding! Apparently she found someone who would do them for free - no SRL or professional experience though. She definitely found out that you get what you pay for!
April 10th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Almost forgot to add the other thing - sorry!
I’m huge into checklists, and I totally recommend using one for ANY wedding - even friends or family. I have a VERY comprehensive one, that continually gets updated. It’s in an excel document, so very easily done. I’m sure it’s far from perfect, though!
I would LOVE to make it available to anyone… Not sure how to do that though… I suppose just shoot me an e-mail if you’d like me to pass it on your way OR if you know how to get it somewhere so anyone can just click & download.
Again, it’s not perfect Just really useful for me - and hopefully for you all too! Much love & God Bless!
amanda.fultz[at]hotmail.com
April 10th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Spot on with the wedding advice. Personally I really don’t like shooting weddings because if you forget something or just don’t get some of the shots you wish you did…too bad. No chance for a reshoot. In the end, most of mine turn out fine, but I find I don’t solicit that kind of business.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Great article. My sister has asked me to take some photos at her wedding but not as the main photographer but just lots of candid shots. But there is still a little pressure to produce good shots and this article will serve as a great check list.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:25 am
** Another thing I would recommend, is to ask the friend (family member, etc), “Are you wanting me to shoot your wedding as a friend or a professional?” It’s not impossible to do both, but take into consideration that YOU might be ‘out’ more than you bargained for… It totally just depends on the people involved. **
April 10th, 2008 at 4:53 am
I’ve heard that checklists, made by sitting down with the bride/groom and getting a list of all the moments/photos they’d really like to have, can be handy. Besides the obvious (The Kiss, cake cutting, etc.) there are sometimes little moments that the couple only realize they’d like when they sit down to think about it (Picture of Grandpa So-and-so playing with the grandkids like he always does, and so on). If you can capture the entire list, you can ensure that you’ll at least have the minimum number of scenes that the couple really wants to remember.
Oh, and consider renting nice glass if you don’t already have it. Some of the L wedding lenses (85mm f/1.8, 135mm f/2, 70-200 f/2.8 IS) are really nice but rather expensive and unnecessary if you’re not doing weddings all the time. Renting is a nice cheap way to have them for a few days, so you can practice and then shoot the wedding with really nice, fast lenses, and then bring them back. This is all doubly or triply true if it’s a no-flash wedding.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:02 am
This is just perfect. Next month will be my very first wedding , my wife’s friend’s ask me to photograph it… so, technically I’m not her best friend nor a professional photographer haha. Any way I’ll do my best, thanks for the advices!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:07 am
Recommend using a professional if not here are a few tips:
Get someone to be an assistant.
Have a backup camera equipment.
Have lots of extra charged batteries and extra memory cards. Pros usually take thousands of images for a Wedding.
Check out the locations before the wedding day.
Pack some food/water as you’ll be on the move all day.
Spend some time to do some research and get some inspiration well before the wedding.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Hi, here are photos I took of my cousin’s wedding back in November: http://tinyurl.com/4o9tm8
My cousin said she liked some of my pictures better than her professional photographer’s! I just did these for myself, but I sent them to her and her parents on a CD as a little gift. Critique and enjoy!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Obviously you’re not the best friend if you aren’t IN the wedding right? :)
April 10th, 2008 at 6:32 am
I contacted Photochick (Amanda Fultz) about her wedding checklist and questionnaire and she generously shared them with me. With her permission, I’ve copied them over to Google Docs and made them available below.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ppuF_0dv6H8zTjdPjs4D4MQ
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dzqwfrb_3k7z2zvcv
April 10th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Taryn — shooting in RAW doesn’t make that big of a difference if you get the exposure and white balance correct initially. If you’re off, though, RAW gives you more latitude to salvage the exposure and complete after-the-fact control of white balance. Plus, since it uses lossless (or no) compression, RAW will give you the highest possible image quality if you need to do an extreme crop or if you want to make huge prints for some reason.
