People love weddings—the age-old tradition of publicly exchanging vows to love and cherish each other no matter what life may bring. Since a wedding is considered one of the best moments that can happen in life, couples go through a lot to create the perfect ceremony. Every photographer who photographs weddings must keep this in mind, as he has a serious responsibility. As a professional, you must help couples achieve their goals.
If you are faced with such a challenge, here are some tips for you on how to take wedding photos like a pro.
Wedding photography lesson
This article is intended for those who have decided to become a wedding photographer. It’s worth saying right away that a wedding photographer is a very troublesome and responsible task. But you always have to start somewhere and so we will start from the very basics.
Before you offer your services as a wedding photographer, you need to learn the basics of digital photography and your camera. You need to know your technology thoroughly and all the possibilities it provides. You need to train not on orders, but at the weddings of your friends and family. Even if they already have their own professional photographer, you still take your camera and try to benefit from this holiday. Thus, you will understand from your own experience how to photograph a wedding . Study the following few points from this lesson, which should definitely be included in your wedding photography program.
How to photograph the bride
You agree with the customers that early in the morning you come to the bride and start photographing everything that comes to your hand. Bride, preparations, makeup, hairstyle, wedding dress. Don't forget about the staged photo, where you need to photograph the bride in a favorable light. That is, in addition to photographs where you are just a spectator, take several where the bride will play the role of a model.
In the case of a bride, you can experiment with shooting close-ups of different things. A chic bouquet, handbag, veil, flowers and hair decorations.
Quite common are pictures of how a car is decorated, how a father is tied with a tie, and how a bride is put on various jewelry.
How to take photographs in the registry office
There are many nuances in the registry office that you will need to take into account. Enter the hall before everyone else to assess the lighting, find a convenient place for shooting, a beautiful angle. The registry office will definitely tell you where you can stand and where you can’t, so the pick-up points will be seriously limited.
In the registry office, the main thing is to shoot quality photos. In the future, such shooting will simply be a matter of experience. Exit of the bride and groom, signing on both sides of the documents, exchange of rings, kiss. Then there are congratulations from family and friends, which also needs to be painstakingly captured and not a single person is missed.
After this, exit the registry office. Find out right away whether the newlyweds will launch doves or break glasses, or maybe they have another ceremony in store for which you will need to prepare.
Sometimes there are off-site registrations, for example, in nature. Here for any photographer there is freedom for invention and creativity.
Newlyweds' walk
Here show all your talent as a reportage and genre photographer. Take as many pictures as possible. Involve the surrounding environment so that the photo shows that this is not a portrait, but really a walk of the newlyweds. Ask them to smile more and stand in unusual positions, sit on a bench if there is one, throw leaves in the air, run after each other, take each other in their arms. In general, each wedding photographer has his own techniques and scenes. The main thing here is more romance.
There is no need to lose sight of the newlyweds' friends and relatives. Let them take an active part in all this. With the involvement of friends, you should try to take more fun photos so that later you won’t get bored looking through the wedding album. They can throw the groom in the air and just fool around.
It is worth doing a separate photo shoot for the bride. It's her lucky day. Let her walk with a dreamy look and a bouquet in her hands in a park or other picturesque place. Today she feels like a princess from a fairy tale and the photo should capture this.
Master class of the 10 best wedding photographers in the USA in one article
Photo by Dave Getzschman
A wedding photographer is forced to work in a very stressful environment on an important day. To help my readers cope with this difficult role, I decided to translate into Russian a master class of 10 photographers from the USA, recognized as the best wedding photographers of 2012 by American Photo magazine.
It's not about cameras and lenses (we'll leave that to your budget), it's not about trivial poses, lighting schemes and photo lists, or even promotional strategies (there are dozens or even hundreds of wedding photography guides in bookstores for that). And if you came to see wedding photos, there won’t be too many of them here.
This master class reveals how America's best wedding photographers work and think to ensure that their photographs will remind newlyweds of their wedding in great detail for years to come. What do these photographers prioritize when they shoot family portraits, a wedding ceremony or a banquet? And how do they manage to see or create circumstances in which guests and newlyweds express their most sincere emotions?
Chasing emotions
Photographs that reflect the sincere feelings of the newlyweds for each other, as well as the sincere joy of guests and relatives about the celebration, are the invariable basis of wedding photography. This is exactly the kind of footage that clients are waiting for.
According to Dave Getzschman, a professional wedding photographer based in Los Angeles, “Emotion is the essence of wedding photography. You can set the light correctly, convey the color of the plot and its composition, but without emotions, photographs lose their soul.”
