A complete guide to getting started in wedding photography

Complete Guide to Wedding Photography

Although nowadays weddings are celebrated all year round, without a doubt spring is still the preferred time for it. So the time comes when many couples have decided to get married and, of course, they need someone to immortalize such an important moment in images. And that someone may be you, and it may be the first time you take on such a challenge, complex and undoubtedly stressful. Therefore, we will help you to face your first photographic wedding report.

Wedding Photography Post Production

Either because you have decided to dedicate yourself to this type of work, either because a family member or friend (knowing your passion for photography) has asked you to do your wedding report, if it is the first time for sure you will have a thousand doubts respect. Not in vain you must be very aware that you are going to photograph an event full of unrepeatable moments and, therefore, with high chances that something will go wrong if you are not sufficiently prepared.

Therefore, with the present series of articles that we started today, we have posted multiple challenges. First of all, we want to offer you a series of general advice to be able to face this task with guarantees, something to which we will dedicate this first delivery. Later, we will review in a more or less chronological way all the crucial moments of a ceremony of this kind to create a kind of guide on the photos that should not be missing in a wedding report.

Are you sure you're ready?
Let it be clear that we are not going to enter here on the subject of exclusivities, intrusion, and others. If it is appropriate or not to choose for the photos of our wedding a beginner or a friend "who makes good pictures" to save us the good money that usually charges a professional is something that we leave to the choice of the couple and what they are willing to take a chance

But if a friend or relative orders your wedding photos because he knows that you like photography and he likes your images very much, you should ask yourself if you are really prepared for it. Because the work of a wedding photographer is undoubtedly stressful and the challenge of covering an event of this kind is not minor (and of course you should charge and, if not, deny).

So think carefully about what you are going to do and if you do not see it clearly, be honest with the couple, tell them that you are not prepared and that it is a very important day that you do not want to spoil. You may not like it but you should understand it. Also think that if you are the photographer you will not be able to enjoy the wedding itself, because you will be working (and I assure you that it is hard and stressful work). If on the contrary you look prepared, and even if you are not a professional, you want to become one (or you just want to take on the challenge), we would say that there always has to be the first wedding, and if you prepare it well it does not have to go wrong .

Of course, before launching to be the "official photographer" of a wedding I think the best thing is to shoot a little. It could be as an assistant of a professional (if you want to dedicate yourself to it and get the job) or it could be "fogueándote" in the weddings you attend as a guest, taking unpretentious images that serve you to practice and step as an example of your abilities as a photographer. In both cases you should always take care not to disturb the main photographer, meddling in your plans (either with your flash or your own figure), but certainly, both options can be a good way to start before facing the fundamental challenge.

Plan and decide your style in advance

In recent years, wedding photography has undergone major changes. This type of images does not stop being "bland" posed by the bride and groom, family photos and specific moments of a ceremony to become reports that may have very different styles, where both the artistic and the documentary are very present.

Therefore, when considering how to cover the event, it must be clear what kind of photographs you are going to take, if the bride and groom are going to pose or not and to what extent it will be more modern or more conventional. Surely the protagonists already have an idea of what kind of images they want, and even the wedding may have a certain theme that guides you about it. They may also show you examples or ask you to do something similar to things they have already seen, and you can also show the prospective spouses ideas about the report to be made. know more go to Photo Editing Services provider Photo Solutions India

Of course, everything has to be agreed between both parties, always negotiating what you want to do and being realistic about the possibility of achieving it. Promising a documentary or full of "different" photos in which the protagonist falls on images of spontaneous moments can be a great idea, but we must not forget that in every wedding there is a series of instants that must inevitably be portrayed (except that is agreed otherwise).

What camera and objectives to use?
In the always important section of the equipment necessary to carry out a wedding report, surely you have heard about the need to carry two camera bodies. Certainly, you could risk using only one, but imagine that during the wedding your body breaks down and stops working. Your prestige would be on the floor but the thing would be even worse for the couple, who can be without photos of the most important day of their lives because of a novice photographer.

On the other hand, it is advisable to use two cameras because you can mount on them different lenses that allow you to take different photographs without having to change lenses with the risk of missing the decisive moment. His thing is to mount on a wide angle and the other a short or medium tell, but take a wide-ranging zoom in one of them is also a good idea. By the way, if you use two (or more) cameras, one tip is that you synchronize the date and time in all of them to avoid later problems.

Regarding which camera to use, unfortunately there is still the topic of the bigger better and that a professional photographer should not only be but also seem it, but the truth is that our cover letter should be our work and not the camera we have, although it is clear that we are going to need a camera of guarantees and a suitable photographic equipment.

As we tell about the concert photography, the ideal would be to use a camera, either reflex or without a mirror, that will have a full frame sensor to be able to shoot at high sensitivities without the noise being high. On the other hand, it is important that they have a precise and fast focusing system, so that no shot is out of focus, and a relatively high shot burst.

Regarding the objectives, we have already mentioned the use of a wide-angle and a telephoto or a zoom that is versatile and luminous (for example a 24-70 mm in FF or an 18-50 mm in APS-C, both ƒ2, 8), and it would also be very useful to have the always recurring 50mm lens and great brightness. And is that, following what has been said in the subject of live music, it is always recommended that the lenses are bright, something very interesting for several reasons.

The first is that it will allow us to face certain situations without having to use the flash (the usual thing is that in the churches the light is rather scarce), and therefore achieving a more natural lighting. On the other hand, the luminous lenses make possible big defocuses that contribute a touch of quality to the photos and/or help to distract from an unattractive background.