There are some people who are evangelical about always using RAW and will basically belittle you for using JPEG ever. Those people are overstating the case, but in the above situations it makes sense. And in the wedding case, where someone else is depending on you and where you don’t get a second chance, it seems almost mandatory to me.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Argh. Why does this site keep memorizing my name mistyped?
April 10th, 2008 at 7:05 am
I love the articles! I am photographing my friends wedding soon and I loved all of the tips. Thank you for making me a better photographer!
April 10th, 2008 at 7:29 am
All the additions are wonderful! Keep sharing!
NOTE: Last paragraph . . . it has come to my attention that I wrote “air on the side” as opposed to “err.” Pretty silly of me. Particularly with a mother who’s an editor. She’d kill me.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:31 am
PS. Thank you Chris for bringing that to my attention. . . and for not ridiculing me for it! ;)
April 10th, 2008 at 8:36 am
What a great, helpful article, Natalie! Thank you! I HAVE been roped (arm-twisted, guilted, begged, and cajoled)
into “gifting” wedding photography for friends’ children, etc. When you’re not a pro, and you’re known for sharing photography talents as gifts, I’m sure many of you can attest to getting yourself into this situation. These are WONDERFUL suggestions to make it a little less stressful. In my experience, in cases like these, it’s only the photographer who is stressed…those asking obviously don’t know enough to realize they should be nervous! One suggestion…make sure that not only the bride knows that you’re not a pro at this…make sure the parents are aware that “you get what you paid for”!
Keep these a’coming, Natalie! Love your writing and “real” tips!
April 10th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Klaidas:
My dear friend- don’t be scared of RAW. The shooting is the exact same, the only difference is:
a. the images are much larger
b. if you work in photoshop, there are more options to work with when you upload the image to edit make your photo amazing! Try it! You’ll like it!
Nat: Great article! You’re amazing!
April 10th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Thanks a lot for this list!
I really enjoy and will try this in a few days!!! :P
Wish me luck! :P
Regards,
António Chagas.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:49 am
PS - I never shot my best friend Weeding!!. At my best friend Weeding I will be drunk!!. :P
April 10th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Seriously Natalie. You always deliver! Thanks for the practical advise. I love tip 10 coupled with your “quick note”. Smart. We all have to start somewhere. Thanks for the motivation and making it that much easier!
April 10th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I hear that wedding photographers make a ton of money! I really want to do this kind of stuff, although I’m not very good…yet.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
thanks for tips. these are all helpful. :)
i got my chance to shoot my first wedding for a friend. I’m just new to photography so i took advantage of it.
i was part of the entourage so i wasn’t able to shoot from the start. anyways, i just didn’t promise anything as i really don’t know what to expect. i just shoot when i had the chance. glad they liked it.
i think, the greatest rewards in doing something for free is experience. :)
you can check my first wedding shoot from this link:
http://digidigz.multiply.com/photos/album/100/Rhea_Biaco-Jeff_Licop_Nuptial_03.01.08
Thanks again for the tips!
April 10th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I wish I would have seen this before. Did my first wedding last fall for my best friends daughter (Pro Bono & newbie photographer). For the most part, the 2000 photos she got over 2 days turned out great and she loved them afterwards, it was the “Bridezilla” she turned into that disturbed me during those 2 days. Not sure I want to do another wedding after that.
Great information in your blog by the way, thanks for the info.
Have a blessed day.
Andre
http://www.lifetimesphoto.com
http://lifetimesphoto.blogspot.com/
http://www.smugmug.com/?referrer=kUYCMH4lNy2Uo
April 10th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
This info comes at a great time. Getting ready to shoot my neice’s wedding in mid May. Last wedding I did was about 25 years ago (film days) and had a good time and pics were great. This will be my first go using digital. Love shooting in RAW. Just fear the post processing of hundreds of pictures. Some people do this Pro Bono as I will, but it will cost me in getting an extra battery for the camera, and additional memmory. Wish me Luck.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:01 am
I had previously “shadowed” several photographers at weddings, no hassles or worries and great results.
