If you are just beginning to work with wedding photography these photo tips will help you navigate some of the pitfalls of wedding photography.
- Communication
The most important part of wedding photography starts before the ceremony. Communication with the couple is of utmost importance. You need to know exactly what the couple expects from you and the couple needs to know exactly what you will deliver. - Scout the Location
Before photographing a wedding it is very important you scout the location. It is also important to scout the location at the same timeframe as the wedding will take place. If you scout the location at noon and the wedding is at 7PM the lighting will be completely different. Be sure to take test shots where you expect to be shooting during the ceremony and any other shots from your shot list. Practicing now will let you spot potential problems and design solutions before they become an issue. - Know the Location Rules
Every location has different rules for the photographer. Many churches prohibit flash during the ceremony while others prohibit flash completely. Some venues restrict where the photographer can shoot from and others restrict the amount of time you may have in certain locations. This is not information you can gather reliably from the couple's wedding planner or the couple themselves. For these rules you need to speak directly with the planner for the venue or other person in charge of the venue. Get a copy of the rules in writing whenever possible. - Have a Shot List
Your shot list is your lifeline for wedding photography. Nina Callaway, our Weddings Guide, has a nice shot list for wedding photos. A shot list helps ensure that you don't forget anything during the hectic schedule of the wedding. This is also a list you should go over with the couple to customize the list to their needs. Not all couples will want someone filming them getting ready. There also may be family squabbles to consider when setting up group shots. Going over the shot list with your couple ahead of time will make the wedding photos much more successful. - Multiple Cameras, Batteries, and Cards
Minimize the risk of equipment failure. Use at least two cameras and use several memory cards. Using two different cameras reduces the risk of all your equipment failing at once. Using multiple memory cards reduces the risk of you losing large chunks of the wedding to card failure (while rare, I've seen cards fail). Carry extra batteries for all cameras and flashes. There isn't time to run out and replace something if a piece of equipment fails so a wedding shoot is when you want to have backups for everything on hand. - Use an Assistant
If at all possible, use an assistant photographer. Not only will this increase your chances of not missing an important shot, it can also be very helpful for other reasons. If your assistant is of the opposite gender as you then it is much easier to take the getting ready photos of both the bride and groom without making anyone uncomfortable because you can send the male photographer to the groom area and a female photographer to the bride area. Assistants are also very helpful when trying to pose everyone for group shots. - Be Firm but Polite
Remember you are at the wedding to do a job for the couple. While you don't want to offend guests, the couple is paying you a large sum of money to get the photographs they want. Be firm but polite in making sure you don't get pushed out of the way by guests with cameras. This is another point that needs to be discussed with the couple before the wedding. Even if a guest doesn't jump into the aisle and block your view of the first kiss, a stray flash (guests rarely follow venue flash rules) can ruin your shot by overexposing it. Guests are much more likely to honor the couple's requests than yours when it comes to photography so if you can get the couple on your side things will run much more smoothly. - Turn Off Camera Sounds
Everyone is there to see the couple, not listen to your camera beep incessantly. Turn off your camera sounds when photographing a wedding. - Go RAW
I'm not a big advocate of shooting RAW all the time but weddings are one time to seriously consider RAW. Because you do the post processing yourself and there is much more data in a RAW file you have a much better chance of recovering good exposure and details in an image shot under horrid lighting conditions with RAW than with JPEG files. - Don't Forget the Basics
Wedding photography is not the time to learn or brush up on your basic skills with aperture, depth of field, shutter speed, metering, composition, etc. Have the basics firmly entrenched in your mind before starting wedding photography.
