Wedding photography arouses enormous interest in this profession. And it is that, luckily, times have changed, what before was a mere sustenance that some were even ashamed to admit, has become an admired and awarded discipline.
The creativity and good work of those who are dedicated to wedding photography have made many amateurs set their sights on this sector to launch themselves professionally, or that photographers from other sectors look at them with eyes to expand their line of business.
That is why today I have decided to publish this mega guide dedicated to wedding photography, especially for you…:
- If as a professional you are thinking of expanding your business in other areas
- that you want to turn your hobby into a source of income
- that you are getting married and are looking for advice when choosing a photographer
«How can I take my first steps as a professional wedding photographer? What equipment and materials do I need? how do i get hired? What lenses do I have to wear?» Every once in a while I get questions like this from blog readers who dream of becoming a wedding photographer and are looking for some guidance. I would like nothing more than to be able to give you the infallible formula to succeed as a wedding photographer, but I don't do wedding photography. I have never dedicated myself to this type of photography and I do not see myself as the best person to advise on this matter.
However, at the insistence of many of you who have written to me (to whom I may not have been able to respond, I apologize), it occurred to me to write about the steps I would take if one day I considered working as a wedding photographer and collect all the information that we have on the blog about this discipline, written by both the team and wedding photography professionals who have wanted to participate as invited authors. I know that many other professionals in the sector read us, they are invited to share their ideas as well, below in the comments section.
In summary, in this mega guide I compile all the information that a wedding photographer has to know, in addition, I explain, in great detail and with concrete examples, the steps that I would recommend to anyone who wants to establish themselves as a professional wedding photographer, including the errors that most neophytes tend to fall into and what I would do to solve them.
What you are going to read next is the guide that I would follow by heart to start my career as a wedding photographer, and from which you will surely be able to get many ideas. And it is that, a wedding photographer has to be a photographer and an entrepreneur.
INSIDE THIS ARTICLE... ? [ Hide ]
- 1 What is wedding photography?
- 2 Photograph your best friend's wedding
- 3 Wedding photography as a business?
- 3.1 The ideal equipment for wedding photography
- 3.2 Pricing structure in wedding photography
- 3.3 Competitive advantage among wedding photographers
- 3.4 Marketing strategy
- 3.5 Wedding photography: Your first report
- 4 Before the wedding
- 5 How to perform a pre-wedding
- 6 How to photograph a wedding
- 6.1 Wedding preparations
- 6.2 Wedding photography during the ceremony
- 6.3 Wedding photography during the banquet
- 7 Mistakes a Wedding Photographer Should Never Make
- 8 How to carry out a post-wedding
- 9 Inspiration in wedding photography
Before we get into the matter, a brief paragraph…
WHAT IS WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY?
The first thing I would say is that it is a huge responsibility. Above all. A wedding is such a special and unique event that failure becomes a catastrophe. For the couple (and the memory they keep of one of the most important days of their lives) and for your reputation as a photographer.
It is not a portrait session that you can repeat whenever you want. It is a wedding that (hopefully) happens only once in the lives of the protagonists, so in wedding photography there is no second chance to get it right.
Clarified this point, wedding photography is that photographic discipline that portrays the entire process of a marriage bond. It can be from the pre-wedding session to the post-wedding session if the couple want it (you are interested in convincing them, I will tell you why below). What it does include is always the same day of the wedding: the preparations of the groom and the bride at home; the celebration, which can be religious or not; and the banquet, with the reception, lunch or dinner and dancing (the latter can never be missing at a wedding, right?? ).
PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING
Everything we are talking about becoming a professional wedding photographer may not be for you. Maybe you got the brown (yes, it's a brown no matter where you look at it) from photographing your best friend's wedding. A really good friend, I wouldn't ask you. And a good friend, really, would tell him to hire a professional.
Now, if the couple still insist due to whatever circumstances (it's a very intimate wedding, without much budget, they value memories and trust more than a good report, or whatever the reason may be…), I recommend that you read this article , but above all, do n't photograph your friends' wedding without reading this first .
Now yes, we return to the question of "what would I do if one day I were to dedicate myself to wedding photography?" here is my answer...
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY AS A BUSINESS?
I would think twice. Not three. Just two.
I want you to think how many wedding photographers do you think there are? Many? Some? Ok, and now I also want you to think about the number of couples who get married, or at least have a union celebration, and who require a photographer.