A friend called in a favour and asked me to be the official photographer at his daughter’s wedding. Bearing in mind that I am aged 50 and have already suffered one cardiac arrest and my “ticker” is a bit dodgy, what was I to do???
I agreed to do the photoshoot and never worked so hard for so little reward, and so much stress levels, in my life. It didn’t help when, on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives, the bride and groom both had facial expressions like “slapped arses”, no amount of editing in RAW or Photoshop can alter that one, coupled with a venue with strong midday sun and deep shade to compound the problems. In the event I managed to get enough decent shots to compile an album, but vowed and declared never again.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:02 am
Thanks for all the info. I am doing my second digital wedding this September. I have done weddings on film for friends. I also have taken them as guests. The bride has always liked mine better than the photographers. So, I guess I should feel more comfortable. It is very nerve racking. Digital weddings are harder than doing them on film. I shot the wedding in Raw and jpeg as requested by the woman I was helping out. I did as you suggested and asked to follow her around at the “free” wedding she was doing. I did see the difference in RAW. I was terrified to try it. When you mentioned shooting in AV.. if not auto…Do you mean Program or Auto? I did the first digital in manual. It turns out the woman who I was working with had hers in Program. I had read that flash works better in manual. I used the AV mode outside with the high speed flash. I spent a lot of money on the Canon 580 flash. I had heard that maybe you should buy a good wedding photography book too.
I had a comment for Silverhead..I looked at your wedding pictures. They are gorgeous..This can’t be your first wedding. What camera,lens were you using. I would love to hear your suggestions.
Thanks for the tips Natalie. Keep them coming.
April 11th, 2008 at 12:16 am
thanks alot for the help i’m doing my first wedding next week. and it’s for my best friend,… so i’m kinda confused whether to participate in the wedding as a guest or dont participate and be the photographer
no one can be the both
April 11th, 2008 at 2:14 am
I have suckered a friend into shooting my wedding next weekend, so this posting / article was perfectly timed.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:35 am
I’m always looking for helpful tips on shooting a wedding. This is a breath of fresh air, a lot of these say if you are unsure then don’t do it. My wife and I are shooting two weddings later this summer/fall. Both are family, so both are the we don’t have a lot of money and you have really nice cameras deal. But we are planning to go pro sometime soon, and so we want to do a good job. Because of that I am voraciously reading everything I can about this, and of course saving tons of money for those “fast” lenses.
AGain thanks for the info.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Thanks to everyone who responded to my question regarding the RAW images!
April 11th, 2008 at 4:05 am
There is a great website for wedding photography http://www.christophermaxwell.com . I learned so many things reading that. It might be helpful to many of you wanting to learn. Weddings are not what I prefer to do, but I do like taking wedding pictures and I want to learn to do them better since I have gone totally digital.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Shoot in Raw, get lots of memory cards, and get a decent zoom lens (70-200 2.8) and a macro lens for those special moments. I didn’t have a macro, so I used my nifty-fifty 1.8. Here’s the pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninelivephotography/
The others are from our test shoot so we could get my lighting and angles together.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:35 am
“Two cameras are always better than one. Particularly if you’re not all that familiar with yours.”
Are you kidding me? If you are not all that familiar with your camera you have got to back out. It is unthiknable to be “the photographer” for someone’s wedding when you don’t even know how to use your camera.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:48 am
How do you get those wide angle shots with a 70-200? I just bought the nifty fifty. What a diference. I only have one camera though.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:49 am
Just to clarify in response to:
“Good advice about friend’s weddings.
I’m interested to know why you favour shooting weddings in aperture priority.
Regards,
Peter”
Note the opening sentence of the post: “If you haven’t already mastered lighting and proper exposure, I REALLY, TRULY recommend shooting in Aperture Priority.” I should have been more clear. Thank you for brining this to my attention. I shoot all weddings in a split between MANUAL mode and AP. The ceremony is shot 100% Manual 99% of the time. What I am recommending here is that if you aren’t comfortable shooting in Manual. . . a wedding is NOT the place to give it a go. If you’ve not TOTALLY MASTERED your lighting and proper exposure in manual settings, it is then that I recommend you shoot in AP. AP can produce fantastic images. I am comfortable shooting in Manual and love the freedom it provides, so that’s how I shoot most of the time.