Getsman always tries to notice the moment of natural contact between the newlyweds , the emotions of the guests and other participants in the wedding evening. “Such emotions are very close to any person, so the viewer always pays attention to emotional photographs, regardless of cultural level, nationality or native language,” says the photographer.
How does a photographer manage to see such emotions or create the conditions under which they are possible? “I try to become a friend to my clients and gain their trust. I arrive at the shooting location earlier than necessary, meet relatives , find out their names, ask questions, listen.”
According to Getsman, in this way he prepares for natural reportage shots: when they happen, the newlyweds and guests are already so accustomed to his presence that they do not consider him a stranger, which allows him to shoot at a wide angle and not disturb anyone.
Ira Lippke, owner of a wedding photography studio from Brooklyn, New York (), believes that the main thing is to relieve the tension that has arisen due to the interference of the camera . “I always assure clients that photography is secondary. In addition, it is very important that the newlyweds can spend time alone, for which I take them away from the guests,” says the photographer. “The bride and groom immediately begin to behave naturally and pay attention only to each other, and I take advantage of the moment and get really emotional shots.”
Angelica Glass, a wedding photographer from New York (), practices a similar method. Newlyweds often feel embarrassed when they have to stand and look into the camera. Some clients even hold their breath. “My favorite way to relieve tension is to ask models to sit down . Sitting is easier to relax and look natural,” says Angelica. “To take a few “on duty” staged shots of the bride and groom, I ask everyone to leave the room. The more prying eyes there are, the harder it is for models to relax.”
Wedding photographer Ron Antonelli believes physical contact is essential to capturing a natural shot. “ I ask the newlyweds to touch each other : hold hands, hug the waist, etc. A reportage shot always looks more emotional if the newlyweds are physically connected.”
The importance of reporting
Successfully composed group portraits and beautiful settings are a necessary part of a wedding, but a real wedding album requires spontaneous shots. They often attract the viewer very much because they are valuable for their unique moment and element of the story.
For New Jersey-based photographer Todd Laffler ( ), “reportage shots are everything. When I observe the situation in anticipation of an interesting moment, I imagine myself as a hunter in camouflage , waiting for the victim. Reporting always requires great observation and the patience necessary to capture the moment at its climax."
According to Todd, the most favorable time for reporting shots is when the newlyweds are not the center of attention of the guests and are busy with each other. Such moments happen very rarely, but seeing them is a great success for a wedding photographer.
Sergio, a professional wedding photographer from Tucson, Arizona, compares wedding photography to hunting mice. “First you build a trap with the right light and composition, and then you wait for the right subject to fall into it. You don’t need to run after the mouse with a mousetrap, you need to wait until it gets there on its own .”
Good reportage photographs are not just a moment, they are a story about the relationship between the people present at the wedding. As Getsman says, he always strives to “capture multifaceted images that ultimately shape the story of the wedding day and the relationships between its characters.”
The truth about checklists
Even professionals with many years of experience who do not recognize checklists still use them - such personnel lists have become ingrained in their genes over many years of work. The main trump card of any professional is to film “duty” moments from new angles (ceremony, first kiss, arrival of guests, first dance, etc.).
For example, Laffler prefers to “ capture the moment the newlyweds enter the banquet hall from a wide angle and from afar to capture the emotions of the invited guests.”
Ron Antonelli agrees that the only way to capture ordinary wedding moments with creativity is to choose new angles and unusual camera angles. “Sometimes I'll discreetly place a second camera with a remote release at an interesting point and release the shutter at the right moment. It’s funny to see how the newlyweds react to such footage - they didn’t even suspect that they were being filmed.”
Lippke also likes unusual camera angles: “When filming the first dance, I move around the edge of the dance floor. I choose such an angle so that the newlyweds are highlighted by the backlight of the lamps built into the ceiling along the perimeter of the hall.”
The role of composition
Jeff Newsom of San Louis Obispo, Calif., says careful lens selection and frame composition can transform otherwise bland subjects . “I experiment and observe a lot at every wedding,” he says. “Over time, I noticed that I liked getting closer to the action and shooting at a wide angle rather than setting up a telephoto lens and watching from afar. So I feel like a full participant in what is happening.”
Along with this method, the photographer also likes to separate the model from the background with a strong blur or shoot from a low angle so that there are no unnecessary details in the background. Newsome likes to highlight the background, for which he uses bright backlighting.
