This article continues the “preparation theme” by focusing on additional ways you can prepare for the wedding.

Spend Time Online

Search the internet for “wedding photography tips for amateurs”. You may also want to visit my web site (the link is below, I have an extensive FAQ and also link to three other pages that have tips for beginners).

Consider joining a message board or forum that is dedicated to professional wedding photography. If you do, be careful to not ask too many questions at the beginning! Instead, spend hours reading through old posts and learning as much as you can. Once you’ve read several months worth of posts you will be in a better position to ask proper questions. Digitalweddingforum.com has a special “starting” section for beginner photographers – but there are other resources online as well. And be careful to not just READ the information, print the information out, shut your computer down, get your camera, and practice!!

Search for wedding photography web sites and view the sites of photographers in the big cities that are near you. Find the ones that are good. Analyze their best photos. Make a folder on your computer and save copies of the best photos you find online. Try to figure out what makes them so good: what is the posing like, the lighting (natural or fake), the location (can you find and use the same locations?), etc. etc. Then, go out and attempt to recreate some of those “best” photos.

Buy Several Wedding Photography Books

There are a number of good books about Wedding Photography. I have yet to find one that does an excellent job explaining the basics in a practical way, but you can pick up a lot of good pointers from various books.

I review a number of wedding photography books on my site (see the link below), and Amazon.com also has reviews of wedding photography books (go to Amazon.com and search for “wedding photography”).

My current #1 book recommendation is Steve Sint’s book: Wedding Photography, Art, Business, and Style. He covers a lot of the basics and has an excellent section on posing (using studio models).
I remember purchasing a new book or two before each of my first few weddings.

Spend Time with the Couple

Volunteer to take engagement photos of the couple. Doing so gives you the opportunity to see how the couple interacts and how well they do in front of the camera. It will also give them a chance to see the types of photos you take. This is important as you need to be setting proper expectations! If the couple is looking at wedding photos online, they are probably looking at really nice photos. Make sure they know this is the first wedding you have photographed!

Work with the couple to create a “photo schedule” for the day and try to include lots of extra time. Be careful not to make the day’s schedule about the photos — the day is a wedding!

Part four of the series will continue discussing preparation by discussing “shot lists”.

In the mean time, get your camera out and take more pictures!

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One of the most crucial wedding photography tips is to tread carefully when choosing your photographer. Your photographer should understand completely the message you are trying to convey through the photography. Be sure that you have looked at all of his work to get a feel for the type of photography that he has produced in the past. His style should be line with your own. If you want traditional style wedding photographs then you should not hire a photographer who is most experienced in contemporary photography – and vice versa.

Another of the important wedding photography tips that relates to choosing a photographer is to ensure that you enjoy the photographer on a personal level. This is a person who will be sharing your wedding day right alongside of you and taking pictures during very private moments. You should like and trust your photographer completely so as to have a relaxed and enjoyable wedding day.

Other wedding photography tips include bringing your wedding guests into the photography by having disposable cameras on all of the tables during the reception. Guests can participate in taking photographs; you’ll likely get some shots that would have never gotten with only one photographer and it chronicles each guest’s unique experience at your wedding.

These wedding photography tips should be followed to ensure that you get exactly what you want from the photography at your wedding; and so that you will have memories for a lifetime – captured in the style unique to you.

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Wedding photography prices aren’t cheap, so you can hopefully cut budget costs by hiring a family member or a friend. If you know someone that is really excellent behind a camera, ask them to be your photographer. They will more than likely do it as a gift for your wedding or a small fee.

Another option is to utilize your local community college photography student. Often times you can advertise your need for a wedding photographer and students will offer their services as a way to build their portfolio or complete a school project.

Another very popular budget option is to hand out disposable cameras to guests. This is fun and exciting, especially for younger guests. They can be in charge of taking their own photos. This method allows you to get a view from many different perspectives, and covers more guests than one photographer alone.