I will maintain this stance to the grave, come hell or high water: a good image is a good image is a good image. I don’t care how it’s shot, automatic, ap, with a disposable camera. . . Do what works for you! And ignore anyone who tells you you’re less of a photog for shooting in AP or auto if that’s where you have the most success. Work toward shooting manually (if you want to), but in the mean time, do what works!
Second clarification: Please refer to the closing paragraph in this article. This article was written to help those who are shooting weddings. NOT to encourage people who are not ready to begin this journey to just give it a go on the fly. It is someone’s wedding. Please respect that and be sure that you have proper experience before you jump right in.
Happy Shooting!
April 11th, 2008 at 7:13 am
A number of my wife’s friends have been married over the past year or so. I’ve been more than willing to visit their house to take informal photos during holidays, all of which have turned out quite well. However, I have been asked a number of times to photograph their wedding. In each instance I respectively decline since I am neither an accomplished amateur nor do I have any professional training. I always offer to take as many photos as their heart desires but I’ve always stated that would be uncomfortable being the photographer of record. This decision has always worked out for the best since the hired professional takes better “staged” photos but my candid shots almost always turn out better.
April 11th, 2008 at 7:52 am
The tips given here are 100% ‘true to life’ application. I’ve done 6 weddings as ‘gifts’ to friends (expenses totaling $1,000. each) and one recently as ‘paid amature’. I’ve found that the best way to improve is take lots of pictures…then later figure out what made the good ones good…and the bad ones bad. My very first wedding was just doing the candids…then I gradually progressed up each one from there. (The last wedding I did my cousin, a professional photographer, came as my assistant. He offered suggestions in settings for the wedding in manual mode. At the reception I used Program mode.) Also, I was totally against shooting in RAW…I was afraid of it…but the editing options for color and exposure are wonderful…it’s like you used the right settings every time when you’re done processing. My question is…how do you figure pricing when doing a friend’s wedding as a business? (I have a legal name and a vendor’s liscense.) The last wedding I did was the first one I charged for. I was shooting 8 hours non-stop, took 1,000 pix, spent 20 hours editing and gave them 4 ‘free’ wedding books (that cost me $335). I had already set their price to pay me at $500 before the wedding date. I have the same situation coming up in September…a wedding for a friend…part gift and part business. Any suggestions? Kim T.
April 11th, 2008 at 9:25 am
[quote]It is arguably the single most important day in a couple’s life.[/quote]
What a load of rubbish, only idiots place so much importance on a single day.
Boo hoo it rained, waa waa waa the cake was ruined…. don’t be concerned that he is a cheating bastard, as long as you have the perfect wedding day your entire life will be roses and sweets.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Hi everyone, I have shot 2 weddings now.One for a friend,& a lady who rang me from the phone book, who liked my name!!Both were very low key weddings, both VERY financially embarrased!I was lucky that I had involvment in planning weddings years ago,& had worked closely with pro photoghraphers,several of which I gave them good tips!!Both the weddings I did had less than 20 people there,including the wedding party!! My Brides & Grooms were thrilled with my photos, & so was I!!
Here are my tips,& my check list, if I may, to get better results,& makes me look as if I know something at least!
Check out where they want shots taken for lighting, obstructions,& backgrounds. Make sure no coke cans ect are there! Arrive early so you can set up in good time, as everyone will be in panic mode usually. This way you can remain calm yourself!!
Dont shoot in front of windows, otherwise the light behind will sillouette everyone.Make sure your background is as free of clutter as it can be.No cords hanging everywhere,bras hanging off door handles,dirty clothes on the floor, ect ect!!Ask one of the bystanders if they can help, they love to help, & gives them a feeling of involvement. Keep an eye out for candid shots of those waiting.The flowergirl resting her head on her hands watching, Dad having a glass of whiskey to calm his nerves, Mum fixing ties or buttonhole flowers, the pageboy tossing the ring cushion around!
