Wedding Photography

Introduction

A wedding can be said to be one of the most significant events in a family’s history. If you as a photographer have been chosen to be the wedding photographer at  this event whether you’re a professional or a family friend. You have a great responsibility to capture this very special day. So preparation and readiness is essential if you are going to have a successful and rewarding day.

Making an appointment and organising a schedule with the couple is essential. This schedule should include a time table. Including times such as when the couple want  the wedding photographer to start photographing, when the bride is leaving for the church, time of the ceremony, time for the reception etc. Also the schedule should include location addresses such as where the bride and groom are getting ready, where the ceremony is being held. Where the after ceremony photos are being taken, where the reception is etc. Also contact details like phone numbers where the bride and groom can be contacted at any one time so you can contact them prior to arriving to take photos. I have made such a schedule that I use and you can download it for free in the resources section it makes organising the day so much easier.

A good tip is most weddings have a rehearsal at the church prior to the big day. It is a good idea as a wedding photographer  to ask the couple if you could come along. Doing this can save you from some nasty surprises and you will get the feel for the lighting that is available in the church and you can take some test shots.

On one occasion I went along to a rehearsal with my camera gear in hand. I had a quick chat to the pastor. It is always a good idea to ask were you can stand and move around to take the photos. On this occasion the pastor requested that I don’t use my flash during the ceremony. Knowing this saved me a lot of headaches. I was able to adjust my camera settings to the available light and take some sample shots. So I was prepared rather than having a nasty surprise on the day. Even if the couple are not planning a rehearsal I will find time a couple of days before the event to visit the venue and take some sample shots and try to have a chat with the person that is going to perform the ceremony. They will appreciate your professionalism and both of you will know what to expect from each other.

 Preparing your camera kit for the wedding day is the most important job for the wedding photographer. I cannot stress this enough but always and I mean always bring a backup camera with you. Even if you have to lend one it pays to have a back up camera that is compatible with yours. So your lenses can be exchanged as well as your flash units and memory cards if you are shooting digital. If your main camera does stop working for some reason you will have a smooth transition from one camera to the next and continue shooting. It’s not as if you can put the wedding on hold while you go searching for another camera. Memory cards these days are not only getting bigger in capacity 8GB+ but also more reliable. You could easily fit a complete wedding on one memory card. But avoid doing this at all cost because if that one memory card is corrupted or fails for some reason the whole days shooting is lost and I don’t have to say what a disaster that would be. To avoid this possibility I take several memory cards with me and only take a few shots on each card at a time. Also some cameras like the canon 1D Mk2 allows you to save your shots on two cards at the same time. Another backup I have used is a portable photo storage unit, very handy for downloading your photos from your memory card for safe keeping.

Jeff Dykes

Freelance Photographer