At first, everything seems to indicate that the wedding photographer market is slightly saturated. There are more and more people who launch themselves with an SLR camera to cover weddings and, on the other hand, I have the feeling (I don't handle specific statistics) that the number of married unions is not growing particularly. In other words, more and more photographers have to fight to divide the wedding cake, and I don't mean precisely the meringue pie, but the number of clients.
Does this mean that he would abandon the idea completely? In any way. I'm just saying that, as in any other serious aspect of our lives, in this case, too, you have to think twice before getting into this story. And notice how I say at the beginning of this section "twice, not three". I say this because I wouldn't think too much about it, nor do I want you to. Spending your whole life thinking about something does not make it work, that "we'll see", "little by little", or "someday" are usually not a guarantee of success. If you are interested in entering the world of wedding photography, that "someday" is today, right now. This mega guide will provide you with everything you need to get started on the right foot, so don't put it off any longer.
Once the decision has been made, let's continue with the rest of the elements that we would have to consider if we wanted to make a living from wedding photography.
THE IDEAL EQUIPMENT FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Of course we would need a camera. Here I have a personal opinion that perhaps not many share: the camera does not need to be especially expensive or professional. Yes, photographing a wedding is a completely professional job, but carrying a professional camera is not an essential condition. If you can afford one, go for it, but if not, any medium-advanced user camera should be fine. However, I would invest some money in an extra camera. This is very important because at a wedding you cannot afford to introduce yourself in front of the couple and with a smile announce to them that due to technical problems beyond your control (come on, your camera has broken), you will not be able to cover the rest. of the event. More than anything because your life would be in some danger ?
Carrying a second camera will allow you to have a kind of "spare tire" if your main camera ever fails you. On the other hand, a second camera can come in handy if you want to switch between two lenses (highly recommended). You would have one mounted on the first camera and one on the second. Permanently. So you could switch between one camera and another without having to stop, turn off the camera, unscrew a lens, while a guest holds the other lens for you. Just imagine the situation please: everyone celebrating at the height of the wedding, and the photographer there huddled in a corner fighting with the lens that doesn't quite screw on correctly ?
If you can't afford two cameras, don't worry, you can start with one and later, when you've collected a few reports, you get another one. Meanwhile, what you can do is work with a camera that allows you to record photos on two memory cards at the same time. What, is that possible? Yes sir, some cameras come with 2 memory card slots and allow you to automatically record photos to two cards at the same time. The advantage of this is that if during or after the wedding you realize that one card has failed and that you can no longer recover its contents, you can rest easy knowing that the second card still has a copy with all the photos.
This is my opinion, here is that of a photographer specialized in wedding photography on the necessary equipment ; by the hand of our guest author Adrián Sanchez.
OBJECTIVES AND ACCESSORIES
As I always say, half the beauty of a photograph lies in the objective with which it was taken. We have already talked about the choice of lenses at length here on the blog, (you can take a look at the article dedicated to the lenses for social photography , or consult my article with the best lenses that I recommend ).
In general, you will need, almost necessarily, what I call the king of lenses , along with a telephoto lens, ideal for capturing spontaneous scenes of the bride and groom, family and guests during the wedding while going unnoticed. Finally, you can also use a wide angle to take group photos or simply to contextualize the wedding within the environment in a broad way.
I have also seen some wedding photos taken with a fisheye. You are not going to photograph the entire wedding with the fisheye, but if you have one, the occasional snapshot is fun.
In addition to the objectives that I just mentioned, you need some accessories. Inevitably a good flash , the best you can afford please ( some recommendations here ) and if you can also a flash diffuser . It will allow you to obtain very illuminated portraits of the bride and groom but with a touch of softness that looks great for the occasion. You can also get LED lights. From there, the rest of the accessories are optional for my taste or, at least, not absolutely essential: tripod, reflector, etc. You can start with what I just mentioned, you will acquire the rest as you go, without haste, and according to your needs.
You will be meeting with clients, before and after the wedding. You should have a tablet or iPad to show examples that will allow you to agree on details. It is important that you do a wedding report not how you like it, but how they would like it. In your pre-wedding meetings you will have to show them examples, whether they are taken by you or by other photographers, they can even be simple photos from the Internet. The important thing is that you see examples and comment on them. Your role in these meetings is to find out the kind of photography that would fascinate them, that would leave them completely satisfied.
