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Advice On Photographing Your First Wedding

The doorbell rings, you rush to open it with anticipation, it's a courier, he hands you that swanky new DSLR you've been waiting not so patiently for. Running inside to open the package your best friend watches on, "HMMMM" you hear her say, "I'm getting married and you own a fancy big camera, will you PLEASE take my wedding photographs?" As the words leave her mouth your heart sinks, suddenly you're less excited about your new toy and plain freaked out by your friends request. Yet how could you say no? A sheepish "yes" leaves your mouth and immediately you feel in over your head. As soon as your friend has left you jump on your internet machine in search of tips, It is here we meet.

Even the most relaxed of weddings can be hectic at times, schedules are always blown out, the bride is invariably late, the flowers are misplaced or the MC spends way too long running over final details with the bride and groom. No matter the reason, when schedules don't run to plan the first thing to suffer is valuable time allocated for photography, thus being able to work quickly and efficiently is paramount.

Knowing your equipment is of utmost importance. When the pressure is on and you don't have much time the technical basics must be second nature. ISO, Shutter speed and aperture should be terms you are not just familiar with but understand as there will be no time to fiddle with equipment, doing so will waste valuable time and cause you to miss important shots. To have a feel for light metering and shooting under various conditions as well as the technicalities of photography essential. If you don't have a grasp on the basics now is the time to jump on the internet and learn!

So, you know the basic principles of photography, or I hope you do, now we must learn to understand such principles in relation to your actual camera. Remember that little white book that came with your camera, yeah that's it, the one you ignored. You may need to refer to your manual from time to time at first so leave it in your camera bag. Now armed with basic technical knowledge, your camera and manual get out and shoot till your finger hurts! Shoot during daylight, at night, indoors and outdoors, with the light source behind your subject, standing on your head. You get the idea, just keep shooting anything and everything all the time being mindful of using your cameras settings, ISO, aperture and shutter speed until doing so becomes second nature, you will gain a solid feel for how your camera behaves under various light conditions and ultimately will look upon your camera is a tool rather than an obstruction.

You now have a sore finger from all that shooting, on a positive note you feel you know your camera well, without too much hassle you can whip your camera out and obtain a reasonable exposure without twiddling and fiddling for 5 minutes first. So lets throw a spanner in the works, posing the lovely couple. No, now is not the time to scratch your head and think about those female body builders you saw on fox sport last week. Unless of course that's the look you aim to achieve with your wedding photography! Each of us have a personal style and taste, the way photographers pose subjects is very much influenced by such taste. So rather than learning a series of 1,2,3 steps jump back on the internet machine and start browsing photographs. Pay attention to how people are posed and to what look you like, you may find yourself liking relaxed subjects, traditional poses, perhaps static or candid work.

You've found a bunch of poses you personally enjoy, it is time to dissect these poses, ask yourself what it is you enjoy about them, how are the bride and groom standing in relation to the light? how are they standing in relation to each other? how do they have their weight distributed, are they throwing their weight onto their back leg for example, perhaps leaning toward the camera a little. Next you should think about what the photographer may have done to elicit such poses, how would you go about posing people like this? What steps could you follow that may result in such a pose? Learning how to dissect images and really look at individual elements of them will ultimately be a much more powerful technique than simply telling you to follow steps A, B and C in order to achieve a specific pose.

By now you may be starting to feel on top of things, you can visualise some photographs you would like to obtain, you can see the lighting in your mind, the pose and you understand how to use your equipment in such a situation. As together as you may feel now, when the wedding planner says you've got 5 Min to get some photos unless you are used to the pressure everything you thought you had organised in your mind will wisp off into the ether leaving you standing with no idea what to do! To overcome this prepare a shot list. When things turn bad you can quickly refer to a shot list to remind yourself not only what shots you need to capture but how you may go about capturing them. I know photographers who use their smart phone to scroll through a list of predetermined shots, they have saved and ordered any photographs they love and when all else fails can quickly turn to the images in their phone for an ideas boost. By carrying some sample poses along with a list of the shots you wish to get you can have a quick browse of it in down time so you feel refreshed and inspired when the pressure is on.

Scout about, you location scout you. Phone a friend, bribe them with the sweet goodness of lollies and take a drive to the wedding location before the day of the event. Don't forget to take your camera and head there at a similar time as the wedding will take place so you can best ascertain what may or may not be happening in regards to light. Your friend is now nicely high on sugar and red food colouring and, seeing as though you were the provider of such a sweet high it would only be fitting for them to repay you in any way you see fit, surely? Milk your friends compromised state and have them pose as if they were the bride or groom, this is a great chance to develop some ideas in your mind that you will be able to call upon on the big day. If nothing else knowing what you will be dealing with will help you approach the occasion with a more relaxed attitude.

Finally, knowing the timing and order of the events is of great help, armed with such knowledge you should be able to use it to anticipate the goings on and thus make sure you are in suitable positions at suitable times rather than running around like a headless chook unaware of what is happening next. Make sure you get a list of events from the bride and groom before the day of the wedding and memorise it so that come wedding day you are faced with one less pressure.

Sure, shooting weddings can feel like utter chaos, but with good preparation you can at least feel as though there is method to the madness. Spending the time to be informed and in control of your photography will not only result in better photographs on the day, but a more relaxed and fun day for all involved.

About the Author

Samuel Burns is a Sydney wedding photographer combining contemporary photojournalism with quirky flair. For more tips and tutorials visit his website, Samuel Burns : wedding photography Sydney

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