Wedding photography

It looks like you got lots of good advice and I don't really have anything to add. Take Lots Of Pictures!! Thats about it. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Hmm it's mostly instinctual and if you have the right eye for those little moments. That and the equipment you use are the big things to keep in mind.

I would go to the bookstore and look at bride magazines to see how they pose people in pictures. Also make sure they smile. Also putting the throw away cameras on the tables lets the guest snap few good pictures too.

Tripods help! Good lighting is key! Knowing the poses you want to get in advance is also very important.

I don't know anything about photography but the only complaint my husband and I had about our pictures from a so called professional was, they came out too dark. Make sure your lighting is good.

Before the wedding, sit down with the bride and groom and talk about what they want in the way of photographs. Make a list of all the family members.

What kind of ceremony is it? Formal, in a church? Or Sunday best outdoors?

Once I know that, I can help you more.

go through lots and lots of wedding photos so you know what the popular poses and such are of today. check out theknot.com and ask the women there on the chatboard what they're most wanted thing out of a photographer is. check out other wedding photographer sites and see what they provide.

If you are not charging them, take the suggestions of the other people making comments and then do the best you can. My Son just did his first wedding. He did not charge because he needed the practice. You may have to do the same. The lighting is the hardest thing that is true.

I am sure you will do great, I know the pictures from my wedding I liked the best were the ones done outside, the lighting was perfect. Just an idea. Good luck

The photographer shot our whole wedding for free. his gift to us

Take more than you think you'll need. bring an extra battery pack & camera. With digital it is at lesat easy to know what you have as you are shooting.

Keep photographing. If you take 800 photos, it still won't be enough. :-)
Make sure you know their timetable so you can be prepared for the big events - the first dance, cake cutting, etc. makes life easier for you.

Take extra batteries, and a laptop if you have one. Then you can dump the photos, and make sure they turned out ok, before you let everyone loose. Lighting is usually the biggest problem, so if you can bring some soft boxes, you could light the whole place up and be able to speed up your shutter for crisper pictures!

Talk to the bride and ask her what is important to her regarding shots? Candids? Is she traditional, has she thought about where she'd like to take some photos (a park, special place they fell in love?), I believe the more shots you take the better and shoot a lot of candids, especially of the family members (moms and dads, especially). I love shooting weddings - they are so much fun.

Great suggestions here from everyone. I would echo that you want to be sure you have enough backup (film or digital camera cards), batteries, even cameras.

BE YOUR SELF YOU CAN DO IT

Wear comfortable clothes and shoes especially! See if you can scope out the location(s) before hand to check lighting. Watch out for funny stuff in the background that makes an unflattering shot. My hubby did a photo shoot for a wedding and he had 2 cameras and wished he had had 3, none were digital though which can be much more flexible than actual film!

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I agree with many of the previous comments. Take LOTS of pictures!

Everyone gave you great advice! I took pictures for a friend for her wedding because she didnt want to pay for a photographer it was way to expensive. I didn't do them like professionally or anything just took lots of pitures and burnt them to a cd for her. She and her husband just split up:(

Take lots and lots and lots of photos with digital. Try for interesting angles sometimes. Photographs taken from different heights give different perspectives. Like if a child or an adult was viewing the festivities. The more photos you take, the more good ones you will end up with. Mix formal and informal. Have FUN and it will show in your photographs.

be ready with the complete equipment, ie stands, holders, back up cameras and films. and take a looot of pictures1

good luck on your wedding photography.

1. A decent camera.

2. A good tripod. Take it easy on ISO and go with aperture instead for light management. First-time wedding photographers tend to go a little nuts on ISO because it looks good on the LCD or through the lens, but you can't see the incredible amounts of noise that are in the image.

3. Don't let other family members and friends take pictures while you are taking posed shots. People will be looking all over the place because there are so many cameras around.

4. If there's a cocktail hour, don't forget that time. Some of the best candids come from the cocktail hour and a lot of photographers sit it out. Of course, if the cocktail hour happens while you're taking the posed shots, this doesn't apply.

5. Both quantity and quality count, so go for as much as possible of both.

6. For candid shots, don't go nuts over composition. Shoot at a high enough resolution that you can crop, and you can compose your shots in a sense later on the computer. Normally I'd advocate getting lots of practice composing shots, but a wedding is just too important. Lots of people miss great shots because they're trying for that perfectly composed shot. Get the shot at a high resolution, be very inclusive, and you can compose later. As someone said above, this doesn't apply to background objects that you don't want in your shot altogether.

7. Lastly. Most importantly. Do what you say you will do. If you promise a disc within 2 weeks, get that disc done in two weeks. If you promise prints, deliver prints. I can't believe how many "friends-of-friends" wedding photographers just don't make the time to meet their obligations once the day is done.

(I've done this a couple of times :) )

Thank you for posting to Things That Make You Go Huh?

"Shoot at a high enough resolution that you can crop, and you can compose your shots in a sense later on the computer. "

I agree with this. However, I have to oppose the use of a tripod. I know zero pros who use a tripod. It limits your versatility and doesn't leave much room for creativity. Who really wants to lug that big tripod around to every shot. Its easier and better to travel light (but DO bring an extra battery. and the laptop idea is one that I use frequently) and leave the shackles (tripod) behind.

Good luck and happy shooting.

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