If you’ve ever talked to any professional wedding photographer or you have assisted one then, you must have heard these words from his mouth at least once in your life for sure that – “Wedding photography is the father of all stresses”
As a matter of fact, it surely is. But the question is why?
The answer is quite simple. Wedding photography is a mixture of almost all type of photography genres. You may have to capture portraits, landscapes, still life, underwater and sometimes monochromes too.
And the most difficult part about it is that you will only get one chance to capture such moments which will be the day of the wedding.
And you will also have to edit the raw photographs of that wedding and will have to submit them to your clients in time. Few experienced and professional photographers have found a solution to this problem. They simply edit their photographs from Photo Retouching Services at lower cost and less time. This helps them to stay ahead from other competitors.
Still, the question remains the same how can you lower your stress level and capture some exceptional and top class wedding photographs?
The answers to all your questions are stated here in this very article. These tips will definitely help you capture stunning photographs and make your clients happier and satisfied.
Wedding Photography case study:
https://www.all-things-photography.com/wedding-photography-case-study/
Without further ado, I’d like to start showing you the tips right away. So, let’s start!
The most important role of a wedding photographer is to work like a professional. Professionalism includes being prepared for the most important day of your client, which is the wedding day.
There is some important stuff you need to do while preparing for the event. As a photographer, it’s your responsibility to take care of your client’s needs and wants. In these points, we’ll discuss the tips you will need to follow while preparing for that day.
Meet the Couple and Seal the Deal:
The first thing you need to do is to meet the stars of the show which is the wedding couple. Remember that your first impression will always be your last impression. So, present yourself in such a way that your client cannot resist themselves from buying your service.
Show your portfolio and other event captures in order to gain their attraction. Carefully show them the packages you offer and state the process of each and every package. Give them a custom offer facility. Trust me clients love custom offers. Ask them about each every moment they want to be captured during the event. But make sure that capturing those photographs is actually possible or not. If yes, then simply say yes and seal the deal!
Visit the wedding venue:
The main quality of a professional wedding photographer is to pre-plan all the scenes they’ll capture from the beginning. Pre-planning includes the inspection of the wedding venue. Properly inspecting the wedding venue will help you choose the backgrounds and the lighting positions that will come in handy during the wedding day.
Check out the whole venue to find the best spots that will help you capture the best photographs ever.
Rehearse with the couple:
Does practice make a man perfect right? Yes, it does. So, now you should also practice or rehearse the shoot with the couple on the venue before the wedding date. Discuss and select the poses they would love to click on their wedding. There are two advantages of rehearsing with the couple.
The first one is that they’ll get comfortable with you taking their photos.
The second one is that you will get the complete idea of how the lighting conditions will be on the venue and which angles would be perfect for the shoot.
Meet the VIPs:
Now there will be some very important persons who’ll also be attending the event. I’m not talking about any famous movie stars or political persons. I’m talking about the relatives or friends of the couple who are not going to be any less than a movie star for the couple.
Meet each and every one of them and get friendly with them, especially the kids as their photographs will be wonders for the wedding photo album.
Final Talk with the client:
Always reassure the deal you have made at the first place. Because the wedding is the most important day for the couple so their decisions keep changing suddenly in a hurry. So make sure that have they planned something new or have they changed the locations, just be sure.
And for the final time make sure of the terms you had set with them like how many photos you’ll capture, how many edited photos you’ll give them or the album costs. Discuss for the final time about each and everything you have a doubt about.
Another most important part you need to be sure of before the wedding day is the gear you’ll have to take with you. Gears will be the key to your photographs. You just need to know what keys you’ll need to pick that will open the lock for you.
In this part we’ll discuss the gears you’ll need during a wedding photo shoot and how they’ll be helpful to you.
Cameras:
The most important gear you’ll have to take is obviously the camera. Without a camera, you actually cannot capture a photograph and you obviously know it. What you don’t know is that which camera is perfect for capturing wedding images?
Well, most of the pros refer the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. It has 22 mp image quality and a great and clean ISO from 100 to 2000. It has an improved auto-focus that is best for capturing wedding photographs.