Start at the house where the Bride is getting ready from, try & have someone at the Grooms place to capture them as well.Take shots of each person getting their make up on, their hair done,or their hair in rollers, Bride & co having a drink,the brother doing up the Brides zipper, all add to the day! Shots getting into the car, then make sure you arrive at least 10 minutes before them at the church, gardens ect, so you have a few minutes to set up calmly. Shots getting out of the car,& the Bridesmaids fussing over the dress & veil ect.Try to capture the Grooms expression when he first sees his Bride.He has only ever seen her in jeans, shorts, ect, & his expressions are priceless at times.Do the usual wedding shots of the ceremony,the minister, celebrant,the tears on Bride & Grooms face.Yes, the Groom often is as emotional as the Bride! Often a wedding is the only( & sometimes the last) time the family see parents & grandparents dressed up, so make sure you get shots of them on their own, & with the bridal party.Get Grandparents with all their decendents! A shot of the whole wedding guests together if possible,depending on the amount of guests.I once saw a photo of all the wedding party & the guests looking upwards to the photographer who was on a shed roof taking their photo’s, & they were taking photos of the photographer! it was a great shot, & a lot of fun!!I’m not saying you do that though, but you can use your imagination!!Get shots away from the guests, in front of green or flowering bushes.I also saw shots taken in a cattle yard that were fantastic!!If you are relaxed, so will the others be.DONT stress out, enjoy the day & the experience,taking “control” as the photographer can make or break a wedding.There are some horror stories of rude,nasty photographers, dont you be one,& you will give them great memories,& hold you in awe of your abilities.
One thing to NEVER forget, make sure the train on the Brides dress is fully displayed.She paid a lot of money for the perfect dress, make sure the photo’s show as much detail as possible.If there are stairs anywhere, have her stand near the top, & her train pulled out over the steps.If she does have a train, you can get hold of it approx 12inches either side of the centre back seam, lift it up a few feet then gently parachute it down to about 8 inches,then let it go, it will then float to display beautifully.You may need a few goes to get it right, but it’s really worth the effort. It’s like you are making the bed!! Ok, the men may not know about that one!! I am not a wedding photographer, but have had pro’s see my efforts, then adopted some of my ideas!! You only get one chance for a wedding,so have a little chat to the bridal party a few days before in a calm place,& let them know what you will be doing, it makes them more comfortable, relaxed, & they feel they still have involvement, & to a degree,control.
Take as many shots as you can, always have backup batteries & even a backup camera.If anything can go wrong, it will!! the better prepared you are,the less chances of anything going wrong.I hope I havent been to long in my reply,good luck, & happy snapping!!
PS I am NOT using digital yet!!!… I’m still on film, so I make every shot count! The digitals are great for this!! just delete your bad ones!!
April 11th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Another “trick” is to look at your subject, then squint through the lens,that is what the camera sees, so it may need adjusting.Watch for shadows across faces,& if the bridal party have interesting footware, take that as well!! Just remember it is a very emotional time,& that the day passes in a blur for most of them, your photo’s are the memory jogger!!
April 11th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I’ve been roped into doing a few weddings so can appreciate the workload involved. I don’t think anyone else realises whats involved - my wife, who gets the job as my assistance, does though and threatens to divorce me if we accept another wedding shoot!
I dont shoot in raw even though I probably should, as it increases the workload even more and I dont really want to spend even more days in front of the computer in my free time. The married couple usually want JPEGs on a disc and some prints so I try to stick with JPEGs from the start. I save temporarily to TIFF while working on images.
I bracket all my shots and use the camera highlight warning which allows me to sit outside with the camera and delete any rejects before downloading the then smaller file to the computer.
