Photography

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Most weddings will require a combination of photographic techniques, including portraiture, outdoor group photos and low light or indoor images. There are however exceptions to this standard, and these include evening weddings, and indoor weddings.

Indoor weddings will require some bold actions on the part of the photographer as well as some preparation ahead of the event. A good photographer will always scout their locations prior to the day of the wedding, and for indoor wedding photography both the wedding and reception areas should be reviewed thoroughly.
This is primary for a successful number of shots of the event as it will allow the photographer to see and understand the nature of the lighting within both spaces. Also, it is not a bad idea for a photographer to ask to attend the wedding rehearsal in order to find the best locations to stage shots during the ceremony.

Some wedding ceremonies will not allow flash photography, and for this reason alone a photographer will need to really examine the venue prior to the event. When taking images during the actual ceremony a high quality professional will select from three to four locations to take pictures. These locations should be reached during hymns, musical interludes or longer readings, rather than during critical moments in a ceremony where movement and noise may disrupt or annoy the guests and wedding party. Also, a photographer will always disable all sound features on their equipment to eliminate unnecessary bells and chirps from interrupting the ceremony or ruining the atmosphere.

For an indoor wedding a photographer must understand how to use and rely on diffused light. If a church or wedding ceremony will allow flash photography a good photographer will know how to bounce the light off surfaces to better illuminate the scene, or they will use a flash diffuser to create enough light to capture the image, but not over light the entire scene. Here are some additional wedding photography tips. If a flash is not allowed the photographer should use their fastest lens at the widest aperture or bump up their ISO. Some lenses now offer image stabilization that can help with any hand shake that can spoil or blur an image.

All professional digital photography should be shot and saved in the RAW format. If a photographer allows the camera to store in the JPG format many of the settings and features will be eliminated by the requirements of the file size. RAW formats can be enhanced to much greater effect in image software such as Photoshop where inadequate lighting can be adjusted manually through contrast and brightness settings. RAW will also allow easy manipulation of white balance in any images which can also accommodate some of the issues presented by tricky lighting.

Contributed by Amy Renfrey who has provided this guide which greatly enhances the above tips. You might have already heard of it. It’s called Digital Photography Success. If you’re a struggling even just a little, this is a handy photography guide to set you straight on many of the professionals tips.

Wedding Photography Must Have List – If you are thinking of doing wedding photography properly, you need to know about preparing invoices correctly, wedding poses or posing the bridal party and couple. Then there are things you must know like; extended time agreements, the photographers contract, skilled thank-you letters (you want more business later from this – right?), and a tactful photographer’s deposit reminder. It would be wise to have a better and more detailed wedding photography checklist than this helpful though basic list above. A wedding photography website is also a must and there are templates specifically for that purpose available. Here’s one of the few places we know of that can help with all the above - at least it gives an idea of what you should be looking for if you would like to get started as a wedding photographer.

Important – I updated this article with this resource as soon as I knew it was available. This is the next level of wedding photogaphy. This will be of interest to you only if you aspire to the highest level of professional wedding photography. There are DVDs to take you through the tricky parts. The parts you cannot afford to get wrong or miss out on if you want to charge top-end fees and produce enviable results. Might be best just to look at this link below before you think it’s out of your league. In most instances it’s not! This is the creme de la creme of professional wedding photography training courses.

Wedding Checklist: Photography Shots You Don't Want to Miss