Wedding photo (taking) tips

My brother in law is getting hitched at the end of the month and as it’s a low key affair he wasn’t going to bother with a photographer. My Wife suggested that I could take some pictures (as I have a camera) and like taking snaps so I’ve said yes but don’t really know where to start.

I have a basic DSLR (Nikon D50) and a even more basic understanding of how to use it although most of my pictures are taken on auto as experiements with other settings have always been hit and miss.

I have a tripod and can borrow a camera mounted flash from a mate so are there any simple tips anyone can offer to help me make the most out of pictures of people inside and outdoors?

Ta.

pay somebody else to do it and enjoy the wedding instead.
or get the wife to do it.

Fair points and well made ;o)

To be fair it won’t be a massive do and after the ceremony the bride is ditching the wedding dress in favour of regular clothes so I’ll only need to take a few pictures at the Registry Office. It’s also kind of become our wedding present to them where we’ll be putting them an album together for it and so on. As much as they are family I’m not shelling out for a photographer for their gift.

I know nothing about the technicality of taking such photos but having had to do quite a bit of thinking for my own pics (wedding in august).I would suggest asking bride and groom if there are any particular shots they might like i.e. staged ones, some around the cake, first dance etc,that way you will know who to pester and when. I did have a list somewhere of the most popular shots people like to get at weddings which I can dig out if you would find it useful?

Edit: x posts – in that case I reckon random snapping would be order of the day!

If you’re happiest with your cam on auto, keep it on auto! years and years of camera development in that black lump of platic and metal you’re holding and it will do a remarkably good job if you just worry about catching the moments and choosing some nice compositions.

If the flash is a Nikon work so it will work seamlessly with your Nikon camera, let it handle things in auto too, but use it more outside in sunshine to lessen hard shadows, or if you’re confident with how, set it to fire in ‘rear curtain sync’ which will avoid over flashed look.

I was assigned as photographer for my brother’s wedding and they were plenty happy. In fact they got impatient with my attempts to set them up for some more traditional shots because they just wanted to mingle and get to the reception!

I’ve since got faster lenses and multiple flashes, so would try more things if I had to do it again, but keeping it simple the first time paid dividends!

Avoid upskirt shots.

helpful as always eh Captain, you certainly live up to your user name – do you have a dodgy tash too?

As Emma says, make a short list of group shots you want. And be bossy when getting everyone lined up…people will ignore you if you aren’t!

When you arrive keep an eye out for a nice light area with a nice background (flowers or trees – not the car park).

If it’s an informal wedding, you could go for more candid shots, take a lens that will allow you to get close ups of faces etc.

sorry, emma! In childish mood today…!

No ‘tache, I can assure you.

I would, however, echo the above – Get someone else to do it and enjoy the day.

Definitely get a list/idea of what group photos the bride and groom want as well as any other particular requirements.

Also get there early and practice/test! Take some demo ones – they don’t need to have people in and see how they look. Are they too dark? Are they too light etc?

Outside I would consider putting the camera in auto but non-flash mode (Nikon have a setting for this). This will let the camera do the hard work if you aren’t fully conversant wtih it.

Inside might be worth using the flash and if its one of the tilting head jobbers then experiment with the angle and you might be able to avoid harsh lighting with the flash (as you can get if the flash is pointing straight at the person). If its well lit inside then you might find that you don’t need a flash.

Practice beforehand; there is no one solution, the light on the day will have a big impact and you will struggle to plan for this if you have limited experience. Good luck and don’t forget that you need to enjoy the wedding as well!

Make a list
Learn about bracketing
Check out the locations and think about where the light will be coming from
Get the ushers to organise the groups
Get an assistant to help you take the pics

Use a fast lens, leave the flash at home and take candids throughout the day. You won’t annoy anyone with the flash, you won’t have to organise people and you won’t end up with dire group shots that nobody will like.

We had a made (IanB off here in fact) take pictures for us. We originally had someone else but they failed to show. We didn’t get as many fancy ‘do this now do that’ pictures but tbh we both think those are a bit stupid anyway so we were more than happy. He didn’t take a lot so wasn’t out of the celebrations for long, but we got a few great shots for a frame so that’s all we wanted.