Another advantage of bracketing, apart from exposure, is that you have more chance of getting the right expressions on peoples faces. Usually two of the three bracketed shots can be used.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:39 am
thanks for this great info. My part time is a wedding photographer.. well, this is an important notes for me. Thanks again!
April 11th, 2008 at 11:40 am
My stepdaughter asked me to be co-photographer (the other one was a friend with lots of experience) at her wedding, and I was extremely nervous about it!
a) I am still an amateur.
b) I have never photographed a wedding before.
c) I am into landscape/flower/ animal photos, not portraits.
I told her of my fears, and she just laughed - said she had every confidence in me!
So….we had a chat about what she would like - relaxed and informal photojournalism was the decision.
I did a lot of research on lighting, camera settings etc. and prepared well with extra batteries, spare storage cards and so on.
On the wedding day, I just took informal shots or took advantage of the other photographer’s formal poses by getting in just after his shot, as the groups were relaxing. I also made an effort to look for special moments, intimate looks etc.
The results were fabulous - I really surprised myself! My darling stepdaughter was thrilled to bits with the photos - she said they really captured the fun, the excitement and the personalities, as well as some very special moments and details. (The groom agreed)
She ended up scrapping most of the other photographer’s efforts, because they were very stiff and formal. She says my photos told the story of the day much better.
She has made a special album from the photos I took, and one of them has been enlarged and now hangs on their wall.
My satisfaction is not just in taking good photos on the day - it is the fact that my darling girl was so happy with them!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I should mention if deleting any photos in your camera before saving them on your computer to make sure you “protect” all the ones you definitely want to save first. You don’t want to hit “delete all” by mistake! It hasn’t happened to me but I can imagine it wouldnt go down to well.
Keep away from the “format” command as well!
Another point to watch is to keep an eye on your camera settings while shooting. They can be inadvertently moved without you realising it which can ruin a few shoots before noticed.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Wait.
What about actual camera info. So, you have a bride in a white dress, groom in all black — so how do you shot that??
You cannot spend 10 years manipulating 2,000 images in RAW.
So, give some suggestions as to evaluation correstions, exponsures, etc.
Thanks.
Bill
April 11th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I use Adobe lightroom to manipulate my Raw images, especially for weddings. It works exceptionally well, then I save the files in JPEG for downloading onto a disc for the client to choose which pics they would like printed. For printing I use a professional lab…I found it to be safer than the local mini lab. You must learn to crop IN CAMERA, not via photoshop or similar, because if you crop in these programmes and then send the images to the printer, you will get back pictures of heads or part of heads, bodies,feet etc, missing…not a good look.
Be prepared, relax, and enjoy what your doing. Use every wedding photo boo boo as part of the never ending learning curve. Above all be confident.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Tip Above #1: Know yourself!!
If you like to take pictures that are perfect, and you get stressed or nervous easily…don’t take the job!!
I shot one very informal wedding for a friend’s sister (second wedding), and I was SO stressed the whole night! The pictures turned out just fine, but it was not worth it in my opinion. Since then I’ve been asked to shoot 2 other weddings and have declined.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I have done a couple “reluctant” weddings for friends. One thing that I found to be very useful was to use several memory cards in the course of the day. Don’t shoot all photos on one card. If, heaven forbid, your card gets lost or misplaced, you will have other cards with photos on them.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
great..i love it. thank you for this post
April 12th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I really enjoyed this tutorial. My cousin is getting married towards the end of the year and I shall keep in mind these really good tips provided by Natalie. Of course, I’ll just be the ’shadow’ photographer. :)
April 13th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Hm. this was rather interesting. however, have you considered shutter count? if you keep bursting, your shutter count may shoot all the way up.
April 13th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
nice looking wedding
April 14th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I love using a digital camera for a wedding. It gives you a chance to make sure when you are photographing the entire wedding party that everyone has their eyes open and one of the kids is not doing something crazy. With film, you have to hope that you got a good one. With digital, you can check and know you have a great shoot. And I can take many more shots without having to develop the film. I sell a lot of candid shots, not just the posed ones.