Wedding Photography Ideas

Welcome to part two of my series on wedding photography. This part will deal with the wedding day itself. We will explore wedding photography ideas about you, your equipment, the bride and groom, and many other aspects of photographing the wedding day. OK, it's the big day. First thing you need to decide is what to wear. As the photographer you want to blend in with the people attending the wedding. During your first interview with the engaged couple you should have gotten a feel for the type of wedding it will be. Whether it be a suit and tie, jeans and sport coat, or biker leathers, you need to try to dress the part of an invited guest. Now it is time to pack up your equipment. Here is another great place to have a pre-made checklist. On it should be everything you have that you will need for the shoot. You may also want to include items like "is everything that was charging unplugged and packed", you don't want to leave anything at home. You may also want to bring along extra batteries for every piece of equipment that you are bringing. Having two or three cameras with different lenses is also a good idea. If one of them breaks, or malfunctions, you will have a spare right there ready to go, and you won't miss a shot while you are changing lenses. If this is your first time photographing a wedding, or if you are that type of person, you may be getting as nervous as the bride-groom... GET OVER IT. You must put forth a calm, relaxed, and professional façade, even if you are quivering inside. If you seem to be nervous, your subjects will get nervous and it will be more difficult for you to get completely candid shots. It will also be more difficult to get the posed shots to look comfortable if you cause the people in those shots to lose confidence in their photographer. When you get to the bride's house, or the church, or wherever you previously agreed to start the day, you will want to focus on the bride. As a matter of fact, you will want to focus on the bride for the majority of the day. She, after all, is the star of the show! Any special event that needs to be photographed will happen around the vicinity of the bride. Anyone special to the bride, that she wants photos of, will also be near her for most of the day. If you go about your job quietly, and unobtrusively, you will become almost invisible. This will allow you to get better, more relaxed, and candid shots of the bride and groom, and their guests. A wedding is an emotional event, and, if you let it evolve naturally, a sensitive and reserved eye can effectively translate those emotions into some very powerful images. It might be an idea to bring an assistant along with you. Especially if this is your first wedding shoot. The assistant can keep track of the photo list, hold up reflector cards, carry extra equipment, and generally help keep you focussed on the job at hand. He, or she, may also be able to point out a developing shot in another direction from which you are looking, if they have an eye for photography as well. Remember to take lots, and lots, and lots of shots. There really is no way to overshoot a wedding, the more varied the shots, the better. The one thing you DO NOT want to do is undershoot. If all is going well, you are keeping up with your photo list, and there is some extra time, you may want to take some creative shots. Have the groom push the bride on a swing, or perhaps shoot them playing hide-and-go-seek around a tree. Possibly put them as the point of interest in a landscape shot, if the landscape allows. Try using some different camera angles, as you would with any portrait shoot. Playful, and artistic photographs can make the difference between an outstanding wedding album and a boring one. Always keep in mind that this is a wedding. It is supposed to be a joyous occasion, so keep a smile on your face, be upbeat and jovial with all around you, and your photographs will reflect that. Hopefully these wedding photography ideas will help you toward a successful day, and promising career. I'll see you in part three where we will look at ideas for delivering the final product.