Tips for photographing a wedding

Quite often, I get asked by amateur wedding photographers for advice on how to photograph weddings.  I remember being a newbie, stumbling into my wedding photography career and remember that I would have been glad of some advice. If only I had asked for it…!

Anyway, to save repeating myself every few months I created a checklist and some thoughts on what a new photographer would appreciate knowing. And here it  is!

I’ll leave the more technical aspects of photographing a wedding to the professionals – but as someone who has been asked to photograph various friends or family weddings – I have a few suggestions for you:

Plan the photography

One of the most helpful tips I’ve been given about wedding photography is to get the couple to plan ahead about the shots that they’d like you to capture on the day and create a list so that you can have some sort of guide for the day. This is very helpful with the family shots. Nobody loves doing these so the less painful you can make it, the better.

There’s nothing worse than getting the photos back and realising that you didn’t photograph the couple with grandma or some long lost relative they’re never going to meet again. oops!

Family Photos

I personally find the family photo part of the day can be very stressful. It can be chaotic and like trying to herd cats.

Get the couple to nominate a family member (or one for each side of the family) who can be the co-ordinator of family photos. There is always someone who loves this type of job, and they are often a teacher or someone who loves excel spreadsheets! They can round everyone up, help get them ready for their photo and keep things ticking along so that the couple can get onto their posed couple photos which are the ones they will actually hang on the wall!

Scope it out!

Visit the locations of the different places that you’ll be shooting before the wedding day. It’s really useful to know where you are going on the day and have an idea of a few locations for photos and to know where the light will fall and when. Some wedding photographers even combine this with engagement shoots which is a good use of your time.

Be Prepared!

Weddings can be unpredictable affairs, with bad weather wreaking havoc with any plans you may have made so ensure you have a plan B for every aspect of the wedding day.  What happens if it rains on your wedding day, what to do if your camera fails, what happens if your car breaks down, are there multiple routes to the wedding venue etc etc.

Know your equipment

Get comfortable with all your photography gear so that you’re not having to think about settings on the day - it should all be second nature.

The day before, ensure that batteries are charged, memory cards have been wiped and that you have a working back up camera, spare lens, spare flash as well as additional batteries and memory cards.   Pack everything the night before so hopefully if you forget something you remember it well before you leave home to get to the wedding location.

Last piece of advice for the wedding photography newbie - smile.  Look like you’re enjoying photographing the wedding and you most likely will. Good luck!