This does not mean that we are saying that it takes a very expensive team to take wedding pictures. What we clearly point out is what the ideal team would be, but it does not mean that we can not cover a wedding with our modest advanced amateur team (initiation might be a bit short), or that we can do it without a second support body.

More important than the camera and others that you use is that you are familiar with all this and know its limits. Because it is certainly crucial to have prepared all the equipment you are going to use and be perfectly familiar with it. Nothing of probaturas nor to release a new flash that still does not know well taking advantage of that you have commissioned that wedding reportage. It is the best recipe for disaster.

Accessories and other considerations
They may see what their own name indicates, "accessories", but these are elements that are vitally important here, especially if they are missing or not well chosen. For example, the flash that we have already mentioned, a very important accessory since its use can assure us to have enough light in all conditions.

By the way, using a grip for the camera that allows to include a second battery and/or card as well as improving the grip can also be an accessory that we can consider acquiring if we are going to dedicate ourselves to this type of photography.

Finally, let's not forget the transport bag (for reasons of "decorum" maybe a backpack is not very appropriate) or the camera strap. Making a wedding report is hard work that requires many hours of standing and carrying a team that can be quite heavy. So choosing a good transport system and a belt that allows us to go as comfortable as possible is important, especially if we are going to face the task alone.

General advice for the preliminary phase

Of course there are many other issues to know but some of them will be discussed chronologically as we describe the different phases in which a more or less standard wedding would develop. For the moment, to finish this first part, we leave you with more tricks and interesting recommendations for those who want to start in wedding photography:

Prepare everything in advance. Study previously the locations and the environment in which everything will be developed to know the possible framings, the type of lighting, etc. In addition, you also need to be informed of how the ceremony will unfold, what the key moments will be and how long it will take to get to the different sites where everything will be celebrated.

Organize a planning. In addition to deciding with the bride and groom the style that the photos will have, you have to study which sessions you will develop (in the house where the bride will come from, in the groom's, etc) to organize a work plan so that you arrive to everything in advance and without haste that could cause the session to fail.

Use the RAW format. As you know it is a usual advice, but here it is perhaps more for being unrepeatable moments in which it is convenient to have more room for maneuver in case the chosen settings are not the correct ones. In addition, its greater dynamic range will help us to solve the difference between the white dress of the bride and the (normally) dark groom and will also allow us to forget about the subject of the white balance.

And although immediacy is not as important here as in other disciplines, it is also good that we also make a JPEG copy of medium quality that will help us quickly send some photos to the couple, perhaps the day after.

Choose quick memory cards. We have already talked about the need for cards to spare but it is also important that they be quick. And it is worth nothing to have many cards if at the time of saving the photos (and many are made at a wedding) causes a bottleneck that prevents further shooting. Of course the faster the better, but it will depend on the capacity of your camera so you will not always need "the last of the last".

Focus and measurement of light. Achieving well focused and illuminated images is undoubtedly key, so choosing the best method of focus and measurement are fundamental points. In principle, in this case, it is not advisable to leave these two sections to the automatic or general modes of the camera, so it would be advisable to limit the number of focus points and decide on the precise measurement of the light, but as in other things here It is almost more important to practice and know well how our camera works to ensure results.

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Use the fill flash and the rear curtain sync. Although the flash built into the camera we have already said that it is not the best, it can be useful outdoors to provide extra light on the faces (although we can also use the external flash for it). On the other hand, when the light is already dim a good idea may be to make long exposures combining them with the synchronized flash at the end of the exposure, to freeze the subjects before closing the shutter.

Use the burst mode. We have already pointed it out as one of the interesting requirements for a camera that we are going to use in this type of photography. It is not about shooting as if it were a submachine gun, but it is clear that in a wedding it is important to capture the decisive moment and for that nothing better than the burst shot that allows us to save several successive shots.

It has a second photographer. If you are thinking of dedicating yourself seriously to this, you should not disdain to have support. The recourse of a second photographer is usually common among professionals for obvious reasons: A photographer alone cannot cope with everything and cannot be everywhere. If in addition, the idea is to make a report of creative type risking with different shots, it would be ideal to have someone support who is responsible for taking more free photos.

It has a second photographer. If you are thinking of dedicating yourself seriously to this, you should not disdain to have support. The recourse of a second photographer is usually common among professionals for obvious reasons: A photographer alone cannot cope with everything and cannot be everywhere. If in addition, the idea is to make a report of creative type risking with different shots, it would be ideal to have someone support who is responsible for taking more freely photos, while the other (in principle you) is responsible for the most "conventional" photos.

This advice may seem out of place for a beginner, especially if yours is going to be a simple work of friends, but think that maybe you can get hold of someone who will attend the ceremony. Ask the couple if they know someone who also likes photography and has a decent team. In this case, ask to be presented and try to make your "assistant" trying to share the style of photos and commissioning him to take those images that you escape. If you get it, you will not only get a very useful add-on but you will also avoid duplicating the photos that you are already going to do and, perhaps, getting in your way with your presence or your flash.

Make a list of the photographs to be made. Obviously, a wedding is a unique and unrepeatable event that cannot be directed to the millimeter but, as we have been saying, good planning can help a lot. That is why it is interesting to make a list of the essential photos that are going to be made and put it in common with the couple (including example images). This is not going to guarantee that you can do all the planned photos, but of course, it can become a good guide and also serve as an inspiration.