500 Wedding Ideas - Wedding Photos for Beginners?

Wedding Photos for Beginners?

some friends of mine have asked me to do their wedding photos at the beginning of next year, but the thing is, although I took a photography course a few years back, im still only learning about photography. I want to advance in photography to help in my career choice and it would be great for my portfolio. I have told them that I’d like to do it, but im real nervous that I’ll screw them up or do something wrong, and wedding photos need to be perfect. The engaged couple and all my family believe that I can do it, and reassured me that I will be taking lots of photos and there is no chance that I can screw them all up. That case aside, it’s still really scary to be doing something which will be so important. is there anyone out there who is a photographer or knows a bit about photography that can give me some pointers and tips about doing these types of photos, and what type of things should I make note of when taking the shots. It would be great if you can help!

Public Comments

You talk about a portfolio. Portfolios are usually what commercial photographers use to get work and they usually do not include wedding photography. Wedding photography has very little in common with advertising, editorial, sports and photojournalism except that both use cameras and usually different cameras. What are your career goals? Where do you see you and your camera in five years? Freelance or staff? Location or studio? Making photo prints or having your images published? Walking around with a DSLR and a gazillion lenses and CompactFlash cards or with a 2-1/4 film camera with flash? Once you answer those questions you will have a better idea which path you will be taking. Back to the wedding photography for your friends. Don't do it! It takes years for the professional wedding photographer to hone his/her craft. They usually spend years as an assistant to a successful local wedding and portrait photographer before the shoot their first wedding alone. You friends need to spend the three or four grand and have a pro shoot the wedding and spare you the grief. You may want to offer to shoot candid’s during the reception for a second point of view (the pro will be doing the same thing). If you still want to get your feet wet shooting weddings, pay attention to what the pro shoots. This will be a great leaning experience without running the risk of loosing some dear friends.
Are you using a digital camera??, if so take hundreds of photos and just remember the basics of composition, lighting and exposure. As long as you get nice clear photos youn can enhance (soft filter, vignet etc) on the computer afterwards. Dont be nervous and enjoy the experience. Try having a look in mags or on the net for wedding pics to give u inspiration and positioning of subjects, remember, try to get natural shots and try to capture their expressions and lust in their eyes. Good Luck and maybe post some pics on the net for us to see!!
What I would recommend is that before you shoot a real wedding on your own, see if there's an experienced photographer you can shadow. I've been approached by friends as well to do a wedding and didn't feel up to such a responsibility. True, if you take a lot of pictures, there are bound to be some good ones. If they are good friends, however, I'm sure you want to do a nice job; after all, they only get one wedding and one wedding day. Another thing a pro can show you is how to get good shots and stay out of the way. There are lots of books on wedding photography you can find at Borders or Barnes and Noble that go over basics (equipment, the must have moments, and selling pictures/albums). You'll want to have a camera with, at the very least, an external flash that you can bounce off ceilings and walls. Perhaps you could follow your friends' photographer around and take pictures in addition to the "official" ones. I had this happen at my wedding and ended up liking a lot of pictures my friend took over the photographer. However it works out, don't do something you're not comfortable doing. Reason says that you'll take better pics if you're confident. I've included some good wedding photography how-to sites in the source list.
Fhotoace - look up the definition of port folio. As for the question, yes, the short answer is take lots of photos. And if you have nerves biting at you, focus on capturing everything rather than achieving fancy angles. With nerves, if you focus on too much you end up missing too much. Just follow the bride and groom and take photos of everything. Take photos of the crowd too. And close ups of parents etc. I don't know what camera you're using but if it's fairly new, you can just set it to program mode (or auto mode) and let it do all the thinking for you. Once upon a time wedding dresses were too much for a camera to handle but most cameras now expose wedding photos almost perfectly.
for the record, it's rare when i see a "wedding photographer" who's good. many of the links people have posted in various questions on this site point to "pros" who seem to make a living shooting very average photos. so if you're a good photographer, you're already one step ahead of even some people who get paid to do this. i say...shoot digital and shoot like crazy. have extra flash memory you can pop in if you run out of space ona card. have a laptop somewhere near you so you can download pics, and check em out if you need to. have a couple lenses. although i one almost always. make sure if you're shooting groups that your aperature is small. don't feel like you have to shoot standard weddings shots. i shot a wedding this summer. the groom was one of my best friends. and the one thing i wish i did better was focus on the bride's family. i was with the groom and his friends/family more often and hence had a majority of photos with them. so pay attention to having a good variety of pics. cause you can't go back and get more ;)
