Wedding Photography Guide Part I

Preparation



Among the most essential actions a wedding photographer can do prior to a wedding is prepare themselves for all eventualities. Firstly this means meeting with the bride and groom and setting in concrete what it is the couple want and don’t want so there could be no confusion down the line; this will also be the time to establish a fee and contract with the clients.

Next you need to go to the ceremonial venue and reception venue a week or two ahead of time to mentally place where the romantic portraits and group shots can be taken. Take into consideration where the light will be coming from at the time of day you’ll be shooting (hence why you do not wish to do a reconnaissance mission too far ahead of time) and also have a contingency plan if the area does not function for whatever reason, also as having an indoor backup if it rains.

The day prior to the wedding, mentally run through everything the couple wants as well as any ideas you envisaged throughout your pre-shoot scout. Totally charge the camera and flash gun batteries and format memory cards. Insert these into your equipment the night prior to and take a few test shots to make sure every thing is working as it should be. Prime your camera with the settings you expect to use at your first shoot - which will most likely be the bridal preparation.
Kit considerations

Even though you’ll wish to take a range of accessories for every eventuality it is a great concept to travel light. The minimum a photographer should pack in a medium size camera backpack is: a favourite DSLR and back up DSLR, a flash gun with diffuser, a reflector, a number of memory cards each holding a capacity of around 2-8GB, lens cloth, raincover or carry bag to safeguard your camera in the rain along with a lightweight tripod. When you have the room, strength and skills you may also wish to take a selection of lighting equipment, filters, a laptop, pocket wizards, remote controls and props.
Lens options

When it comes to lenses you will find three kinds that we would suggest are essential for a wedding, but if you are doing this as a favour for a friend or for your own portfolio then you’ll be able to get by utilizing one or two zooms that cover a wide focal range - for example 18-200mm would be ideal. Nevertheless if you're looking to exert a much more professional edge you should most likely invest in a wide-angle lens for the group and location shots - ideally something like a 16-80mm zoom lens will probably be ideal and covers a range of bases.

It’s a great idea to invest in a prime lens for portraits and images of all the smaller yet hugely significant items such as: the rings, party favours, flowers, bridal accessories etc - so a 35mm, 50mm or 80mm could be perfect. Finally a healthy telephoto zoom lens will permit you to capture those spontaneous ‘moments’ that individuals treasure simply because they show the subject as being ‘real’ . Using a telephoto such as 55-200mm will permit the photographer to ‘snipe’ shots from a distance without being detected, therefore the subjects are completely relaxed and the result will be totally natural.

Camera Settings

There are no hard and quick rules to adopt when it comes to learning what aperture/shutter speed combination to make use of for which occasion, as it'll largely depend on what high quality and quantity of light is accessible at that time, as well as focusing much more on the ‘moment’ instead of getting the right technique.

However as a guide, numerous photographers usually prefer to use a few of the following apertures as a rule of thumb, but you shouldn’t be afraid to try some thing different if it suits the style and purpose of what you would like to achieve.

Church and indoor ceremonial establishments can tend to lack sufficient natural light and as most venues won’t permit flash push the ISO as a lot as feasible prior to it starts to degrade image high quality and if suitable think about using a tripod (just remember to turn the VR off in the event you do). Opt for a quick lens and do not be afraid to use a wide aperture even as low as 1.4 or 2.8 to create the most of what light is there. Use the same aperture for the small yet significant items such as the rings and bridal accessories, therefore softening the background but generating enough depth of field to render the subjects nice and sharp.

F5.6 for candid shooting and the romantic portraits will again keep the subject in focus yet blur distracting background detail. However there are occasions whenever you may prefer to slip into shutter priority, for example to capture the bride throwing the bouquet or children chasing every other around the venue - for these occasions (depending on the light) a speed of 1/250 will lend itself for making some charming results.

Depending on the number of guests that the couple want to appear within the formal group shots, you’ll be greatest utilizing an aperture of between f8 and f11 to keep everybody pin sharp - depending on the high quality of your lens this may mean pushing the ISO or incorporating a tripod. For pulled back compositions of the couple within the venue grounds and location shots in general you’ll need an aperture of between f9 and f11 to keep everything in sight in focus.

Lastly for those end of the night dance images either use a long shutter (with some form of stability) to generate movement inside the photo and for capturing waves of light from the DJ’s lighting rig, or employ a flash to freeze the action utilizing an aperture of your choosing to compliment the effect you wish to accomplish.