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my first wedding coming up! any tips?
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hey guys,
ive got a wedding to do mext week and i think im 99% ready for it! i went out on a pre wedding shoot with the bride and groom with there 3 kids and things went extremely well but that was only at the location, what im wondering is that are there any tips for me??
what is a CANDID photograph??? please answer this one!! lol
8) i thing ill be good on the day but im starting to feel the pressure now so hopefully ill get rid of that feeling before thw big day!
comments would be fantastic at this point! thanks guys!
candid photography is photos of people who dont knoe there being photographed
Ok I’m no seasoned pro at this but I have done one or two weddings and asked a few
more professional people for tips so here’s what I know.
Talk to the priest beforehand. Some priests pretty crabby about flash photography during the ceremony.
I got lucky with mine and they allowed do what ever I needed. The first church I was in was pretty dark as well which meant
it really helped being able to use flash for some shots.It sounds like you know the location so try and plan some of the sterotype shots before, it just makes it go quicker on the day.
BE BOSSY. When it comes to the big group shots the only way you will get everyone to pay attention is to be bossy.
Candid shots are what people are really interested in. They want the generic ones of course but they go nuts for the candid stuff.
The stolen out of view kiss between the bride and groom are always a winner.Apart from that just take plenty of shots. It’s better to have too many to process than too few to fill an album.
Oh and have fun.
It might even be an idea to being someone along with you who can concentrate on candid type shots during the ceremony and afterwards, because at that stage you will be concentrating on getting the standard wedding shots that are usually required for the album.
Basically for candids just keep an eye out for small moments happening around you, a child playing, a glance between the B&G as Graham said. If it catches your eye and looks interesting to you, then it will most likely do the same for the customer.
Firstly, you could fill a library on wedding photography – but, a huge amount has to do with how you get on with people, especially the bride & groom, how you can handle pressure, ability to adapt to changing situations, and not necessarily your skill as a photographer, but of course you do need a decent level of competence.
From the outset – make sure you have at least one backup for everything. Ideally bring two cameras, one with a medium range lens fitted (28-70 usually ideal) and the other with a longer lens (80-200). This way you don’t have to fiddle around with changing lenses etc. Make sure your batteries are fully charged and you have a good supply of memory cards. If possible, try not to mess with your in camera settings too much, watch your ISO levels and keep an eye on your histograms.
One tip I was given years ago, and still follow to this day is to change your cards regularly. I change cards after shooting the brides preparations, then after the initial shots at the church of people arriving, groom & his mates, bride arriving etc. Another change after the ceremony, followed by another change for the formal shots,and a final change for the bride & groom portraiture. It might sound like overkill, but cards can fail, I know of one photographer who took a full wedding on an 8gb card, and it failed on him – he managed to recover some of the data but not all of it.
Write out your plan on a list beforehand. You might have some nice ideas for shots but the day goes so fast, and you will be under pressure to perform and also under time pressure and it is very difficult to remember what you had planned. Make sure you also prepare for indoor shots in case the weather acts up – always likely in Ireland. Always have your list of the family formals at hand and tick them off as shot, bring two other copies of the list with you, one for the best man, one for the chief bridesmaid and they can help round up the family. I’m not sure how well you know the couple, but from a personal point of view I rarely if ever know the brides, or grooms immediate family, then there are the inlaws, nieces & nephews etc.
Plan out your time schedule with the bride & groom so they know what to expect and make sure you build in a little time for them to relax & have a drink.
Taking candids might sound easy, but it is an art in itself. Being in the right place at the right time with your camera up to your eye is not just down to luck, you have to be constantly watching for kids behaviour, emotional mums, loud and bubbly characters etc. I have often nearly come a cropper as I often just walk around with my camera up to my face, trigger finger ready !!
I see that the bride & groom have kids. I would suggest that you get a shot of the family while signing the register, or at least while in the church. At this stage the kids might not be too tired. Once you get to the hotel it can be like herding cats. Still worth trying to get a second or third shot of the family, but there is less pressure on you, and them, if you know you already have a shot “in the bag”. Something also worth mentioning, I never guarantee any specific shots. If the B&G have a particular request I always say “I will do my very best to get that one for you”, but you know how weddings go, someone could be in the toilet, at the bar and unwilling to move, minding kids (either their own or someone elses), there can be emotional outbursts, rows etc. I have done a few weddings where the best & worst of human behaviour was on show – and that was just before the meal !! A guarantee means you can be held accountable for not getting the specific shot. Its probably more relevant to the professional field, but you should treat this job as professionally as you can.