Another suggestion is that keep a backup camera so that it comes handy when the main camera causes a problem.
Lights:
Lights are one of the most important gears after the camera. It helps you to focus on the main subject of the scene. And proper lighting brings out the actual colors of the wedding outfit the couple are wearing and makes the photograph look elegantly wonderful.
There are different kinds of light available in the market for photography but for wedding photography purposes only two lights come handy one is the external flash with a softbox and another is the bulb for the umbrella.
I would suggest you take both of them with you so that you can get the advantage of playing with temperatures in your images.
Umbrellas:
I know it may sound funny but still, you will have to carry some umbrellas to the wedding. Not because it may rain but, for projecting a soft lighting to your subjects face and outfit using the lights. A white umbrella softens the hardness of the light and helps you to capture a well-composed photograph. So, carry some umbrellas for sure.
Tripod:
Another most essential tool for wedding photography is the tripod. It will keep the camera steady in one position so that the photos don’t get shaky. In a wedding, you must be capturing continuous photos and your hands may shake a few times which may destroy the most important image. Therefore, a tripod will save that image for you.
Extra memory cards and batteries:
Sometimes you may run out of storage or charge in the middle of the wedding ceremony. You won’t want to stop shooting photos at that moment right? As that is the day you have worked so hard for. So, I would suggest you to carry some extra memory cards and batteries to continue capturing more stunning images of the event.
Different lenses:
There are various types of lenses for different types of photography. In a wedding you may have to capture two types of photographs one would be portrait and the other would be still life or landscapes.
So we’ll need three different lenses one would be the prime lens which is for portraits. The other lenses would be wide angle lens and macro lens for capturing landscape and still life photographs.
Autofocus:
The most important camera setting is to simply put the focus into auto-focus. The wedding will be the moments where you will not get that much time for manually focus the scenes or the subjects as all of them will be moving here and there. Autofocus will automatically focus the subjects and will give you a clear and sharp image.
Auto white balance:
The temperature of the lights are different at different places of the wedding venue but changing the white balance every time you change the places will obviously cost you time. Therefore, to save some time simply adjust the white balance to auto. The camera will automatically set the temperature according to the situation.
Lower aperture for depth of field effect:
The main objective of a wedding photographer is to highlight only the bride and the groom. For that, you will have to blur the other persons in the background on most of the cases. Only the depth of field effect will help you capture such photographs and to achieve this effect you will have to alter the aperture.
The aperture should be lower as lower aperture means greater depth of field and fewer details will come in focus. The focused details will be the bride and the groom.
Increase the Shutter Speed:
Setting the shutter speed during wedding photography is an important thing. In a wedding, you do not get enough time to shoot too many things happening around you. Lower shutter speed of your camera will not help you to click photos faster. You have to increase your camera’s shutter speed to 1/60 or faster so that you can click continues shots. This is actually a very common wedding photography technique which you can use as a photographer.
Activate Continuous Mode:
The most used mode used by most of the professional wedding photographer is the continuous mode. If you are a wedding photographer, it is necessary for the photographers to activate the continuous mode while wedding photography. At a wedding ceremony, everything happens continuously. Weddings are not photo shoot that they are going to pose all the time. Every emotion and activities should be clicked at a wedding ceremony. Using the continuous mode of the camera is the best option. Activate the continuous mode from the camera setting.
ISO Setting:
ISO setting is a tricky thing of a camera during photography. You have to have vast knowledge about the measurement of ISO in case of wedding photography. Wedding photography is precious, thus you cannot just ruin it by the wrong ISO setting. A wedding photography needs different types of lightning. Sometimes the lights are low and sometimes high. When you are shooting in low light, you have to make sure that your ISO is high. If the light is high then set the ISO low. Because high ISO in high light may defuse your photo and so as the low ISO in lower light. As a wedding photographer, you must know about ISO setting and the proper use of it.
Wedding Photography Tips for Photographers: Wedding Photography Ideas:
Knowing about only camera settings and gears is not enough for you to click wedding photographs as professional. You have to have top wedding photography ideas of 2018 by which you can give the latest touch to your wedding photographs. Try these wedding photography tips describing down the line.