Everyone else had a camera too so they were snapping away documenting the day far better than a dedicated photographer would have done it.

If it’s low-key and they don’t want loads of stupid mushy fake ‘gaze into each other’s eyes’ shots then you’ll be fine. I think those shots are stupid. Weddings just aren’t like that, you’ve got the rest of your lives to get mushy and lovey, your wedding day is most likely going to be spent rushing about, drinking, partying and getting tired! My sister in law (and sister in fact) had a photographer make them do all that stuff and in the pics they are desperately trying not to piss themselves laughing, so they all look stupid! SiL’s best shots are of them messing about with the golf carts to be honest 🙂

So, I’d say – lose the tripod, it’ll slow you down too much and won’t be needed. Either take pics outside (with the sun behind you or to one side and preferably in the middle of the day so people aren’t squinting in to it) or inside with a swivel flash bounced off the wall or something warm coloured. Or by a window with light coming in from a nice angle.

Basically all you have to do (as above) is think about lighting and google for the ‘rules’ about portrait composition – including limbs in the pictures or chopping them off and so on.

Oh, and take loads of candid shots with your nice camera all evening if you feel like it. This always goes down well. Also works better if you have a fast lens and can avoid flash 🙂

One more thing though – people might expect a few group shots so you can do those, but no need to go over-board. We were asked to all jump in the air at someone’s wedding – wtf was that about?

Talk to the registrar before the wedding, find out what you can and can’t do. Most places won’t let you use flash during the ceremony, or certainly discourage it. Some places ask you not to shoot at all during the vows etc, but will happily pause the wedding for a minute or so for you to get the important shots – ie. rings, signing the register and so on (you can’t photograph the actual register, but they usually have a pretend one).

Check out the area in advance, preferably at the same time of day on a sunny day and a cloudy one. Find a nice bit of park or something for the group shots, and know where you’re going to want people for the best light. If you can practice with a few friends then all the better.

Get a(t least one) spare battery and memory card. Apart from the ceremony itself, just shoot and shoot and shoot – often it’s the candid shots that couples like the best.

As said above – a list of shots is a great idea. I have one somewhere from when I did weddings, can dig it out if you like. Make it clear to the couple that you can’t shoot all of them, and get them to pick maybe ten or twenty that they REALLY want.

Use kit that you’re comfortable with. A wedding is NOT a good time to be figuring out how to use remote flash triggers you got off eBay. I’ve never used a tripod in a wedding, but you may find one useful… I find they just get in the way. If your shutter speed’s low enough that you need a tripod you’re gonna get blur from folk moving anyway.

If you’re happy editing, shoot in raw – it gives a bit more margin for error. If not, then make sure you’re using the highest quality jpeg settings.

Everything above is also good advice… Have fun!

Oh and don’t be surprised if you get asked for selective colour shots 😉

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Lucy and Bridesmaids[/url] by Will Slater[/url], on Flickr

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037[/url] by Will Slater[/url], on Flickr

set it to fire in ‘rear curtain sync’

Coincidentally this is also good honeymoon advice for the groom.

Oh and don’t be surprised if you get asked for selective colour shots

The response being a firm “NO”.

Make sure you have enough battery and memory cards to get through the day.

Take a backup camera, even if it’s a compact point & shoot.

Oh and don’t be surprised if you get asked for selective colour shots

The response being a firm “NO”.

One of the reasons I don’t shoot weddings any more 😉

Why does rear curtain sync reduce the over-flashed look?

molgrips – in rear curtain sync the camera exposes for the ambient light first, then fills with flash on the ‘rear curtain’. compare that to pure auto flash settings and you’ll probably find that the camera fixes the shutter speed at about 1/60th and tries to light the whole scene with flash, which is where the hard shadows or dark backgrounds come from. That can all be achieved in full manual too, but may therefore need more time to perfect than e.g. P-mode with rear curtain sync.

So does it subtract the ambient light from the flash power it uses? Does it not do that anyway?