be careful how you or your camera are metering the existing light conditions. If your camera has exposure loc then meter on nutrule areas rather than a white wedding dress or black tuxedo. Also it is very important to be aware of other people taking pictures thier flashes mayaffect your images ie mor e shadows throw your cameras meter off. Go to the rehersal before the wedding some churches are very bright some older churches are filled with rich wood detailing and can be some what darker. If the church is white to off white with the majority of its walls, then you can use this to your advantage to bounce your flash at more subtle or flatering angles. Also the minester may not allow flash photography during the cerimony try to respect that.try not to stand in anyones way if shooting during the ceromony. Be like a boxing referee and stop shoot and move. You are there to record the event and have a job to do, but others are there to share the day as well. lastly, it is very stressful shooting your first weddings, and you will more than likely make some mistakes. Do not be too critical on your self if upon seeing your pictures the couple is happy then you did your job take notes on what you like and wish to improve and work to be better, but do not critic your own work infront of a client!
To begin with you want to make sure the batteries are charged and that you've brought along sufficient memory. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a backup camera with you in case something should go wrong. Your friends are aware of your experience and are confident that you will get some good shots so, all you can do is your best. Take the traditional wedding photos and reserve the candid ones for the reception. During the ceremony, if it comes to making a split decision of where to position oneself, remember it is the bride's day and she should be the primary subject. If your images capture all the emotions of that special day than you will have done a good job. Good Luck!
You are right! It is a lot of pressure, and a big challange! Having said that, the first weddig pictures I took were of a Mexican guy who had only one arm. But they worked out just fine! Is this a friend that loves you no matter what or a casual acquaintance? If it's a casual friendship, I would probably decline. But...a good friend will understand your feelings and try to help you succeed. So get her involved. Start looking online at other people's work. And then enlist people to help you get the posing down....particularly the bride and groom. It's not impossible, but it is something that you should do some homework on before the big day. Research where you are going to shoot and find shots that will be fabulous. Testing it with the bride and groom will help you figure out what errors you can avoid on the big day. (I took a beautiful engagement picture of a couple when I started shooting. It was amazing...except that there was a yellow fire hydrant that looked like it was coming out of his nose!) Second, use a digital camera. Profesional quality is good but not absolutely necessary to get a great frame. Shoot LOTS of pictures. You can always delete and edit later. Third, if you can do bride and groom shots before the wedding (and the night before the wedding an hour before sunset is magical) do this! There is so much pressure the day of the wedding and as the photographer, you're going to have so many things to capture. It's nice to have an hour or so alone with the couple, while they are all "sparkly" before the stress of the event. Also you can get your couple shots without moving Aunt Matilda out of the way. Okay...so with the couple, if they are heavier, shoot down on them. DO NOT shoot up on them. Standing up a bit (get a little ladder) gives a flattering angle and minimizes things like bellies and bums. Of course, if they are skinny minis, then you can shoot whatever angle you want. Experiment a bit with this before, if you can. Definately take pictures of them looking at each other, especially in close-up. (Ahhhh!) Have them kiss under her veil. Do some full-length to get her whole gown. Something that looks fabulous is having her back to you, with her shoulders turned a bit to look at you. Have her show off her bling to the bridesmaids.Have the bridesmaids do kind of a funny pose. And have the groomsmen pick up the groom like they're carrying him to the altar. Have them "waltz" or have him do the "Cinderella" thing where he's putting her shoe on her foot. If there are children in the wedding party, do them first and get them out of the way...kids have smaller attenion spans. Heck, I'm 32 and can't sit through church! This is where Aunt Matilda is a big help. Have her stand by you and make funny faces and funny sounds. Don't forget about the flowers. Have the bride look at her bouquet. Have the bridesmaids bouquets by the train of the dress. Have her show off her flowers to the flower girls. I hope that this makes sense and helps. Good luck, you will do great!
Wedding Photography (pdf): http://www.camerahobby.com/Images/Wedding_eBook.pdf Amateur Wedding Photography FAQ (pdf): http://www.photoquack.de/tutorials/amwedfaq.pdf Wedding Photography - Photojournalistic Approach: http://www.photoquack.de/tutorials/amwedfaq.pdf