Added to the iPad or tablet is the computer with which you would process the photos before delivering them to your clients. If you are on a tight budget, you can get one of these lightweight laptops that are available now, and you use it both to edit your photos and to meet with the couple to discuss examples.
Well, we already have a camera, lenses and other accessories, what else do we need? A Dropbox account ?
I say Dropbox because it's very popular, but any similar service can work for you. Dropbox, for those who don't know it, is an online service that will allow you to:
- Store photos in your Dropbox account, off your computer. This is essential because as a professional photographer you will have to keep a complete file with all, absolutely all the photographs that you take for your clients, even the ones that the client discards and at first tells you that he does not want. If one day the client needs them, you can always have them at hand. The good thing about being able to store them outside of your computer is that you have the security of never losing them. They will always be in your account. Even if you change your computer over the years, even if you lose it, even if it is stolen.
- Another Dropbox utility is to be able to organize all your work in folders, they can be by date, or by client name, or however you see fit, and thus share the folder of each wedding with the corresponding client. It is very practical.
If you don't like Dropbox, you can use Google Drive, Apple's iCloud, Amazon, or other similar services.
Oh, Dropbox and most similar services are usually free "to get started," but since you're going to end up storing thousands of photos, probably in very large original resolution, sooner or later you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan. It's usually little, like 3 or 9 euros a month, if things are already going well for you and you need so much space, you can afford it without any problem ? Hopefully that's the case.
WEBSITE FOR THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER (FORGET BUSINESS CARDS)
Business cards are from the past. Creating them involves an economic expense but then they are not very practical. Think about it, how many business cards do you have with you right now? Fifty, twenty... maybe none? ?
On the other hand, isn't it true that you take your mobile with you everywhere? Internet has become the new and most effective business card. Also, you are not a hairdresser, you are a photographer. You need to attract, expose a sample of your work. Your "business card" should be more than just a phone number and a simple email address. Your "business card" should be something that people look at and say "Oh my gosh, that's cool!" .
A website or online gallery is the best way to present your work in front of a client who has surely heard of many photographers. An online gallery is a tool that allows you to stand out from the rest of the photographers on your own merits, showing your contact information, your prices, your competitive advantages, and exposing some examples of your work. With a web page of this type you also allow the client to contact you, even hire you.
I am not going to go into much length on this part since there is an article on the blog in which I explain step by step, and with a video tutorial, how to set up your own professional photo gallery and this other complete guide on how to create your own website .
PRICING STRUCTURE IN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Before starting you will have to consider what pricing strategy you want to apply. Survey the prices that are handled by your area, country, city and, based on that, think about the range you want to apply. To do this, keep the following aspects in mind.
It may seem that people like cheapness, however, seriously think about whether you are interested in competing on price or if your differentiating advantage will be another. If what you want is to compete on price, you may have a difficult time. As I said before, the market is full of photographers, all fighting for the same piece of the pie, and many of them willing to lower the price as much as necessary. This fierce competition sometimes destroys the profession, leading to situations in which the photographer looks bad, the photographic result is poor and the client is dissatisfied. You can decide to work with a slightly higher price than the average and still have clients, later we will talk about your possible “competitive advantages” that will make clients want to hire you knowing that there are other photographers who charge much less.
Also don't forget that when you're starting out, and since you don't have many jobs or a reputation yet, it may be difficult for you to charge aggressively high prices. Keep that in mind. Startups can be low paid, nothing happens. You are starting out, and to have your first or second report, you should be willing to sacrifice part of the profit for your first clients. Also think that those first clients are going to trust you with something very valuable to them, their wedding, perhaps without knowing you. It is a risk they take. Treat them well and charge them little ?
Your price structure has to take into account all, absolutely all the expenses that you are going to have: equipment, cameras, lenses, memory cards, the Dropbox account that we mentioned before, transport expenses if any and, as you As you professionalize and charge for jobs, there is the famous issue of making invoices and paying taxes. Keep all of that in mind when outlining your pricing structure.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AMONG WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Among the hundreds of wedding photographers that may be in your city or area, why should the bridal couple hire you? As a wedding photographer, what is special about you? I know, I know: you take very beautiful wedding photos. But that's what all the other photographers think and say. So, beautiful wedding photos you will have to do in all ways, but you will have to find a competitive advantage that distinguishes you, something that the client appreciates in you or in your work and that few photographers offer.