I will try it tonight 🙂

I must have shot about 20 weddings, all for friends and family, all with FP4 and a Nikon FM. Most post digital era. I’ve then presented a small album of carefully selected shots as a wedding present, and have often had repeated requests for extra copies.

My tips:

1) B&W is a must – it makes everyone except the bride blend – men normally wear dark suits, but the women can be in a multitude of floribundia! It’s also timeless.

2) Use fast prime lenses and NO FLASH unless it is very sunny and you need to fill in faces – my preferred lens is a 24 mm f2.8 for candid scene setting shots outside and something like 50 or 135 for head shots and close ups a second camera makes all the difference.

3) Don’t get in the way and don’t order people around. You are there to capture atmosphere not make it!

4) Learn how to bracket

I had a stock list of shots that I have taken at each wedding -here’s a few…

Looking down the aisle at assembled congregation before the bride arrives

Entrance of the bride. normally from the rear and looking over the shoulder

Shot during the service – of course you know how to turn the sound and flash off?

Low shot up the aisle as the wedding party leave (it’s a 24mm lens so depth of field is always excellent)

Assorted collection outside, just be sure to try and get photos of everyone – people are always in a good mood and form groups, just capture them. A list of the key players is helpful so you can be sure you have snapped them.

Shot of the rear of the wedding dress, preferably with sunlight pouring through it

Close up of the bouquet

Close up of the happy couple – take lots, especially candid ones, and an over the shoulder shot. Fast lens will blur the background

Couple in the car sometimes through the rear window.

Assembled children doing their own thing – very popular

Couple relaxing.

In general, pictures at the reception have not been as successful, although I have used colour in the evening to provide theme separation.

And nobody looks good eating!

I did some of the photography for my sisters wedding – about the only reason I agreed is cos I obviously know her very well and knew the kind of stuff she was after. One of her uni friends does far more of that sort of photography than I do so she did most of the main stuff with me being there to “fill in” where needed.

Wedding stuff though – you’re either at the wedding enjoying yourself or you’re taking pics. It’s difficult to do both!

Loads of great advice from a man who is a mentor to me… note though – it opens by saying you need to have a camera, and know how to use it…[/url] 🙂

As a full time pro-photog i’ve drafted two replies, both of which got caught by drop outs in the wireless so, i’ve decided to keep it simple and proffer the above link. 😉

In case you were wondering, my initial advice was that you try not to get involved but, your further comments indicate you’re committed to it – hope it goes well…
Chris

Learn about bracketing

learn how your cameras light meter works and nail the exposure every time.
how is bracketing going to help you nail that ‘special moment’

Shot of the rear of the wedding dress, preferably with sunlight pouring through it

Hehe.. only wedding I took pics for (really really low key that one!) the dress shot had the bride hitching up the skirt to keep it out of the mud 🙂 She’s 4’11 tall and bought a £30 dress second hand from someone much taller.. you get the idea of the kind of wedding it was.. ace fun though 🙂

learn how your cameras light meter works and nail the exposure every time. how is bracketing going to help you nail that ‘special moment?

Cos there isn’t one true exposure for every shot?

From Marsdenman’s link:

How will I feel watching all my friends knocking back the Champagne and Canapés whilst I sip orange juice and grapple with the groups?

Personally I’d be chuffed to bits being given carte blanche to run around all day taking pictures of happy people and not be told to sod off 🙂

Combining my hobby with a nice party made for a decent day for me!

I wouldn’t rush to use bracketing myself, but I can see why it could work. Against for me would be that while the camera is clicking away its bracketed exposures you’re missing the chance to apply those frames elsewhere. What is the bride blinks during the perfect exposure, but instead of a next frame at that same right exposure you get a blurry overexposed one because that was the higher bracket… I worked in raw so that I could pull back highlights and lessen shadows a bit afterwards if necessary and to be honest, even with the basic body I used then (D40) the exposure was never off.

I used flash a good bit indoors (was allowed!) because I used a slow but safe lens. At the time, I only had the 50mm 1.8 as fast option, but it was manual focus on the D40, which I thought was risky. I wish I’d had the 35mm 1.8 AFS or just the D90 I have now at the time!