Details of the situation
A wedding photographer has no moral right to forget about the details of the decorations, colors, music and lighting, knowing how much time the newlyweds (or their parents) spent preparing these pleasant little things. The wedding album must include wide-angle photographs of the banquet hall, as well as macro photographs of the table, flowers and bride's dress.
For Ira Lippke, the general plans of a banquet hall are comparable to a landscape. “I love landscapes,” he says. “For me, the general plan of the celebration is an obligatory part of the photo story about the wedding . I really love it when there are guests in such photographs, but I always take a few additional shots of the banquet hall before people arrive.”
According to Lippke, knowledge of shooting techniques . “For me, the art of conveying the beauty of detail lies in the ability to choose the right shooting angle and build a composition, as well as choose the right parameters. In some cases, I choose a slow shutter speed to create the effect of movement in the frame - to blur the people present in it so that they do not attract too much attention to themselves. Other times I decide to keep things sharp.”
Working with an assistant
It is important to pay attention to both the overall progress of the wedding and the reporting moments, which often occur spontaneously, so wedding photography is a job for two people. An assistant in this case is not a luxury, but a necessity . Almost all photographers in this workshop work with an assistant or second photographer.
“Shortly before the ceremony, I meet with the second photographer and we plan to shoot different moments of the ceremony and divide the tasks,” says Lippke. “Usually one photographer remains at the altar, and the second works on the reporting aspects of the event. During the banquet, we also distribute roles - one photographer works with the events, the second monitors the details and atmosphere.”
Self-development
Craig Fritz, a photographer from New Mexico who works with his wife, stresses the need to develop your own unique photography style.
“Recently, we deliberately stopped following wedding photographers’ blogs and leafing through wedding magazines,” says Fritz. “Not because we don’t like the work of other photographers, but because, having seen enough of other people’s photographs, you begin to see subjects that have already been worked out by other photographers, and unconsciously use their shooting techniques in your work. We really want to develop our own style, and this is one way to keep the creative mind pure.”
Source: Pop Photo
Wedding photography in a restaurant
By this time you should have taken 90% of all photos. People are already exhausted and tired. No one usually wants to pose, and sometimes they just want to look beautiful. Some were already a little drunk. All you have to do is photograph a couple of drunken dances, a ceremony when the newlyweds and guests drink champagne. Under no circumstances should you miss the traditional “Gorko” - make sure that both the newlyweds and wedding guests come in and shout Gorko.
An important element that happens both in a restaurant and before is the tossing of a bouquet. Here it’s worth taking a few shots of the bride with the bouquet, the toss itself, it’s advisable to have time to shoot the bouquet in flight and the happy face of the one who caught it.
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Another important part of the photo in the restaurant is the first dance of the newlyweds.
Once the first dance and all the important elements of the wedding have passed and the guests are just having fun, you can leave as your job is done. All that remains is to process the photos and print them.
Some tips:
Don't show all the photos you took from the wedding. Choose a few dozen that you yourself admire for the work done.
Photographing a wedding is a difficult and very decisive step for any photographer. This matter cannot be approached carelessly. You need to be able to use your device perfectly. Remember that this is not a production and you will not be able to do a second take.
Try to develop an actor and some kind of ringleader in yourself. The newlyweds, unfortunately, are not professional models and staged photography often does not look very good due to its visual pretense. Therefore, play up some moments in such a way as to catch the right moment, so the bride, groom and guests will be more relaxed and independent. Come up with and adopt some techniques that will distinguish you from other photographers. Thus, rumors that you are a good specialist will spread, and you will be invited to weddings again and again.
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Make sure you are adequately prepared for wedding photography
My final piece of advice is that you need to take a hard look at how prepared you are to photograph weddings. This willingness can come in many forms, so before you take on the hefty responsibility of photographing a wedding, ask yourself a few questions:
- Would you hire yourself to photograph your wedding?
- Do you have experience in photographing weddings? I always recommend photographing at least a few weddings as a second photographer before committing to shooting on your own.
- Do you have the photography equipment needed to photograph a wedding?
- Are you organized and punctual enough for wedding photography?
- Do you have the makings of a leader and a commanding voice to successfully photograph a wedding? On your wedding day, you should be the real boss!
- Are you physically fit enough to photograph a wedding? Photographing a wedding requires a lot of energy, so you need to be resilient.
What do you think of my advice?
If you have your own tips, share them in the comments. More useful information and news in our Telegram channel “Lessons and secrets of photography”.
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About the author: spp-photo.ru
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