A very common competitive advantage is offering very low prices. Hey, it's okay. There's nothing wrong with setting yourself apart at a particularly low price. Although it may seem at first that you are not going to earn much margin, in the long run simply by doing very cheap reports you should end up with endless queues of clients and in the long run you end up winning. The problem with offering a very low price is that it will not distinguish you much. There are plenty of photographers who do the same. Too many.
Look for another competitive advantage. It may seem difficult, but surely you will end up with ideas. Here are some:
- Do not sell photos, offer an experience: Beautiful photos you will have to do in all ways, however, it is what all wedding photographers try to "sell". Make your competitive advantage another. More than just beautiful photos, it offers the couple an unforgettable experience. Think about every detail of your work and take care of it to the millimeter. Make everything special: the way you deal with clients, the way you receive them in your studio or wherever you meet them, the patience you show in response to their requests, the photos you give them, CDs or memory cards. Everything, take care of absolutely everything. Do not leave anything to chance. For example, uncles, in general, we are less detailed, but think that in the couple of clients that the bride hires you will have an important involvement. When you think of pleasingTo the wedding couple, think of the bride as a potential "decision maker" regarding the entire wedding issue, including whether to hire you or someone else. So make sure that whatever you present them both of them like and especially her: colors, decorations, fonts, etc. If you are going to set up an online photo gallery on a website, as we said at the beginning, take care of the detail in the sense that you do not choose a black color for your website, nor a font more typical of a Heavy Metal band. In wedding themes, light colors such as white or pink work very well, although they do not attract me personally, I have to accept that this is what my potential clients like and therefore I have to offer that "experience" that they find attractive and enjoyable.
- The photo gallery is just an example. Follow this advice in everything you do at work. More than just photos, always think about the whole experience.
- Surprise with a different photograph: You will have enough memory cards so as not to run out of space, so take advantage of it and shoot photos that are something out of the ordinary, a little "crazy". Surprise the couple with photos that normally no photographer would take. Group photos taken with the fisheye, for example, give impressive results.
- Show photos immediately to the guests: If you have the means and the place lends itself to it, you can place a screen in a visible place and occasionally upload some photos in which both the couple and the rest of the guests appear. You will cause a pleasant surprise among everyone and believe me, you will get some attention as a photographer along the way. I have seen people use one of these television screens that have a memory card slot or to place a USB stick. On the TV itself you have the function of showing the photos in animated gallery mode or with rotation. If you can't afford a TV, a simple laptop would do just as well.
These are just a few examples, but the idea is to try to distinguish yourself from the rest of the photographers and that little by little you will be known in the market with a personal imprint and style.
MARKETING STRATEGY
To succeed as a wedding photographer, you don't need to get a master's degree in marketing, but it does help to keep in mind at all times what your strategy is to make yourself known. In your preparation efforts, I would like you to spend some time sitting down with a blank notebook or sheet of paper in front of you and writing, in dotted form, how you intend to make yourself known.
Here we speak of "strategy" because it is not just a question of advertising yourself, but of doing it with a certain "strategy" in mind, with an end, an objective, a reasoning. To give you an example, in your list of marketing actions, you might go and put something like "advertise in a local newspaper." This may or may not be correct. It is not only about advertising in a local newspaper, but knowing with yourself why that is going to be a good idea, what do you gain by advertising in a local newspaper, the answer may be that the people who will see your advertising will be specifically the people of your city that you are interested in attracting as clients, because clients from other cities may not interest you yet. Things like how you plan to pay for that ad in that newspaper, which may be paying,
The positive thing about defining a marketing strategy is that you will know at all times that your advertising efforts are not in vain. It is not like someone who decides to print 100,000 brochures and put them in the mail without knowing how that can help them. Remember that it is not about advertising, but about effective advertising .
On the other hand, marketing or advertising does not always have to be paid. There are thousands of ways to make yourself known completely free or at a very affordable price.
Here I leave you as an example 6 elements that could form that list that I want you to write, your marketing strategy as a wedding photographer:
- Web page with sample photo gallery ( here, step by step ).
- Presence in common social networks: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.
- Presence in social networks focused on the female audience, future brides, etc. The clearest example is Pinterest.
- Presence in forums related to weddings, female audiences, etc.
- Develop relationships and exchange contacts/favors with other professionals related to the world of weddings: wedding planners (wedding planners), honey moon planners (honeymoon travel organizers), entertainment/music companies for weddings, etc.