Wedding photography prices can be cut down significantly by using this option. If you don’t want to do that, you could also hand out memory cards for digital cameras. Have guests bring their own camera and use your free memory cards, then collect them at the end! It’s simple and effective.

These wedding photography tips can help ensure that your photos are clear and memorable. Have tripods available for guests to use so that their pictures can come out stable. This is a convenience for your family and friends and will make the wedding much nicer.

Encouraging family and friends to go nuts with their photography of your wedding will certainly catch a lot of smiles and memorable moments. From cake cutting to cousins and babies – everyone will be included.

Handling wedding photography on your own takes patience and planning, but the final prints can definitely be rewarding and special. You should still aim to get professional shots of the most important moments, such as the vow exchange, gown, and tux photos.

In the end, remember to always have fun and let your creativity show through, and your wedding will be that much more fantastic.

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Wedding photography is unlike most types of photography in that you only have one chance to capture a shot, there’s no retakes once a shot is gone you will never be able to recapture that moment. So if you want a happy bride and groom, less stress and more money in your bank account then keep on reading because these handy tips will save your butt when it comes to shooting weddings.

1. Create a shot list

If you’re just starting out then a shot list is vital. Having a shot list will allow you to make sure that no shots have been missed. If you start shooting weddings on a regular basis then chances are that you won’t need a shot list after a while but I believe it’s always handy to have one as backup. Some of the shots I recommend taking include:

* The wedding dress hanging up/leaning over a chair
* The brides dress getting done up
* Brides garter
* Bride getting hair done/looking in the mirror
* Bride/bridesmaids having makeup put on
* Groom tying his tie
* Groom hugging parents
* Parents/best man straitening grooms tie
* Bride and father arriving at ceremony
* Family members being seated
* Bridesmaids walking down the aisle
* Groom waiting/checking his watch
* Groom seeing bride for the first time
* Bride before making her entrance
* Father and bride walking down the aisle
* The back of the father and bride walking down the aisle (if you have a second photographer)
* Close up of bride and groom exchanging vows
* Close up of the rings going onto hands
* The first kiss as married couple
* Walking up the aisle as a married couple
* Bride and groom outside the location
* Family throwing confetti at bride and groom

After the ceremony you will usually get a chance to get the bride and groom along with the bridesmaids and groomsmen to pose for some photos. I said usually because I have shot wedding where couples didn’t want these types of shots. You will find the majority of couples expect these photos however and personally these types of photos I enjoy taking. Here is a shot list of some of the posed photos you should take.

* Full length bride shot
* Bride and maid of honour (3/4 and full length shots)
* The bride with all of the bridesmaids
* The bride and her parents
* Groom with parents
* Bride and groom
* Bride and groom with each set of parents
* Groom with his best man
* Groom with bridesmaids
* Bride with groomsmen
* Bride and groom with bridesmaids
* Bride and groom with groomsmen
* Bride, groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen

One tip I would give you when shooting big groups is that you have to take control. One of the first weddings I ever shot I had people not paying any attention to me and looking in different directions. When I realised this I quickly took control and specifically asked everyone behind me with their digital cameras to stop taking photographs until I had taken mine and then I would hold the group together for a few seconds so everyone with their digital cameras could come in and take their photos. It worked and I had no problem with people looking in the wrong direction.

Another tip I would give you is to ask everyone to first look at your camera and then close their eyes. Then ask them to open their eyes on the count of 3. When they open their eyes ask them to find your camera lens with their eyes as quickly as possible. I would then recommend taking a burst of shots. This will help minimise the chance of anyone having their eyes closed.

One final tip when dealing with group shots is to say “can everyone see the camera”, then follow that line with “if you can’t see the camera it can’t see you”. This will make sure no one’s head is being covered by another guests.