Prepare Yourself:
After getting the offer of capturing wedding photography, you have to prepare yourself if you agree to do that. Think twice before saying yes to the offer. If you are ready to do that then start preparation. Check out your camera and other equipment which are necessary for wedding photography. Make sure that everything works properly so that you do not have to face any trouble while photographing. You have to be prepared mentally too. Make a contract by yourself by which you can make the deal. It will ensure your project.
Know Bride and Groom’s Desires:
The first thing after preparing yourself you have to do is to meet with the bride and the groom. I ensure you that meeting the bride and the groom is very effective for wedding photography. Fix a meeting and talk about the wedding with the bride and the groom. Let them speak and let them say how they want their wedding photography to be like. If they want to give you ideas, take it and do accordingly. There may some kind of desires of the bride and groom. When you know the desires and wants of the couple, it would be easy for you to satisfy them by doing the wedding photography of the couple.
Make Several Concepts:
Mainstream and plain wedding photos are backdated and old. There is no difference in this kind of wedding photography. Now, people look for unique and different wedding photographs. To become a unique and good wedding photographer, one of the wedding photography tips for photographers I would like to give is making concepts while photography. Create concepts like the photos are telling stories. Generate different types of stories in mind that you want to shoot like. Suppose you ask the groom to propose the bride and then click the photo. That will provide a story by the photograph.
Choreograph Poses:
It is only wedding photography where you get to click different types of people. When you are clicking photos of the couple or bride and groom individually, tell them to pose. Sometimes the bride and groom pose themselves but most of the time the photographer choreographs the poses. Learn wedding photography poses so that you can tell them to do so. You have to choreograph many different types of poses for the couple. Apart from the couple, the family members or friends of the bride and groom may ask you to click their photos. In that case, you have to show the poses to them as well.
Choose the Backgrounds Wisely:
One of the important elements of every type of photography is the background. Background of the photograph is actually the backbone of the photograph. While photography, make sure that the background you are doing photography on is appropriate and looks good. I would suggest you try photography in different places of the venue. Use various backgrounds. You can even use the rooftop or the garden side if the venue has so. Do not click photos in the witty and boring background. It will hamper your wedding photography. You can also make yourself a background especially, for wedding photography. But choose the background very carefully.
Click Candid:
Candid is a photography type where you can see the most natural things and what can be exceptional than natural. If you like to see and click candid photography, wedding photography is just the best option for you. In a wedding function, you will get to see many people who are walking, laughing, talking, cracking jokes, some are eating, and some are sitting quietly. So focus on the people who are not conscious about getting clicked. Trust me! You will get to click the most natural photographs with the most natural expressions.
Shoot the Activities Happening:
Weddings are considered to be the most colorful festival in people’s life. You can get to see varieties of activities at a wedding program. There are many activities happen at the wedding program such as the arrival of a bridegroom, singing and dancing of the people, decoration, and stuff, different types of games, preparation of foods and the list goes on. When you are shooting a wedding photography, do not miss the chance of capturing the activities happening around you. You may get some amazing photos of the wedding doing that.
Capture Close-ups of Bride and Groom:
It is quite obvious that the bride and the groom look the best and different than others at the party. Apart from their appearance, one more thing which you will observe is different is the facial expressions. If you observe their faces, you will see many mixed emotions and expressions. Go and click the close-up shots of their face at the wedding program. On the wedding day the bride and the groom become nervous, happy, joyous, emotional and many other expressions you will get to see going for close-ups. It may give you some amazing wedding photographs.
Click Family Portraits:
A wedding function is most anticipated by the families of the bride and the groom. The importance of family is no bound. It is a wedding, where you get all the family and relatives together. So this is the best time of clicking a family portrait. If this slips out of mind of the people, as a photographer, suggest them to click a family portraiture. Gather every member of the family and click a big fat giant family photo and give them the memory of the lifetime.
Click Small Details:
Have you ever noticed that the photographs of small things at wedding programs look darn beautiful? If you check out the professional wedding photographs, you will definitely find out the macro photographs of the little things of a wedding. It can be the wedding ring or clothes, flowers or the wedding cake. Photographing these small things gives you such amazing wedding photographs. So try clicking the small details of a wedding program.