- Offer incentives to clients: This consists of offering each new pair of clients some incentive so that they send future clients to you in exchange for something. There are a thousand ways to conceive it, but it occurs to me, for example, to propose to each wedding couple a free mini-report a year after their wedding (or after whatever time it is) once they have sent 2 or 3 clients recommended by them. Something like that.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY: YOUR FIRST REPORT
You already know that the path is made by walking. What can cost you the most is the first step, it takes a lot of effort, especially on a psychological and mental level. Once you have taken that first step, you take the second and the next thousand steps almost by inertia. So if you've always dreamed of making a living from wedding photography, I want you to make that "first shoot" your number one goal. Forget for now what is going to happen in 10 years, forget about the tenth report, concentrate on that first report.
The first report will trigger a series of effects on your career as a photographer:
- It will allow you to live, in a practical way, the experience of working as a wedding photographer.
- It will fill you with self-confidence. Whether you do it well or you do it regular, you will have done it anyway.
- It will allow you to learn. Don't worry, as a wedding photographer you are going to screw up, a lot and many times. Of that you can be sure. It is impossible to plan everything to the point of never being wrong. What happens is that it is those mistakes and those blunders that will provide you with the field learning you need. Only then will you learn. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll experience it, the sooner you'll fall into the “new professional photographer” mistakes, the sooner you'll learn from them, and the sooner you'll become a better photographer.
- It will allow you to start looking for the second report, and this the third, and so on. The first report puts all the gears in motion and everything starts rolling.
So think about how you can get that first wedding. When you have done it, go for the second report, and so on until over time you have an important catalog of weddings under your belt.
I know it's not so easy to get that first report when you're just starting out, when you're nobody, people don't know you, you don't have a reputation and it's hard to find people who want to risk the most important day of their life just for you to practice. Here I bring you a series of ideas that can open the way to that first report:
- Make your first report for free. I already said before that I'm not a big fan of competing on price, and we're not going to do that, but when you're starting out, money is not your objective, but to gain experience and fill a catalog of clients and examples that you can show. So, if you offer that first report for free (and you take it as an investment in your experience), it will surely be easier for you to find an engaged couple willing to hire you.
- Offer yourself as a collaborator with other established photographers. Surely more than one wedding photographer could use a collaborator to help taking photos from other angles, and to act as a "backup" if bad luck causes the main photographer to lose the photos for some reason.
- If the wedding day is precious enough for engaged couples to entrust to you, the days before and after the wedding should be easier to come by. I explain. You will already know that many wedding photographers, in addition to the wedding itself, also offer pre-wedding and post-wedding reports. It consists of portraying the bride and groom a few days before the wedding, in couple poses, but without the clothing or the wedding party. Then come the wedding photos, and finally, a few days or weeks later, the post-wedding. Here you have a golden opportunity to work with an engaged couple who, although they have already hired a professional photographer for their wedding day, want to let you take their pre-wedding or post-wedding session. Then I will tell you how to successfully perform both sessions.
And now that I have already told you everything I would do to start as a wedding photographer, it is time to take action. We are going to see practical and concrete advice for the pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding moment, and other aspects that you are interested in knowing first-hand.
BEFORE THE WEDDING
In addition to all this that I have told you related to the business strategy, there is a job to do before the wedding : find couples, meet with them, prepare the contract, etc. Our guest author explains it very well in the link David Redondo, better known as Artisan of Light.
HOW TO PERFORM A PRE-WEDDING
Adrián Dominguez is another wedding photographer who tells us about his experience and advice when it comes to photographing a pre-wedding in a complete article that you will find at the link.
In addition, he explains the importance of the pre-wedding, why it is necessary to do it, both for you as a photographer, and for the clients, who are the couple.
HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH A WEDDING
The big day arrives. D-day. The day of the wedding. What does a wedding photographer do on that day? I have compiled information from several experienced photographer friends and that is what I am going to share with you in this section in summary. At least the most important points.
It is essential that you build a schedule with the times of the wedding. It will help you both to control your movements and to plan what time you have at each moment to take the photos.
WEDDING PREPARATIONS
At the bride and groom's house, keep these aspects and suggestions in mind:
- Ir con un ayudante es una buena opción y te dará confianza. Además, te puede echar una mano con el equipo, la iluminación, etc.
- Llegar tranquilos y con tiempo transmite seguridad y confianza.
- Es importante ser respetuosos y no molestar en la medida de lo posible.
- Antes de empezar preséntate a los familiares, si te sabes sus nombres de antemano te los habrás metido en el bolsillo en los primeros minutos.