I’d argue that flash can be invaluable outdoors is the sunlight is harsh, since it softens the hard shadows that can be so unflattering, and it can help bring the exposure of the groom’s dark suit closer to the brightness of the bride’s dress. If you get day with flatter light then the exposure is all easier, but a sunny day brings everyone’s smiles out!

Be prepared for stress !!!

If you’re borrowing an external flash, and it swivels invest in a Gary Fong diffuser, and keep it pointed at the ceiling when you are inside, at the people when you are outside if its bright and sunny. Practice before hand.

If in doubt let the camera run the show !!!

Charge everything up the night before, and turn your camera off when you’re not using it, you may get through the day that way … but be prepared in case you don’t.

Get as many images as you can before the ceremony (bride, bridesmaid, flowers, rings, groom (if he’s about).

You’ll have all the group images to take afterwards, and at that stage everyone will want to hit the bar and the bride will want out of her dress 🙂

Speak to the registrar BEFORE the ceremony so you know what they will let you photograph and what you can use (ie flash during the ceremony)

DO NOT photograph the marriage registry book, check with the registrar and if permitted when they have finished signing, turn to a blank page, place the flowers in front of it and have them reenact the moment.

Take loads of detail shots, they make great filler.

A tripod is a good idea for group shots, as if your stuck indoors you will be dragging the shutter so blur is an issue and means you can set up the shot, and concentrate on getting everyone in place. Don’t go below f8 for group shots !!!

Get someone to help organise people if they have a shot list (and ask the B&G to write down every conceivable shot they may want)

Don’t tell them about the album until its done, just in case it all goes pear shaped.

I say get a long lens with the shallowest depth of field (for the fastest shutter speed) and try to focus on capturing moments of the day (in a ‘reportage’ style).

Don’t get in people’s faces and try to get the shots without them seeing you.

Below is one sample from a load I took at a wedding a few years ago – straight from the camera with no adjustments made (and I don’t suggest it is anything but average) but it does capture a moment and that is the sort of shot people like.

This one shows how a shallow depth of field focusses the viewer on the subject quite well I think.

Just spoken to a friend, she is paying £1400 for her photographer! 😯

I actually felt sick for her when she told me, that’s half what my whole wedding is costing almost!!

NB : rear curtain sync has nothing to do with “the flashed look” and if your dragging the shutter enough to warrant separating the ambient motion blur from the flash exposure … you should be whacking your ISO to the ceiling, and trusting “atmospheric black and white grain” as an excuse instead.

Use flash to fil in, not to light. If available dial down your flash by a stop or two to ensure you don’t blow highlights.

If you are getting exposure issues, work out before hand how to lock exposure on your camera, skin tone is close enough to mid-gray in the majority of situations. Meter on subjects skin, recompose and shoot. as long as you have a reasonable depth of field, and the subjects are within focal plain of the skin used you will be fine for focus. Don’t meter off the dress or grooms dark suit !!!

Entrance of the bride. normally from the rear and looking over the shoulder

Seen this in a couple of interesting movies, not sure the groom would approve on his wedding day…..

Seriously though avoid some of the cliche shots and sit with the couple to see what they expect/want. See the venues beforehand and get a bit of a plan where you will be stood at various times.

MF those are excellent pics, and the long lens is a great idea too.

MM – I tend to agree. I have a knob on the back of my flash that I can just twiddle down and reduce the flash, which I use to alter the ratio of flash to ambient.

There’s some good advice in here. I would definitely second shooting raw, and getting a 50mm 1.8 (nice lens to have anyway).

Which reminds me, I have this watched on eBay…

Mols. If you haven’t already invest in a Gary Fong for your flash work, cheap as to buy and softens flash down to soft ambient appearance.

Oh.. top tip, cheers.. however it looks a bit pricey for what it is!

Also interested in another tip on one of those links – someone was hand-holding a flash.

Cheers Mol – I think they are okay but not a patch on what a professional can do (but of course I don’t charge).

Here’s a fave from another wedding (my business partner’s).

And get an alternative shot in when the wedding party are posing for shots…

basic from a google