Wedding Guide Part II

Part I of my guide is HERE.

Lighting



To truly master photography, not just the wedding genre, you will need to discover how light affects everything. Invest time in reading, training and experience to ideal methods as on the day of the shoot you won’t have time to stop and think about what settings you need - you’ll need to understand the basic principles also as the set up of your DSLR like the back of your hand.

Not only will the subject’s grow impatient but you could discover yourself missing those all essential ‘moments’ simply because you had been too busy fiddling around in the settings menu.
Backing up

When you have time and the equipment on hand - back up your images onto a storage device, laptop or use built in wi-fi technologies or a wi-fi card (such as the Eye-Fi memory card) to beam the images to your desktop. Whatever you do don’t format the cards until you have edited your frames and ensured everything is securely backed up across a handful of hard drives.

To limit the risk of losing files or shooting on a corrupt card on the day, take a number of medium capacity (2-8 GB) cards, perhaps even marking each for relevant parts of the day, for example: bridal prep, ceremony, reception and evening.
Your style and manner

Rather than be a jack of all trades it is advisable and maybe even more lucrative to attempt and carve out a recognisable style and niche that shows what you are not only capable of but also enjoy doing. If your work is good and your style attractive, couples wish to book you for their wedding day. You may require to alter this slightly as fashions change but usually stick to what you enjoy creating and shoot in a style and manner that suits you.

Be up front about your style and your manner when the client books, but to make that sale you may also wish to consider being flexible if the couple wants something which is outside your normal ‘remit’. Have every thing you are supplying the couple down in writing prior to the big day, set a fee with payments guidelines and deadlines - never forget this is a business transaction.

On the day be unobtrusive - this is their wedding - you're just there to record it and not ruin it. There are millions of wedding photographers available but the ones who are truly effective preach about the significance of politeness and respect. Yes be assertive and you'll need to be as wedding photography is among the most stressful jobs know to man, but do it with manners.

Keep in mind the little things

As well as capturing the essential stages of the day such as: bride and groom preparation, the ceremony, romantic portraits, candids, group shots, speeches and also the initial dance, you need to use any time between these events to record the smaller - however hugely substantial details; in essence - anything the bride and groom have spent time and cash on choosing for their big day.

On your hit list ought to be: bridal accessories (such as jewellery, shoes, bouquets, bags, headwear as well as underwear), table decorations, the cake, flowers, party favours, the seating plan, location settings, as well as the bows tied to the seats utilized at the ceremony and reception venues. For making a soft effect use a wide aperture like f4 or 5.6 and crop in close utilizing a quick lens.
Post production

As soon as you get back to your office, load the images straight into your computer and back them up on to the computer’s tough drive as well as several other portable external tough drives and on-line storage sites.

Utilizing an editing suit such as Photoshop, Lightroom or one of the other thousand choices accessible, delete any images which don’t meet the grade whether or not that be simply because they're out of focus, blurred, incorrectly exposed - beyond redemption, the subject is pulling an unattractive face or has their eyes shut etc. Next start cleaning the image, tweaking exposure, brightness and contrast and/or adding filters you may like to use.

It is possible to run edits on multiple images at as soon as, so check your software’s manual for guidance. Load the final edit to an on-line library at low resolution for the couple to select their favourites. With choice made make albums and send the couple the proofs. Administer any modifications and then send the result off to the suppliers, which can then be returned to you or straight to your client. Most photographers estimate that following the wedding, the couple should receive their album inside four to six weeks, however this ultimately depends on the volume of customers the photographer has, how rapidly the suppliers can turn around items and how long the couple take to decide which frames they want.
Breaks

Wedding photography is hugely demanding mentally and physically, and it may be likely which you could wind up working 12 hours with out a break. Try to take five minutes when you can and get a soft drink to recover. Pack a few cereal or power bars and even a little tub of pasta to see you through the lulls as its unlikely you’ll get fed.
Insurance

If you are getting paid for your work you need to certainly have adequate insurance in case something goes wrong. Not only will this cover you if your equipment is damaged, lost or stolen but will also safeguard you in case a third party injures themselves because of your equipment or because of a scenario you've asked them to obtain into. What's more indemnity insurance will safeguard you and your businesses from claims of negligence, breach of duty of care, infringement of intellectual property, loss of information and client dishonesty. See our weblog on Insurance for much more info on this.