Contemporary Wedding Photography - Ideas For The Wedding Photographer - The Wedding Day
Here we are at the second article of this three part series. We will be discussing ideas for the wedding day itself. We will look at your equipment, the bride and groom, and many other aspects of contemporary wedding photography for the wedding day itself.
The big day is here at last. What should I wear? You want to wear something that will let you blend in with the invited guests. As you were getting a feel for the bride and groom to be during the first meeting, you have an idea of what the other guests will be wearing. You should know if it is a biker wedding, or a suit and tie wedding by this time, so dress accordingly.
Now you need to get out the checklist of your equipment that you made last night, (if you read part one) and pack up your gear. Double check that you have everything on the list that you will need for today's shoot. Also , check to make sure anything that is charging is unplugged and packed. You don't want to forget anything at home! Bringing along extra batteries for everything that needs them is a good idea. If you have more than one camera, you may want to put different lenses on each one. This will ensure that you don't miss any good shots while you are changing lenses. Having a backup camera is always a good idea in case of breakage or malfunction.
If this is your first wedding shoot, you might be getting a little nervous about now. Well, STOP IT...or learn to control it. You will need to exude a confident attitude throughout the shoot. The people who are counting on you to take good, professional photos of their wedding will sense you are nervous. This will cause them to be nervous and lose confidence in you. It may even show in the pictures.
You will probably be starting at the brides house in the morning. When you get there it is time to focus on the bride. As a matter of fact you should focus on the bride all day. She is, after all, the star of the show! If there is a special event happening, it will be centered around the bride. If there is someone that the bride wishes to be photographed with, they will be near her at some point in the day.
Your job is to become almost invisible, so try to go through the day quietly, and unobtrusively. By doing this , the bride and groom and their guests will hardly know you are there, allowing you to get more candid shots. Weddings are emotional events that need to evolve naturally, so that you can effectively turn those emotions into powerful images.
There is nothing wrong with having a little help. Bringing along someone to assist you can be beneficial, especially if this is your first wedding shoot. Having someone to help carry equipment, keep track of the photo checklist, or hold reflector cards, can let you keep focused on taking the photos. If your assistant has an aptitude towards photography they may see a shot developing in a direction that you are not looking. Two sets of eyes are better than one.
Its a wedding, you want to take literally hundreds of photos. The more shots the better. The more varied the shots the better. You can't overshoot a wedding. You can, however, undershoot a wedding. This is one thing you DO NOT want to do. You may find some extra time during the day. If you are keeping up with your photo checklist, you might want to take this extra time to get some unusual, and creative photos. Let the bride and groom have some fun to burn off any tension, and give you some great photo opportunities. Put them on some swings, or have them play hide-and-seek around a tree. If there is a nice view, possibly put them as the point of interest in an artistic landscape shot. Or, take some portrait style shots with different lighting and camera angles. Some of the best wedding photographs come from these fun, playful times.
In the back of your mind, you should always remember that this is a wedding, and a wedding is a fun and joyous occasion. Keep a smile on your face, be happy, and keep those around you upbeat, and it will show in the photographs. These ideas should aid in you having a successful day shooting contemporary wedding photography. Now you can look forward to the next article, where we will deal with getting the final product to the newlyweds.
The big day is here at last. What should I wear? You want to wear something that will let you blend in with the invited guests. As you were getting a feel for the bride and groom to be during the first meeting, you have an idea of what the other guests will be wearing. You should know if it is a biker wedding, or a suit and tie wedding by this time, so dress accordingly.
Now you need to get out the checklist of your equipment that you made last night, (if you read part one) and pack up your gear. Double check that you have everything on the list that you will need for today's shoot. Also , check to make sure anything that is charging is unplugged and packed. You don't want to forget anything at home! Bringing along extra batteries for everything that needs them is a good idea. If you have more than one camera, you may want to put different lenses on each one. This will ensure that you don't miss any good shots while you are changing lenses. Having a backup camera is always a good idea in case of breakage or malfunction.
If this is your first wedding shoot, you might be getting a little nervous about now. Well, STOP IT...or learn to control it. You will need to exude a confident attitude throughout the shoot. The people who are counting on you to take good, professional photos of their wedding will sense you are nervous. This will cause them to be nervous and lose confidence in you. It may even show in the pictures.
You will probably be starting at the brides house in the morning. When you get there it is time to focus on the bride. As a matter of fact you should focus on the bride all day. She is, after all, the star of the show! If there is a special event happening, it will be centered around the bride. If there is someone that the bride wishes to be photographed with, they will be near her at some point in the day.
Your job is to become almost invisible, so try to go through the day quietly, and unobtrusively. By doing this , the bride and groom and their guests will hardly know you are there, allowing you to get more candid shots. Weddings are emotional events that need to evolve naturally, so that you can effectively turn those emotions into powerful images.
There is nothing wrong with having a little help. Bringing along someone to assist you can be beneficial, especially if this is your first wedding shoot. Having someone to help carry equipment, keep track of the photo checklist, or hold reflector cards, can let you keep focused on taking the photos. If your assistant has an aptitude towards photography they may see a shot developing in a direction that you are not looking. Two sets of eyes are better than one.
Its a wedding, you want to take literally hundreds of photos. The more shots the better. The more varied the shots the better. You can't overshoot a wedding. You can, however, undershoot a wedding. This is one thing you DO NOT want to do. You may find some extra time during the day. If you are keeping up with your photo checklist, you might want to take this extra time to get some unusual, and creative photos. Let the bride and groom have some fun to burn off any tension, and give you some great photo opportunities. Put them on some swings, or have them play hide-and-seek around a tree. If there is a nice view, possibly put them as the point of interest in an artistic landscape shot. Or, take some portrait style shots with different lighting and camera angles. Some of the best wedding photographs come from these fun, playful times.
In the back of your mind, you should always remember that this is a wedding, and a wedding is a fun and joyous occasion. Keep a smile on your face, be happy, and keep those around you upbeat, and it will show in the photographs. These ideas should aid in you having a successful day shooting contemporary wedding photography. Now you can look forward to the next article, where we will deal with getting the final product to the newlyweds.
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