Shooting a Wedding?

[case]

I will be shooting a friend's wedding this summer, and while i have taken my camera to plenty of weddings, i have never been responsible for capturing the day. i had been looking online at galleries from wedding photographers to get some ideas for shots i wanted to take, but today while waiting in line at the grocery store, my eye fell on a bridal magazine. i ended up thumbing through it in line, then buying it and scrutinizing every picture that jumped out at me (which was about one every other page). it is a great resource that i never would have thought of, so i figured i'd share.

[windrider86]

Thats actually a great idea. I wish I had thought of it. Would be good to keep around for future reference and ideas.

[Neo]

On at least two levels..... One is you have an idea what kind of shots please magazine editors, and as a result most brides...
Two is you have what I could call a 'style manual', meaning you can be inspired by the work of professionals and hopefully create something that you would not have been able to do without the inspriration

[Major_Small]

That's what I do for a lot of shots if I get stuck. Look for pictures of similar things for inspiration.

[NaturesPixel]

my advice.. is don't do it!!!...lol

ok.. now that you are doing it...talk to the bride... show her some shots and see if she likes any of them..( from the magazine) see if thats what she is after / expects...

you need to make a list of what shots she wants... and mark them off as they are taken on the day... .. you also need to make sure that the best man and maid of honour.. are in line to gather the family members making sure that great aunt Beth is in the shot some where you DON'T wanna leave out a member of the family...

[BrianJArmstrong]

having just gone through a pretty bad wedding photography experience (my wedding, not my shots), I would say to have the bride AND GROOM (guys do have a say in their weddings! he he he...) to put together a list of must-haves in their photos. Since you're a friend of the party, you'll probably know most of them, but if not, I would also have them provide you with someone who does know everyone on the list. This way you don't miss a face and the bride and groom don't have to be bothered by pointing everyone out.

That and don't kill inside photos with a bad flash. Hardly any of our photos from the reception came out to our satisfaction.

wow. This post is a borderline bitter complaint rather than advice! sorry!!

[Photogenic]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing. Bill Hurter also has some great books on wedding photography.

[mar529]

great idea, a friend asked me to photograph his wedding this summer as well, i guess i'll also take a look at some magazines to get some ideas, thanks for the tip

[rickysu]

Originally Posted by case

I will be shooting a friend's wedding this summer, and while i have taken my camera to plenty of weddings, i have never been responsible for capturing the day. i had been looking online at galleries from wedding photographers to get some ideas for shots i wanted to take, but today while waiting in line at the grocery store, my eye fell on a bridal magazine. i ended up thumbing through it in line, then buying it and scrutinizing every picture that jumped out at me (which was about one every other page). it is a great resource that i never would have thought of, so i figured i'd share.

same here... i like to buy some bridals magazine as a reference ..
i did couple of shots referencing to a bridal magazine

[SJH Foto]

It's ALWAYS a great idea to have the couple give your their ideas and must have shots. Here are a few examples of wedding picture poses that I think are neat:

You can see more on my site www.sjhfoto.com (although right now, I only have a few willing couples up)