How to Photograph a Wedding

With June being the most popular month for weddings, no doubt that some of you out there with some photography experience have been roped into photographing a wedding for a friend. For a photographer, weddings are divided into four types of photography: the posed groups, the ceremony, the details, and the reception. To do a good job, you need to know rules of good composition, how speed and aperture affect the photo, and how to use your flash (preferably hot shoe mounted). If you know these rules and are comfortable with the four types of photography I listed you can probably do a decent job photographing a wedding. If you don't understand the majority of what I explained in this paragraph you either need to say 'no' to photographing their wedding, or do a lot of studying.

Equipment. Professional wedding photographers use Digital SLR cameras with Hot-shoe mounted flashes, and in some cases remotely fired flashes. This kind of equipment makes photographing a wedding easier but is not essential. It wasn't too long ago that wedding photographers were relying on the older film SLR cameras, and some photographers take their film camera bodies as a back up incase of difficulties. The number one rule in equipment for photographing a wedding is to have a back up for everything. If you know how to use a hot-shoe mounted flash, you will get much better results than using your camera's on board flash. Remember that you will be taking around 400 photos and have enough film or memory cards on hand. You may be able to use fewer memory cards if you have a laptop computer that you can upload to between the ceremony and reception. It is also helpful to enlist a friend or family member to work as your assistant photographer. They will act as a second photographer during the ceremony and reception, and help organize and pose the group photos

Get Organized. Get in touch with the bride and groom early on and create a list of photographs they want. It is especially important to get all of the group photos down on a list so that you know who is included in each photo. Make sure you also get the correct pronunciation of the names on the list for when you're calling people for the next photo. Divide the group photos into what can be done before the ceremony and what has to be done afterwards. This will cut back in the time spent photographing between the ceremony and reception. To get an idea of the couple's style, ask them to look at wedding photographs in magazines and on the internet to show you examples of photographs they like. You will also need to discuss what time you the bride and groom will start getting ready and if they want you there to photograph. While the couple may include things like 'close ups of decorations' on the list of wedding photographs they want don't check off every item as you do it. Most of these photos you would take whether or not they were listed. Use the list more like you would use a note card during a speech. Glance at it to make sure you're on track, and keep going. Group photos are the main reason for the list. You should plan about 5 minutes per group photo. While most will take less time, the large groups are time-consuming, and no one will complain if the photographs are finished early. Getting organized early, will make photographing a wedding much simpler for you, and much less stressful on the bride and groom.

Attend the wedding rehearsal. This will be your only chance to see how things are going to work and what the lighting will be like. This is also a chance to ask the officiant if there are any rules about photography during the wedding ceremony. Look through your camera and figure out a few shots you want to do and where you should be for different parts of the ceremony. You'll also meet the VIPs of the bride and grooms family so you'll know who to keep an eye on for the big day. If you have a second photographer talk to them about taking photos from different angles that you. For example, if you are photographing people walking down the aisle, your second photographer should be in the back to get a photo of the full church.

During the wedding day, keep your eyes open for good photos, and try to get at least one photo of everyone. Ask the bride if she has anything old, new, borrowed, or blue. Try to stick to your timeline and list but be flexible, if you too stuck on checking things off the list you'll miss a lot of moments. The same goes for constantly checking the screen on the back of your digital camera. Look at the list before each new event at the wedding, and remember that some photos, like unity candles can be redone after the ceremony as a posed shot. The screen on you digital camera will tell you if the settings are right, so check it whenever you enter a new lighting situation. If you're worried about missing the bouquet or garter toss ask them to do a fake toss before the real one. Smile and be friendly when you're taking photos and people will be happier about having photos their taken by you. Pay attention to everything that's going on, but don't let yourself get over stressed. If you do a good job you might even finding yourself photographing a wedding or two more before the end of wedding season.