Once you have moved past taking the group shots you will want to start taking photos at the wedding reception. The following is a shot list I would recommend capturing:

* The outside of the reception site
* Candid photos of guests outside the reception
* The bride and groom arriving at the reception
* The bride and groom laughing and joking with guests
* Inside of the reception before guests arrive
* Little details on the table such as patterns or decorations
* Guests names on cards at table
* The wedding cake (multiple shots and angles)
* The first dance
* Parents dancing
* Cutting of the cake
* Toasts/speeches
* The throwing of the bouquet
* Bride and groom leaving

Having a set list will help you make sure that you don’t miss a thing, however don’t rely on them too much as you may miss some spontaneous shots. I would also recommend sending the set list to the bride and groom before hand to see if there are any additional shots they would like.

2. Having the right equipment

Now I’m sure the best photographers in the world could produce stunning images with point and shoot digital cameras, however unfortunately I’m not the best photographer in the world and have no shame in admitting it. I do however book more than enough weddings every year to earn a living from it. Having the right equipment will make your job as a wedding photographer much easier.

Wedding photography can be expensive to get into, however you can pay off your initial investment and turn a profit by just shooting one or two weddings.

I recommend at least two camera bodies and at least two lenses at a minimum. The reason for this is that in a wedding setting you don’t have any time to change lenses. So for this reason I recommend using camera lenses that cover a wide range of focal lengths. If you’re a Canon photographer I recommend the following two lenses as must haves:

Canon 24-70mm f2.8 Luxury Lens (Medium Range Lens)

Canon 70-200mm f2.8 II IS Lens (Telephoto Lens)

You may also want a lens such as the Canon 17-40mm F4 L lens for wide angled group shots.

If you’re a Nikon or Sony photographer then look out for similar lenses.

3. Use Flash

Now when your outdoors there may be a temptation just to use natural lighting and there’s nothing wrong with this at all. However simply adding a little flash will do wonders for your images. Having a flash to give a little fill light will give you nice catch lights in the eyes and will get rid of any nasty shadows cast on the face from sunlight.

Once again if you’re a canon shooter I would recommend owning at least 2-3 flashes with wireless triggers. The following flashes are what I use at weddings:

Canon 430 EX II Speedlite

Canon 580 EX II Speedlite

I also wouldn’t leave my home without a Gary Fong diffuser. This little accessory attaches to the top of your flash gun and makes the light less harsh, giving your images a much softer and natural feel.

4. Stick to the bride like glue

OK perhaps not like glue but you get the idea. Where ever the bride goes you must follow her and keep eyes on her at all times. Now you may be thinking what about the groom, the truth is you want to include the groom as much as possible but in reality all eyes are on the Bride. People want to see her hair, her flowers, her makeup and anything else you can imagine. The bride is the centre of the attention on her wedding day so make sure your photos reflect it.

5. Make sure you have backups

Thankfully I have never had any of my equipment fail on me, however if it did I have equipment ready to back it up. For this reason I carry two camera bodies, 3-4 lenses, multiple batteries, multiple memory cards and 3 Speedlites.

If something did go wrong you wouldn’t want to be in a position where you couldn’t shoot the wedding. Be prepared and you will do fine.

Conclusion

I believe it takes a special type of person to become a wedding photographer as wedding photography isn’t for the faint of heart. Wedding photography can be stressful but I believe if you’re prepared then you can take a lot of the stress out of the situation.

Things will go wrong when you’re shooting a wedding. If you stay calm and composed however there is no reason as to why you can’t handle any situation thrown at you.

Most importantly enjoy the experience. Quite often guests and family members will take care of a photographer who has been respectful and courteous. I personally love the pressure put on me to get good shots in a wedding and I think because of this my wedding photography work improves each and every time I photograph different weddings.

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Especially as a new wedding photographer, you may feel stressed and overwhelmed for your first few weddings. Over time as you start to gain more practice and experience, and with helpful wedding photography tips, you can improve your skills, gain more exposure and get hired by more clients.

One of the best wedding photography tips is to be confident. This helps in a number of different ways. It ensures you are not shy or nervous and miss all the great shots, but also helps because it keeps you from shaking the camera when snapping shots. Even with an expensive, professional camera, the pictures may still come out blurry if you shake when you take pictures if you are nervous and your hands are shaking.

