Super Smart tricks for wedding photography.

Posted on October 19th, 2009 in Cameras, MicroStock, Microstock markets, News, image management

Brief yourself on this last befor shooting a wedding, or use it as a model tip sheet for fulfilling a practice shoot for a pair of models.

1. Use Color if All Else Fails.

Black and white is the hot trick employed when a wedding photo just isn’t doing anything. But color can be reduced to black and white in the editing room. Glamorizing the dress, picking up light, showing tones of white in flowers and cakes and napkin settings folded against lacy tablecloths. Too much white in color is a lot of color in black and white. Don’t fuss with changing film in the wedding venue. Snap first, sharpen and filter later.

2. Assemble Props

Make use of spare time and a perfect wedding setting by assembling some still lifes. The decorator might be horrible and the stylists insane, but your taste can make the wedding album. Hats, flowers, elaborate nosegays or bouquets with special trims make the occasion iconic. Capture the value of the wedding venue even when the dress is falling apart, the relatives are arguing and dad is watching the catering people smoke. The pictures live forever.

3. Make the Relatives Look Good.

Relatives are usually paying for, supporting, or sponsoring the wedding or its financing. Take nice wedding pictures of them. They probably don’t have a lot of great pictures of themselves because they are doing things for other people. Remember, this wedding’s pictures may be the next wedding’s marketing brochure. Hidden bits of humor and happiness bring out the best in a wedding shoot.

4. Work the Veil

The Veil and the wedding dress can be important photography elements that only last as long as the bride is alone and can be posed. The costume element of the grand pageant cannot be lost. Don’t let overly formal wedding settings ground away spontaneity in the picture taking. The bride, the groom, the mother of the bride, and the wedding party become characters in a stellar tradition. Paying attention to them the right way can make the difference between a wedding of people tolerating the photographer and people participating in the wedding with a new friend helping out.

5. The Groomsmen

Get some ideas beforehand about how the groomsmen can camp up the day. Football plays, baseball formations, quick games of “pickle” or funny scenes at the golf course or pinball gallery in their tuxes can be sporty and amusing. Have some “game plans” in mind for setting up the men and women in cute ways. Look for the good sports in the group and get the on your side.

6. Get the Ceremony Right

Westernized traditions of weddings can be accorded as ease of attendance items, but the few observances on the religious or cultural side could have been fought over tooth and nail in the wedding planning stages. Religious traditions like Jewish, Islamic, Occidental and Moorish heritages will feature prominently in the new couple’s home. Pose the bridal couple after the ceremony with the officiating pastor or cleric to get the right moment.

7. Second Camera Setups

Special limited to specific types of photography are merited by a wedding shoot. Use a second camera for long shots and setups that feature silhouettes and halways and architectural angles. Fisheye lens shots can capture a distinctly pictorial effect. Flower girl shots and ring boy vignettes can be money shots for the album cover. Use reflectors and point lights into faces and walls and mirrors that can also put light where church ceilings and hallways grab it away.

8. Architecture

Make a recon of the wedding venue and look for places to position and pose your subjects and render the background neutral. Make notes about lens settings and film choices if applicable. If the bridal couple looks nervous or nerves are strained, your organization and authority will set the tone. Notice if the paint or finish is messed up anywhere you want to shoot, if cobwebs or other unwanted texture is a feature. Venues that have pre-ordained wedding photography areas won’t lend themselves to creativity.

9. Follow the Money

One of the biggest gripes heard the world over for photography of wedding is that some feature or element of the wedding cost an extraordinary amount and the pictures don’t have it. If there is extra money thrown at the cake, the flowers, the dresses or the ring, make sure you get a lot of it. People will look back and see the value reflected in the pictures. Not so much is there are no pictures of the item. if the invitations or wine cost a fortune, make sure there are a variety of shots featuring these dynamics at the wedding scene. Snaps of the rehearsal dinner against the formal final wedding scene can be forceully impactful.

10. Hand Coloring

Using the tinting effect can blossom some black and white wedding images to pop. The wedding ring, the ring pillow, a flower accent on an otherwise all white wedding gown, texture enhancing wedding decor and clothing detail and pocket squares or eye colors can make a two tone picture leap off the wedding album page. Glasses of wine on an all-white table or wedding gifts with ribbons picked out in color can also add drama and intensity.