Photographing weddings can be an exciting yet stressful assignment for any photographer. Being prepared for the event can help everything run MUCH smoother.
It is important to talk with the couple ahead of time, and determine what are the must have photographs throughout the event. In addition to the must have photographs, it is critical that the couple note important guests that will be in attendance and should be photographed. It is possible there may be certain guests can not be photographed together. Knowing this information ahead of time can diffuse a potentially stressful situation.
Request a detailed event timeline from the couple. Knowing when its time to cut the cake, toss the bouquet, or any other important event will occur is essential.
If a wedding coordinator is being used, introduce yourself in person, via email, or over the phone ahead of time. Having a good working relationship with the coordinator will help smooth the event.
Whenever possible, attend the ceremony rehearsal. This will help determine ahead of time the location of important ceremony events and how best to compose your future shots.
Prior to the event, walk through its sequence in your mind. Determine where you will stand during each part of the day, where the sun will be, where guests might get in the way, and as many details as you can think and what to do about them. Apply this process to all of your must have pictures, and maybe even discover some great spots for some impromptu shots when you get some down time.
Remember to have fun, and remember why you like to photograph weddings in the first place!
Take-aways:
1) Have your flash and flash diffuser available, even on a sunny day. It may be necessary to use a fill flash to compensate for harsh shadows cast by the sun.
2) Develop a must capture photograph list. Review it with the Bride or Wedding Coordinator, and reference the list throughout the event.
3) Use multiple smaller memory cards instead of one huge one. Change the cards frequently, and have an assistant backup the card to a personal storage device or computer as soon as possible. Make sure you are not changing cards in the middle of an important event like the first kiss though!
4) Have backups for all your equipment. This includes camera bodies, lenses, flashes, flash modifiers, tripods, and and other equipment utilized. If you do not own the gear, rent it for the event.
5) Always keep the little details in mind. The wedding couple's day will be a crazy blur, but they put a LOT of effort into planning, and it's your job to capture as many of these details as possible. When they see your finished pictures for the first time, you want them to relive that day, and notice all those details that made it special.
6) Change your perspective. A little change of perspective can result in a creative image.
Happy Photographing!
A few favorites:
To view additional images from this wedding: http://bslackphotography.smugmug.com/Weddings
No comments:
Post a Comment