Another of the important wedding photography tips to be aware of is to create a “shot list” before going to any job. This is vital to keep you organized and on track while at the wedding. The average wedding takes place over the course of a day, and with all the excitement and business of the day, it can go by faster than expected.

Being prepared before the morning of the wedding is essential to ensure you get all the best shots and capture every separate moment of the day. From the family pictures to the wedding ceremony to the reception, the happy couple is going to want to have pictures to remember every moment during their wedding day.

Talk to the couple and get to know them before the wedding if you do not already. It is an essential part of the job to understand the couple’s personality and their likes and dislikes before doing any photography for their wedding. Every couple is different and by getting to know them and understand their personalities, you can best decide which style and theme of pictures they would most enjoy. Although wedding photography can certainly be a stressful field, as you always want to make sure you pleased the couple and captured the beauty of their wedding day, it can also be a very fulfilling and financially rewarding job.

Are you looking for the right wedding photography service to capture your treasured moments? Be sure to visit Serenity Snapshot to find out more about the expert services our wedding photographers can offer you.

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Wedding photography is not just a reflection of what had transpired during the big day. They are a valuable memory and reflection of the wonderful moments and events that you can keep for the rest of your life. And, with wedding pictures always available now both as physical photographs and as digital copies, it brings them back to the time they shared their special day as husband and wife in front of their family and friends.

With this in mind choosing a wedding photographer should be a finely thought out process. This is because the angles. the lighting and creative thinking that must be incorporated into the wedding photography should really only be carried out by a professional and/or highly experienced photographer.

You want the very best for your wedding pictures. Therefore it is imperative to hire a professional wedding photographer who can, with ease and expertise, give you the picture that you want and deserve. There are however,some considerations that you should make first before hiring the services of a wedding photographer.

Here are a few pointers that you need to consider before signing that contract. Contemporary, traditional, reportage, classic. What style of photography do you want?

Has your wedding got a particular style? Is it going to be an informal or formal occasion? Whatever style you decide upon, this will be the deciding factor in choosing your photographer.

If your wedding will be in a formal setting, it is best to hire a wedding photographer that is traditional and more formal in his/her approach. This is because traditional photographers consider all the details when it comes to photography by establishing good angle shots. If you want a unique and more candid style of wedding photography then you should consider a photographer who specialises in reportage. If your wedding is more contemporary, seek out photographers that specialise in that field. There are photographers that are very specialist in one style of wedding photography. So if you choose the wrong one, you’re going to be bitterly disappointed

Consider the cost?

Bear in mind that not all wedding photographers are cheap and, having said that, the most expensive are not always the best. It all comes down to how important your wedding photographs are to you. When looking at the cost establish what you are actually getting for your money. How many photographs? Do I get the digital images? How many wedding albums or books do I get? Photographers usually have set packages, if they’re not what you want then talk to the photographer and negotiate your own bespoke package.

What exactly are you going to get for your money?

Well this simply comes down to the cost. Your going to get the photographer for the day, or are you? Have you asked about how long he/she will be with you? Are you getting 2 photographers for the day? Remember that the groom gets ready to! Will he/she be there for the cutting of the cake? How many images do you get? The list goes on, so establish at the beginning of your negotiation what you will get included in the cost and what the extras will cost.

Is there any comeback if things go wrong

Photographers are creative people and are often engrossed with their creative art that they sometimes don’t listen to the client. You, as a client, have the final decision about your photography. However, you must go back to the first point that I made, have you chosen the photographer that best suits your wedding style?. Make sure you discuss your requirements well before your wedding day, keep in regular touch with your photographer and exchange ideas. Remember that your photographer should have years of experience and knows what will and won’t work. Be open to suggestions, the photographer is a creative artist and his/her reputation depends on client satisfaction.

Have you done any background research

You only get one chance to capture that big day and you definitely don’t want out of focus or poor quality images? Always do some background research about the photographer. This will give you some insight on the abilities of the photographer and his reputation as a wedding photographer. Most photographers have websites with galleries showing their style, search for the style that suits you and then contact them for a meeting. In essence, wedding pictures can be good, bad, or fantastic. It all depends on the wedding photographer, so, it is best to hire the best.