A couple of other points already made are also extremely relevant & worth remembering, especially talking to the priest. I have had a few all right who didn’t allow flash photography, another few who would not let me on the altar, and even one who didn’t want me to take shots of the exchange of rings or the lighting of the candles. He said that we could get them to pose for the shots later but he didn’t want the sanctity of the ceremony compromised.
Also, as mentioned above – do your best to have fun. Laugh, smile & joke a lot. This will help put everyone at ease which will result in much more pleasing photos.
To round it all up I suppose the key is to be prepared & plan in advance when you are not under time constraints. You will find as the day goes on and you know you have some great shots in the bag it will get easier, your confidence will grow, you will relax a bit more and so will the wedding couple.
Best of luck and if you need any further details feel free to drop me a pm.
Rgds
Kevin
my god kevin u can give tips lol thank you so much lads! well the big day is tomorrow so hope all goes well for me, but id say ill be fine im pretty excited to be honest but still cnt wait until the whole day is over lol
wish me luck
but still cnt wait until the whole day is over
I guess you won’t be making this your specialty then!! Good luck with it anyway. My one tip…using natural light in the church means you get a lot more shots….even if it means shooting at 1600 asa…much nicer IMO than everything looking the same, blasted with artificial light.
You’re probably cleaning down all those cards at this stage but … in case it helps …
I’ll offer a few pointers from someone who has officiated at more weddings than I can count!— If the time lapse between the bride arriving at the church door and the time she arrives at the top of the aisle is long, you will get the blame!! And this will shape everyone’s disposition towards you for the rest of the day … so get the arrival shots quickly and let the bride proceed in to meet her husband-to-be and her family and guests!
— Re. the priest: yes, as Graham suggested, check in with him beforehand. Will the order of the ceremony be as you expect? Which way will the couple face when they exchange rings? If you’re on the wrong side, jumping across the aisle at this point is a definite no-no!
— Ceremony protocol: Most wedding rites have an imaginary ‘horizontal line’ which divides the altar area from the congregation area. Usually, the couple and the priest stand on this line for the exchange of commitment. Most priests find it very irritating when someone stands behind that ‘line’ during the heart of the ceremony. It’s also very distracting for the couple. If you need to go behind this ‘line’, try to stay to one side and use a long lens. For a priest, having a photographer over his shoulder during the vows is equivalent to when a photographer has a nosey guest who keeps peering into the LCD when you preview a pic or a histogram!!
— Environs: If you choose to do the group pic inside the church, please do not convert it into a chaotic market square!! Too often, photographers race up to gallery, then shout down to the guests to turn around (and turn their rear ends to the altar!) and end up with everyone treating the church furnishings as props which can be stood on to get a good shot. (I’m exaggerating slightly to make a point!!).
— The most positive comment I have heard about wedding photographers over the years is “I hardly noticed him/her”. Don’t become a feature of the day. It must be difficult to be that relaxed but hold it as an ambition and it’ll happen!!After all that, I wish you well with the task in hand. I look forward to seeing some of the fruit here.
well guys is all over, i went to the grooms house in the morning to start with andthe rest of the day went on from there lol, and i must say i was pretty nervous but once my finger started pressing that button and i got a feel for the weding photographyand got in ‘the zone’ i was on fire, the wedding went well and i loved every minate of it. i will say this now, it wont be the last!! i loved the whole attmosphere and the day ended well also it wasnt the easiest of weddings judging by how the guests starte to jump in front f me to take there shots, so i kindly told them that the bride and groom hired ME as their photographer and would they kindly stand behind me to take any photographs lol and it worked lol well for a while anyway!
il post up some snaps later when i gt the on the process!
heres a couple of photos i got printed in a hurry for the bride as sadly here granda is passing away and she wanted to show him a few photos of her on her big day!
C+C welcome :)
Quickclick, looks like you’re off to a great start – nice colour in the first one!
aw cheers for the comment, i took over 600 snaps but i think about 00 are good lol i was nervous and just snaped away lol to make sure i got what i wanted lol
keep the comments coming lads!
cheers quick click
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