Wedding Photography

[Nicole]

Just thought I'd pull together a few threads and tips to one location for those people who have been asked to photograph a friend / family member / random person's wedding / etc. and who are looking for some tips. So, here are some questions I've seen a lot of, and some info I thought was really helpful:

Help, I've been asked to shoot a wedding, should I do it?

Answers to this question range from you've got to start somewhere to vehement "No"s. So, it's kind of up to how comfortable you are doing it. As mdwsta4 said on a thread called Shooting Wedding as a favor for a relative:

Make sure they are okay with no wedding photographer because there are no guarantees you'll come out with a single good picture. or you could come out with a couple dozen

Technically, this can be true even for a professional photographer, since there's always a chance things can go wrong, but it's doubly true for someone who doesn't have all the extra equipment, etc that a pro may have in the case of equipment failure, etc.

Ok, I understand things can go wrong, but I'm going to do it anyways because I think I can / want the experience / etc, how do I know what pictures to take?

There are sites out there for checklists, in fact there's one listed at the bottom of this. Google wedding photo checklists and you should be able to find some more information as well. But the best way to make sure you're getting the right shots was said by nacre in the Wedding Photography tips thread:

The first thing I do when preparing to shoot a wedding is to get together with the couple and ask them what kind of photos they like. I then have them prepare a list of the shots, ie. the kiss, the signing of the registry, throwing of rose petals etc. that they would like to have. I then make sure I get those shots and I do whatever I can to catch the essence of the day by doing some candid shots of their friends and family.

If you don't get the shots that the couple and their family want, they almost definitely won't be happy with the end result, especially if you manage to forget one of the major moments.

So, I know what photos to take, but is my equipment ok?

Leight asked in Wow! Asked to do a Wedding Shoot if his point and shoot camera would be ok. There was a pretty good consensus that if you have a good flash (especially an external flash) and can shoot raw, you will probably be ok as long as you're ok with doing post-processing.

And acheick got lots of recommendations in the Hello - I'm a newbie that needs major help thread to get a 50mm f/1.8 for low light situations where you can't use a flash because that's a nice little piece of glass.

A speedlight or external flash can also be really helpful with a diffuser, but make sure that you ask the celebrant if it's ok to use the flash during the ceremony. If you can't, respect that, but you'll need to have a fast lens if you want the pictures to be bright enough.

Ok, I've got a camera and a list of photos, and the wedding is today, what else could I possibly need?

• A fully charged battery or 3
• Lots of memory cards (better to carry 8 1GB cards and have a problem with 1 card than carry 2 4GB cards and lose half your pictures.
• A tripod for group pictures (and a remote is really handy too)
• Water (in a separate bag, cause really... cameras and water don't mix)
• Comfy shoes that look nice since you'll probably be running around
• Some sort of easy to eat (and clean) snack (see the tip just above this one for why)
• A smile and a good attitude and the knowledge that you're the photographer, and that means that you kinda get to boss some of the people around so that you get the right shot )
• Probably lots of other things I'm forgetting

Some other helpful links:

• Wedding Photo Checklist and Tips
• 11 Tips for Better Candid Photography
• Techniques for Better Flash Photography

Ok, so there's a bit of info about wedding photography just from all the tips we've gotten and given here in the forum.

Feel free to add your own advice / questions / etc. (I just like to organize things and was doing a bit of procrastinating this morning)

[Saralonde]

Thanks for all the work, Nicole. Maybe this should be a sticky.

[Nicole]

It's been stuck Saralonde

[Tiberius]

A nice little tip I picked up for group photos...

it's always the case that at least one person will have their eyes closed when there's a group of 5 or more people. So, to make sure that everyone has their eyes open when you press the shutter release, tell everyone to close their eyes. Then, tell them you'll do a countdown - 3, 2, 1, OPEN! - and wait for half a second or so when you say open, and everyone will have their eyes open.

[AgNO3]

this tips for flash is a great read.. thanks..

[thingy]

I feel nervous just reading this

[a.saliga]

Very helpful tips.

I am considering doing a friend's wedding in February, and was just asked to do another wedding for hire (very low cost). I was sure to clearly explain to the gentleman that I am not a professional, and could possibly get few good photos.

I'm confident in my abilities, and realize I must start somewhere. Not necessarily looking for advice as to whether I should do it or not, but I am wondering what you guys thing the most common mistake is in wedding photography.

[Nicole]

Some of the more common mistakes I can think of can be either technical or not. All things considered, forgetting that you can tell people what to do in order to get the shot can be a big detriment. If you're not shooting for a close friend / family member, it's not like you're trying to make sure that everyone likes you. You just want the bride and groom to be happy with the final result, so if you have to tell Bob over there to put down his beer and smile, you've got to remember that is ok. It sounds simple, but sometimes it's harder than it seems.

Then there are some simple technical problems like forgetting to charge a battery or not having a spare, or not having enough memory cards or having one break. But those are easily solved with good planning.

And then there are the more technical mistakes, like shooting with the wrong white balance (Raw is good here), or forgetting to change the ISO for the conditions.

Uh, hope that doesn't put you off lol I know that a lot can go wrong, so it's knowing that and planning how to fix things that go wrong that can make all the difference

[a.saliga]

Very useful advice Nicole. Thank you.

I'm good at foreplanning and troubleshooting, so I'm not too worried about that.

I have a 4GB CF card which allows me around 400 shots when shooting RAW. How many shots should I be prepared to take?

I am soon to purchase a flash unit as well. I have a Canon 400D. Any recomendations for the flash?

Also I realize this flash will shorten my battery life, so an extra battery needs to be added to my list. Anyone have any experience with 3rd party batteries?

[Saralonde]

Battery: Sterlingtek I use this for my 400D. Works great, as good as Canon.

Flash: Sigma EF-500 DG Super bought this for my son's XT.
Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash I own this one and I'm very happy with it.