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Did You Clearly Define Your Wedding Photography Goals? Your wedding photographer needs to know exactly what you want and what will make you happy. That’s right, it’s important for you to clearly spell out what you want in your wedding photography. This is your dream wedding day and you need to make sure that the photographer knows exactly what you want. Are you interested in tons of formals or are you more interested in creative bridal images? Do you want engagement pictures or do you just want to focus on your wedding images?

One of the best ways to show your wedding photographer what you want is by using examples. I know you’ve heard it before, but it’s true. A picture is worth a thousand words and surfing the web is free. Spend some time looking at wedding photography and decide on a style that you like. Once you find it, you can easily send the photographer an email with links to the images you want him to review. After that, make sure you explain why you like those particular images so the photographer can duplicate the style in your wedding photos.

Tell Your Wedding Photographer What You Expect. Does your wedding photographer know who you are? Obviously, you’re a client but does the photographer know the real you? If the photographer doesn’t really get to know you then how is he or she going to get unique images that represent your personality. The answer is actually simpler than you may believe. Tell the photographer about your basic information like, how you first met, how long you’ve been together, how your proposal occurred, and what do you like to do. Only by being completely honest and open with your wedding photographer, can you hope to get the type of images you’ve been dreaming of.

Create a Wedding Photography Checklist. To avoid any type of misunderstandings during your wedding photography, get together a list of “must have” photos. This is going to take some time on your part but it will definitely pay off when you see that you have all the images you wanted. If you ask your photographer, you’ll find that most already have a list and will be happy to give it to you. A common wedding photography list could include things like the bride and groom getting ready before the ceremony, the wedding cake, the details of the venue, the rings, signing the marriage license, the formals, etc. Remember, it’s up to you to make sure the photographer knows what shots you want and that list changes for them with each client.

Schedule Specific Blocks of Time for Specific Wedding Photos. Another common pitfall is to schedule a generic time slot for “wedding photos”. A better way to do the wedding schedule and prevent misunderstandings is to set aside specific blocks of time for specific groups. By tweaking your schedule you’ll be able to better manage your time and avoid having the entire wedding party or family hanging around for several hours. Your wedding photographer will thank you for being more organized and creating a schedule of what pictures will be taken and when.

When creating your wedding schedule, most people aren’t well versed in wedding photography timelines and don’t know how much time to put aside. As a general rule of thumb, you should probably allow about 1 ½ hours for the bride and groom alone, ½ hour for the wedding party, and about an hour for family portraits. Since your wedding pictures are the only tangible thing left after your wedding, it’s a great idea to leave your wedding photographer plenty of time to get all the shots you’ve been dreaming of and put down on your checklist. Don’t forget to give a copy of your schedule to the photographer, your wedding party and your family members.

Everyone has expectations and getting married is no different. The bride, groom, wedding planner, and the wedding photographer all have their own expectations to consider your event a success. The key is to get everyone on the same page and make sure that they know what you want, what you like and how to get it to you. Only by creating a trusting relationship with your wedding photographer and vendors can you get exactly what you want – great engagement pictures, great wedding pictures and a great wedding. Remember that like most relationships, communication is one of the key elements to success and getting the great wedding photos you’ve dreamed about. By using these wedding photography tips, you’ll likely avoid the 3 most common wedding photography pitfalls.

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Wedding photographers should always be ready and prepare for any unpredictable situation that may happen during and after a wedding ceremony. The ability to take great pictures in a wedding event day will depend largely on the experience and techniques you use when photographing a subject. Studying photography will greatly improve your photography skills but the way in which you capture those special moments of a particular wedding ceremony will be solely and completely be up to you.

When covering a wedding photography have the best digital photography camera you can afford. Buying the best quality digital camera can improve the image quality and the resolution of any image. The higher the resolution on your camera the better quality your image will be. Always take pictures that are well focus and have depth. The closer your subject is to your lens the less depth of field you will see on your images were as a subject far from your lens will have more depth of a field.

