Some Wedding Photography Tips

To be a wedding photographer requires a strong heart and mind because few jobs in the photographic industry actually illicit fear, but photographing weddings has got to top the list. For example, you could have total digital meltdown and all your photographs disappear, you could actually do a bad job and the bride and family get mad at you, you could miss that all important shot or you might be a naturally shy person who isn’t used to dealing with people. 

All of these are very real fears, taking photographs at someone’s wedding is a huge responsibility, but none of these fears is insurmountable.  For example, take an assistant with you who will double shoot everything you take.  He will act like an insurance policy should your camera have a malfunction.  Also make sure to get two copies of every shot.  If you set aside some of your fee to cover the cost of your assistant it may well prove money well spent. 

There is always the possibility of you doing a bad job, but you should remember before you take on a job, that you are confident of doing a good one because wedding photographs are among a person’s most prized possessions.  You are the only one who can be sure of your ability to carry out your job, so be confident in what you do and go out there and do your stuff. 

When you have completed the wedding photography and you are deciding which to keep and which pictures to discard, keep in mind that there is one best seller - emotion.  Make sure that each picture demonstrates emotion - does it make you laugh or cry, does it make you happy? 

However, you should remember that no matter how modern the bride is or how alternative the wedding is, she and her family will want some formal pictures taken of the family as a group.  They will stand there and stare straight at the camera and smile, but they don’t have to be boring, you can try and make them as creative as possible.  Stand the bride in the centre and put half of the bridesmaids on one side and half on the other.  Or have the flower girl sitting at the bride’s feet. It just needs a bit of imagination and that is what is needed to make a success of a wedding day and being a good wedding photographer.