© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved
First of all, Photographing weddings can be fun, and rewarding. Not only do you get to share in the excitement of someone’s special day, you also get to do a bit of networking and meet some new clients. What's more important is you get to present your clients with the memories of their special occasion that will last a lifetime! Every click of the shutter is an important moment frozen in time. Wedding photography can also grueling; long hours, no breaks, constant moving (in and out, around, and through people), relentless lighting situations, and dealing with all sorts of people.
Some of you may think I’m crazy, but for the most part I photograph a wedding by myself. That means I normally do it without the help of an assistant. And because I’m sometimes a one man band… I try to work with as little equipment as feasibly possible. Lets face it, trying to drag around a bunch of gear would only get in the way and make it impossible to capture every detail of the event. Other photographers might argue that by doing so I’m not capturing the affair under the best conditions, with the best light (off camera). I would like to share my thoughts on that… I do get my lighting off camera as much as possible. I have a bracket for my flash unit that brings it out to the side, or… I simply bounce off walls, ceilings, or someone’s white shirt/dress. A little trick I learned from David Ziser (a great wedding photographer in my opinion). When photographing a beach wedding, I simply use a lot of fill flash for those nasty shadows. Because for some reason people always want to get married in the midst of the brightest sunlight of the day. :/
While we are on the subject of lighting, let’s talk about how quickly it changes and how fast you have to think about adjusting your camera settings to accommodate those changes. When photographing beach weddings there is the issue of sun and clouds (they can change rapidly here in Florida and you have to think quick to make the changes in your camera). Lighting also changes from the outdoor ceremony to the indoor reception, or even from daylight, to dusk, to night. Lighting also changes during an inside reception… lights are normally up to start the introductions of the bridal party, turned down for the first dances, and then up again for dinner, and down again for the remainder of the reception while everyone is dancing and having a grand time. The only advice I can give you here is; be aware of all these changes and make your adjustments accordingly before it’s too late.
Weddings also require a lot of group shots, the couple, the bridal party, families, and extended families. Sometimes small groups will request a shot because they are all there, and dressed nicely. Take their photo… it will almost always give you another sale. However, don’t spend too much time on these, as you are there to capture the day for two special people. I usually set up “a go to person” on my first meeting with the bride and groom. Someone who knows the families, and can help gather them after the ceremony for the group shots. Try to make sure it’s not someone that is in the wedding party, as they will already be busy enough, and in a lot of your shots.
If your bride and groom already have children, be sure to include them in your shots, especially if they are not part of the wedding party. These will not only be treasured memories for the parents, but also the children in years to come. I usually try to capture them during the getting ready shots, and the formals, then again during the reception, making sure they know that they play an important role in what may seem a bunch of chaos to them. Kids aren’t really as enthused as the adults about this whole hullabaloo with dressing up, and the duties they may have to perform for the day, and sometimes they just seem to get lost in the crowd or pushed aside. I try to make sure they feel like it’s their day too!
A little more on the getting ready… sometimes this is a first time event for everyone, and getting ready turns out to be a nightmare. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve done this so many times, or it’s just the kind of person I am, but I have been known to put down my camera and help with a veil, a necklace, a boutonniere (cause guys always have a hard time with those), or the buckling of shoes. Even though it is not your job, and you can just stand there and watch them suffer… in the end (if you lend a hand), it can make your images much better. Who wants to photograph a bride whose veil is a mess, or a groom whose boutonniere is hanging off his jacket like someone just mugged him in the parking lot? You get the idea…
Post editing wedding photographs will also take some time. Don’t promise them their photos will be done in a few days, take your time to go through each and everyone and clean them up before presenting them to anyone. Make them wait for a nicely finished product, no matter how much they push you. My biggest problem when editing weddings is always the bride’s room. There is always so much stuff scattered in that room! Discarded towels, shoes, bras, hair accessories, etc… You get the picture! As much as you try to remove these things before you take the shot, someone else comes back to drop something there, and it ends up back in your frame. You could spend all day just picking up the stuff that others lay down. So in the end, no matter how much I physically try to remove clutter, I always end up having to clone out something in the getting ready shots! Sometimes I can’t get rid of everything, but if it’s a shot worthy of an oooo or an ahhhh, I take the time to clone away clutter.
Those are my thoughts for now on photographing weddings… I hope in some little way they help you think about what goes on in the mind of a wedding photographer, and help’s you prepare for your next event.
Love, Laughs, and Photographs,
Wendy
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