In conclusion wedding photography is a recording of memorable moments of events shared in a marriage ceremony. Good techniques plus experience combined with the right digital camera will produce great wedding pictures on any wedding photography Event.

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I think it is important when you are researching a professional wedding photographer to let your groom in on the experience. (Based upon the fact that he’s interested!) My fiancee happens to be a professional photographer so he has a vested interest in this part of the wedding.

Therefore, take a look at different photographers’ portfolios, ask your friends, relatives, your wedding event planner for references as well as research online at various wedding sites that offer suggestions and wedding photography tips when you are first selecting your photographer.

Next, go and interview your potential photographer like I did today (well, I didn’t really interview Michael since I have worked with him as a wedding event planner on other weddings)! It’s important that you and your fiancee are comfortable with your photographer so that you will look relaxed and happy in your pictures no matter what happens at the party.

Discuss with your professional wedding photographer what type of pictures you are looking for.

* Do you want wedding portraits or journalistic-styled pictures?

* Do you want black and white and color shots?

* What type of wedding photography package do they offer?

Prior to the meeting, you should create a wedding photography checklist to help you focus in on hiring the right type of photographer for you and your fiancee.

Other wedding photography tips to think about include providing the photographer with the name of your other vendors, such as the DJ, wedding event planner and florist since many times they work together at other weddings and will talk amongst themselves as to what important shots should be captured that day.

Also, very important, well in advance of your wedding, create a wedding photography checklist for your wedding day. Remember to include and write down which type of family shots you want and who you want in them, ceremony shots, bridal room shots, candid pictures during cocktails and the reception and party shots to name a few.

Keep in mind where you’re getting married (indoors or outdoors) as well as the time of day. You want to make sure that your photographer knows the people you want photographed by face and/or name so you might want to consider making a Facebook for your photographer. All of these elements are just the tip of the iceberg when you start to generate your checklist, and this is why you want to start early with your list and then continue to add to it up until your wedding day.

I hope you found these wedding photography tips helpful for when you start your selection of a professional wedding photographer. It is not only important to create a wedding photography checklist during the selection process but also one for the wedding itself. Until next time, remember the Budget Bash mantra: make it simple, delicious, stylish, fun & economical to all!

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Today, brides and grooms are interested in infusing some of their own unique style into their wedding photographs. With the advent of the Internet, choosing a photographer has become a lot simpler. Today, photographers are able to showcase their creativity and talents online, and you can go through their galleries to search for a style that caters to your needs.

Here are a few wedding tips that will ensure that this very special day will give you enjoyment that lasts for a lifetime through the pictures that it produces:

1. The most important tip of all is to be careful when you choose your photographer. He or she should be able to capture the message you are hoping to convey through photography. Make sure that you are able to look at samples of your photographer’s work. His or her style should coincide with your own.
2. Another important wedding photography tip is to make sure that you get along with your photographer on a personal level. This is a person who will be right alongside of you during your wedding day capturing many of your most intimate moments. You should be able to put all of your trust in your photographer so that your wedding day can be relaxed and enjoyable.
3. Another unique wedding photography tip is to bring your wedding guests into the picture by making sure there are disposable cameras on all of the tables at the reception. When your guests are taking pictures, each one will capture his or her own unique experience on your wedding day. You will probably get some cool shots that you would never dream to have gotten with just one photographer.

You must also take into consideration whether you want your wedding photography to follow the traditional style that has been offered for many generations and still is the most popular with weddings. Today there are photographers that are branching out and are beginning to offer more non-traditional styles of wedding photography. These include not only candid shots, but journalistic style photography as well.

Digital photography has done much to enhance the quality of wedding photography. You are able to make changes right on the spot or you can enhance the photographs on the computer.

Remember to choose your wedding photographer carefully because these photos will define your wedding day for generations to come. Choose as to what best suits your style and personality, and you will certainly enjoy a lifetime of precious memories.

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