10 Best Wedding Photography Tips

Weddings can be an amazing avenue for making money with photography and become a professional in the industry. Although this is an amazing way to make money, for your clients, this is the biggest day of their lives. Because of this, there is a lot of pressure to capture this big day and all the precious moments that come with it. In this blog we uncover 10 of the best tips and tricks on how to become a confident wedding photographer!

1. Assist A Pro in Wedding Photography

Before becoming a master in wedding photography you must become a student. Find someone who has been shooting weddings for a while and become their assistant. You will still have the opportunity to make money from this event while also obtaining helpful tips and tricks. Wedding photography assistants will also be shooting the event but from different angles and focal lengths. You may also assist in posing and lighting to help create perfect composition and exposure for these photos.

2. Bring Backup Photography Gear

Bring backups for EVERYTHING! Every piece of gear and equipment you bring should have some sort of backup with it. That means bringing two camera bodies, two batteries, multiple lenses, multiple flashes, memory cards and anything else you’ll need. It is always better to bring too much gear than to be stuck with a piece of broken equipment and a very angry bride. Photography and events are full of unforeseen possibilities: batteries die, memory cards crash, and equipment breaks. Bringing backups can save you from ruining a precious occasion and gaining a reputation of being a bad wedding photographer.

3. Photographing In Pairs

Bring someone along to shoot with you. Weddings can be at small, intimate locations or large assembly halls. By bringing an assistant or friend along to shoot the event, you will have more area covered and more photos to choose from. You can not be everywhere at once so by having a second photographer you can cover more of the event and they can capture things you may not be seeing.

4. Sync Your Camera Settings

When shooting with a partner it can be quite tiresome sifting through the many photos in post processing. One way to ease the headache is to synchronize some of your settings before the event begins. You do not need to be shooting at the same aperture and shutter speed at all times as this won’t effect editing but will effect the look of your photos. Instead of having to individually edit each photo try to synchronize your white balance by dialling in on the same Kelvin scale in-camera as well as keeping the same ISO and flash settings. This will make it easier to batch edit photos. If you’ve already done the shoot and forget to do this just edit the white balance in Adobe’s Lightroom and sync all photos.

5. Plan Your Shots

The best way to make sure you never miss out on a shot is to plan it in advance. Before going out on any shoot it is great to write a shot list. Throwing this in your camera bag or even in the notes on your cellphone will ensure there is no hesitation or down time. It will also save you from that moment when you get home, throw all the photos on your computer and think “Oh crap! I forgot to get a shot of ____”. There are many online resources to finding a shot list example for wedding photography such as Pinterest.

6. Photograph All The Firsts

Make sure you are capturing all the firsts of this magical event. The first time the couple sees each other, the first dance, first kiss, etc. Weddings are full of firsts, and these moments create unpredictable candid reactions and beautiful photographs. These are the photos that the happy couple will cherish the most because these are the moments they will have to look upon for the rest of their lives.

7. Don’t Be Afraid Of The Wedding Crowd

As much as the wedding is about the happy couple, no one wants to look back at this photo album and only see photos of themselves. Make sure to engage with the attendees, walk around and ask people to take their photo. One way of easing in to this process is by using a telephoto lens and getting candid photos of people mingling. People can tense up when a large camera is pointed at their face. It is easier to get natural looking photos by shooting from afar.

8. Know Who’s Important In The Wedding

Make sure you get to know the important people before the wedding starts. This does not only mean those who are in the wedding party. Find out the parents of both sides, grandparents and long lost cousins, the best friends of the happy couple and old college roommates. This will help you focus on who the couple wants to have the most photos with!

9. Photograph The Group

Make sure you get that group shot! If the wedding venue does not allow for one big group shot, as many do, split them up. Get a shot of both sides of the family individually and maybe one as a big happy group. Make sure to get a photo of both sides of the wedding party and all of them together as one. These photos are important to the couple and are key photos.

10. It’s A Wedding… Smile!

This is a celebration of love and happiness, don’t forget to smile! By smiling and being happy yourself that energy will transfer to other people and make it easier for them to be comfortable in front of the camera. This rule also means to look for the smiles. Don’t just photograph people sitting and talking to each other. Get on the dance floor, be silly and make people smile for the shot!

Weddings are a very special event in a couple’s time together and signifies the joining of two people in love. As a wedding photographer it is your responsibility to capture this event as best as you can. The event brings happiness but can also bring a lot of stress for people who just want it to be perfect. Try to learn from other people, be prepared for anything, plan ahead, and have fun with it!