glossyart.net - Blog: Photography Tips: Make Every Wedding Look like a Royal One

With William and Kate's wedding dominating the news for the last couple of weeks, it's now time to get back to normal. After all, they are not the only couple getting married. In fact, if you have a fancy camera, chances are that one day your best friend will ask you to become their wedding photographer (happened to me just now).

Now, you might want to know that wedding photography is one of the most difficult fields because you only have one shot (figuratively).

A wedding can't be repeated just because you ran out of memory cards, the batteries for your flash died, or you forgot to photograph the groom because you were too busy stalking the bride in her private dressing room.

Moreover, it doesn't matter if you work for free or not. The wedding has been planned months if not years in advance, so everything has to be perfect. So, the couple, (and especially the bride) expect nothing less than superb results.

Your life is constantly on the line if you don't deliver--the term 'bridezilla' was coined for a reason. Therefore, consider this tutorial as an attempt to save your life (and a guide to make the photos of any couple look royal).

1. Focus on the bride. Always.

The bride is the most important person at a wedding. Therefore, be with her before, during and after the ceremony. Never look away from her--especially if you want to sell your photos afterwards because the bride (directly or indirectly) generates the most income for you.

2. Manage your shooting time efficiently: Start with everyone and release people gradually.

If you take formal photos after the wedding ceremony, gather everyone you want to shoot around you. Otherwise you might have to wait for some people for a very long time because people tend to disperse after the ceremony. Start your formal photo session with the groom and bride (they might get stressed if they are the last couple to shoot and it takes too long; after all, they have a wedding reception to attend and have a lot of hands to shake). Then, move on to large groups and finish with small groups. Shoot groups with older folks first and release guests as you finish shooting.

Tip for large groups: Make sure you choose an aperture that puts everyone in focus, e.g. f/11 and smaller. Minimize accidents by focusing on the first row of people. If the first row is blurry, the whole photo is ruined.

3. The perfect light for the bride

Use available light as much as possible. For example, a nice portrait of the bride with her father before the ceremony, use a window where the sun doesn't shine through directly and place the bride about 1,5 to 2,5 meters away from the window to soften the light on her skin and dress. In this lighting condition it's really hard not to take a good photo.

Posing tips:

- For more intimate portraits (e.g. bride and father), make sure that the heads are close together.

- Tell the bride in formal portraits to slightly raise the shoulder facing the light source to create a diagonal line. Moreover, the bride should put her feet in a V-position.

4. Photographing movement, e.g. dances

Use a slow shutter speed and pan the camera along the dancing people to create a movement effect. Should you have forgotten this during the wedding, you can still add this effect in Photoshop: Filter > Blur > Motion Blur (use the eraser tool on people you want to appear sharp, e.g. the bride in the middle of a headbanging crowd).

5. Photographing details

A photojournalistic style is en vogue. You basically tell a story by creating a collage of different shots, and photographing details--especially behind the scenes and before the actual ceremony--is an essential part. Here's a list of things you should have on your list (you can use them as a background for the album as well):

The bride's shoes
The wedding gown on a hanger
The jewelry
The wedding invitation
The song book used during the ceremony
The guest book (with a few entries)
Glasses with sparkling wine
Name cards on the tables
The wedding rings (maybe on the wedding invitation with a couple of rose petals)
The flight tickets for the honeymoon
The CD for the first dance
The groom's flowers
The bridal bouquet
Details of the wedding gown

6. Make a list of things and events you have to photograph

Preparing a list of events and things you and your clients want to have taken a picture of is essential because a wedding is quite stressful for a photographer. Without that list you can be sure you forgot photos that the clients wanted badly.

7. Using the flash at church

Use the slow-sync function of your flash to freeze movement while making the background appear in natural light. If you want to do this manually, use a large aperture (5.6, 3.5, or even 2.8), set the shutter speed at 1/60s and use ISO 800. Now take a test shot. If the background is too dark, reduce the flash power. Ideally, natural light should be 30-35% and the flash should provide 60-65% of the light. If you work with high ISO settings you should use plugins/programs such as NoiseNinja to reduce the noise and smooth out the skin tones.

Advanced technique: Use a diffuser for best results or let the flash bounce off the ceiling.

8. Flash 'em in sunlight!

This might sound superfluous but even if the sun is shining outside you should use the flash. Why? It brightens the faces, which would otherwise be spoiled by harsh shadows from the sunlight.

Tip: Use flash compensation setting "-1" to make the flash less obvious but still effective.

9. Better too many than too few.

This rule applies to the amount of photos you take during the wedding as well as your equipment, and especially memory cards and batteries for both flash and camera. Get memory cards with a lot of storage to make sure you never miss an important moment because you had to change cards. Moreover, make sure batteries and memory cards are easily accessible (e.g. in the pocket of your jacket).

Despite all the stress, wedding photography is also a lot of fun. And isn't it a great feeling that you preserved the memories of the best day of a couple's life together?