If you are thinking about taking on your first wedding as a photographer then it is usually for one of two reasons; you are looking to make a career of it or you are doing a favour for a friend. Either way there are a few things you should consider and a few more things you should know before you step out to photograph the most important day of someone's life.
1. Are you nervous and worried?
Good, you bloody well should be.
I can’t overstate how much of responsibility photographing someone’s wedding is and as such it should not be undertaken lightly. The images you create will form the basis of the couple’s memory of the day and they will be viewed by the generations of their family to come. In 60 years time, when they are explaining what their wedding day was like, it is your photographs they will be showing to their great grandchildren. If you keep this in mind at all times throughout the day and make it the foundation of everything you do I guarantee you will see better images as a result.
Also, keep in mind that if you mess up the responsibility is on your head and your head alone.
2. Have a plan and stick to it.
There is a wealth of information you need from a couple before you set out to photograph their day. Logistically you need to know the venue local, ceremony times, name's of the key members of the wedding party, contact details and countless other details so you are sure you know exactly where and when you need to be.
Stylistically you need to have an idea of what the couple are looking for. Are they hoping for “reportage” style images or are they after something a little more structured? Do they have any special requests for the family formals? Is photography allowed in the church?
To help with these questions I have put a copy of my personal information sheet here for you to download. It is exactly what I forward to all my brides and will give you an idea of what I consider to be relevant and useful.
Also, have a look around at some sites that put together a recommended list of shots you should be aiming for and keep a printed copy to hand during the day in case your inspiration runs dry. There is a passable list here.
3. Equipment counts.
As I mentioned here equipment matters a lot more than most photographers care to admit. As such I would say the absolute minimum level of equipment required to competently photograph a wedding is:
· A DSLR body that can be pushed up to a useable minimum of ISO 1600
· A semi decent zoom lens (18-105 is very handy if you are on a crop sensor)
· The “nifty fifty” f1.8 50mm prime
· An external flash unit with a rotating head
· A raft of spare batteries and memory cards.
· A semi decent zoom lens (18-105 is very handy if you are on a crop sensor)
· The “nifty fifty” f1.8 50mm prime
· An external flash unit with a rotating head
· A raft of spare batteries and memory cards.
If you are reading this wondering what “ISO” and “f1.8” mean then you don't have the level of technical knowledge required to shoot a wedding (don’t forget, photography is half science and half art) and you should hand over the job to someone who does.
4. Have a solid written agreement in place.
Sadly there are a few well educated lunatics out there who will deliberately try and ensnare a good photographer who has failed to protect him or herself legally and as a 'noob' to wedding photography you are doubly exposed. As such it is vital that you have a written agreement in place expressing clearly exactly what is expected, what your experience level is and what you will deliver in terms of prints and digital files.
If you are looking to have something a little more robust you can either have a contract professionally drawn up but expect to pay big bucks or a lot of photography organisations have sample contracts you can download and use. The Guild of Photographers has an excellent contract available for free to its members
5. Shoot RAW and don’t delete off the camera.
Simple one this, if you are not familiar with the RAW format then take a little time to get to know it. Shooting RAW gives you the freedom in post-production to pull back a lot more out of the image and, vitally, it means you can easily correct the white balance. A lot of venues like the warm look of tungsten bulbs which look great to the eye but play havoc with a camera leaving everyone with an orange hue. Shooting RAW means batch correcting these images is the work of seconds.
Also, don’t be quick to ditch your mistakes. You will be surprised what you can sometimes recover in post-production with some simple corrections and as such you want to keep the files even if you don’t feel they have worked out as well as you would have liked at the time.
6. Keep a smile on your face no matter what.
Think of yourself as a mirror at the wedding. If you project stress and frustration it will be reflected back to you in the images you take through the body language of your subjects. As such it is vital that no matter what happens you keep upbeat and positive all day or your images will suffer.
Never point out anything negative to a member of the wedding party. If there is something you don’t like that you can’t change yourself then say nothing. This goes when you are photographing the bride and groom as well. For example if you are setting up a shot that turns out to be unflattering do not say anything as you will instantly make them self-conscious. Take the shot anyway and review it later. It might turn out better than expected.
7. There is a line to walk between being assertive and rude.
The nature of weddings can vary tremendously. I have shoot some where the couple have been so laid back and the ceremony so casual that anything goes and done others (usually church weddings) where I have been relegated to the back or worse still not been allowed to take any photo’s at all.
It is up to you to judge what balance to strike between doing the best by the couple that you can and not being intrusive or aggressive in your approach. If you have followed my advice about a game plan then you will have a much better idea about what you can get away with.
Photography by Adrian Spencer of Will Hey Wedding Photography, a professional wedding photographer based in the High Peak near Buxton and Stockport and covering Derbyshire, Cheshire, Manchester and Sheffield.
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