Shoot the Rituals:
The most mesmerizing things you will be able to witness at wedding programs are rituals. There are different rituals in wedding functions performed by the people at weddings. You will get to capture some amazing photos in your frame shooting all the rituals happening during the wedding ceremony. The photos of wedding rituals are very special. It shows how things are happening. The rituals can also give you the ideas about the tradition of the family of bride and groom. But shooting the rituals will give you some unusual and unique shots.
Interact with the Family of Bride and Groom:
While wedding photography, you have to be comfortable yourself and make others comfortable as a photographer. Remember; do not go there just for a couple of hours but you have to be there throughout. I would suggest you be friends with the family of the bride and groom. Interact with the family members. Talk to them. You may be treated like a family member of them. That will make you easy to shoot the entire event and the people you are shooting will also not feel embarrassed while photographing them.
Wedding Photography Lighting Tips for Photographers:
One of the most important elements of wedding photography is the use of lightning. Lighting plays a very important role in wedding photography. If the lighting is not good enough, the photos may come out poor. Thus, you will not be able to satisfy your clients by your photos. It is necessary to use a proper set of lightning in wedding photography. You have to carry at least 2-3 lighting systems with you to cover the whole event. Flashguns are a unique way of lighting. Almost all the wedding photographers use flashgun while shooting wedding photography. Using diffuser umbrella and the reflector is also being used vastly in wedding photography. These two lighting gadgets help to control the lighting on wedding photographs.
Use of Natural Light:
The best lighting you can get while photography is natural light. If the wedding is happening in the daytime or in the late afternoon, you do not have to carry additional or artificial lighting systems with you. The natural sunlight would work for that. The natural sunlight gives you the best light in the photo which looks exceptionally beautiful. The best hour of photographing the wedding photos is the golden hour. It is the late afternoon when the sun is about to set and a golden light comes from the sun mixed with the sky. That gives you amazing wedding photographs.
Wedding Photography Tips for Photographers: Post Wedding Photography Tips:
The task of wedding photography does not end here. There are more works to be done post-wedding photography. You have to do plenty of work post-wedding photography and before delivering the photos. Here we have described some post-wedding photography tips which may help you.
Store All the Photos:
The first thing after you finish wedding photography is to store all the wedding photos you have taken. Do not delete any of the wedding photos. Right after finishing the photography session, take all the photos in your laptop and other devices. Even if you store the photos in a laptop or desktop, make a folder and keep the wedding photography folder in the Google drive. Doing this, the risk of losing the photos will be decreased. I am suggesting you do it because; the hard disk can crash at any time. Thus, you will lose your photos. So, it is a better option to keep your photos in Google drive as back up.
Giving an Exact Date of Photo Delivery:
The most anticipated moment of the couple is to see their wedding photographs. Post wedding photography, the couple and their family keep on waiting. So they may ask for the date of the delivery of their wedding photos. Before they ask, you should give an exact date of their wedding photo delivery. Do not be late to deliver their photos. Try making their photos on time and delivering them as soon as possible.
Go for Photo Editing:
As a wedding photographer, you may deliver fantastic wedding photographs to your client. Well, nowadays the photos are incomplete without photo editing. Edit the photos before delivering the photos. Do not print or deliver the photos without editing. You may find some flaws in your wedding photographs which you can fix by using different photo editing techniques such as Photo Retouching, Color Correction, Background Removal, Drop Shadow, Photo Manipulation etc. If you do not know how to edit photos, you can also take help from different photo editing companies to edit your wedding photographs.
Make a Photo Album:
The first priority of yours as a wedding photographer should be is to satisfy your clients. You can make your clients happier by giving them a surprise. Give your client a photo album attaching their printed copies of their wedding photography. You can also give them a big sized wall photo of them so that they feel happy.
Conclusion:
Wedding photography is something which you would love to do again and again if you have fun. Try having fun even when you are working. You will get to experience different things in different wedding functions while wedding photography. I have been following these tips while doing wedding photography. These are the best wedding photography techniques for photographers in 2018 to follow.