- Estudia la luz del lugar.
- Pregunta por los objetos, el reloj, los zapatos, etc. Fotografiar los detalles en una boda es mucho más importante de lo que pueda parecer. En el enlace encontrarás consejos para fotografiarlos, te ayudará practicar en tu casa con anillos que tengas, zapatos y otros detalles.
- Empezar por los detalles facilita que se acostumbren a tu presencia mientras continúan con los preparativos.
- Look for different perspectives and angles that allow you to tell what is happening. If you can include several stories in the same image, your photography will gain in impact.
- In the end you will have to have photos of all the accessories, the groom and the bride, and someone to help them dress. Especially the closest people. Focus on the looks and gestures of complicity. It is what will give the most value to your work. The emotions.
- But don't ask them to smile, to kiss each other, etc… Provoke them. Imagine that you are a film director and that they are your actors, they get you to do what you want but spontaneously. For example, say to the groom, “Look at your mother, she is so excited, when she helps you with her jacket tell her how much you love her. What better day than today." You will have provoked a most emotional situation without them feeling forced to strike a staring pose. That is much more authentic and natural. And it is one of the aspects that can help you the most to differentiate yourself from other photographers.
- Keep in mind that the bride requires more dedication, for hairdressing, makeup, dress, accessories, etc. Evaluate it when establishing the times and how much you are going to dedicate to each moment of the preparations.
- Sometimes surprises come to the bride, the delivery of a bouquet, a speech from the best man, the visit of someone special, the reunion of a relative who lives far away... Do not miss any of these moments because they are the most emotional and the ones that the more the couple will value.
- Team up with someone from the family or friends so that they can tell you who the most important people are, if there is someone that the couple do not want to have in the main photos, even if they have gotten into the soup (in almost all families there are ? ), who should be there but hides in corners out of shyness and all those secrets that the couple probably won't tell you but that you're interested in knowing. Be careful, do it in a subtle way, with sympathy and without asking impertinent questions.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE CEREMONY
Sea religiosa o civil, estos son los aspectos principales que deberías tener en cuenta a la hora de fotografiar la ceremonia de la boda:
- Si tienes la oportunidad visita el sitio antes para conocer la luz, puede ser unos días antes sobre la misma hora. Esto te dará una gran ventaja. Y el mismo día, antes de que llegue la novia haz todas las pruebas necesarias de exposición de luz.
- Planifica el tiempo que durará la boda y estudia las posibilidades que tienes para conseguir las fotos que necesitas.
- Fotografía los detalles de la iglesia o del lugar de la ceremonia civil. Haz fotos también generales del lugar.
- Asegura los momentos importantes. Lleva una lista escrita de los momentos de la ceremonia que no pueden faltar. Toma una foto de estos instantes imprescindibles, una foto de «seguridad», una vez que la tengas, puedes dejarte llevar por la creatividad, pero primero asegura.
- You cannot miss: photos of the bride's arrival, getting out of the car and her entrance, the groom's face when he sees the bride, photos of the hands putting on the rings, of the intertwined hands, glances between the boyfriends, relatives, close-ups of the groom and the bride, general shots of them and of the bride and groom with their godparents, another general of the altar, the Eucharist in religious ceremonies, readings and speeches and, of course, the "yes". want". Neither can you miss the exit with the rice, the petals or the surprise that the guests have prepared. Seeing different wedding albums and complete reports will give you an idea of what you cannot miss. You can also specify with the couple in advance which moments, in addition to the "classics", are important to them. They may tell you a time you haven't thought of.
- Doubts with lighting in the church? This video will help you:
PHOTOS OF THE COUPLE ALONE
Once the ceremony is over and before the banquet, it is time to take some pictures of the newlyweds alone, so you should find the best location. The normal thing is to leave it agreed before the wedding.
In this video you have some tips for the poses of the couple. I would also tell you to provoke emotional situations by asking them what was the most exciting moment of the wedding, which guest they were most moved by, etc.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE BANQUET
- Make sure that the bride and groom have the photos with the family and friends that you had agreed on. If these captures have not been made at the ceremony, for whatever reason, take advantage of the cocktail or banquet. It is you who has to worry about this, not the couple, they have other things to think about and enjoy. Here are some tips for taking group photos (it is important that they are all in focus) but from now on I tell you that it is advisable to have photos of a closer plane and a more general one in which they can be seen whole. The guests put a lot of effort into dressing for the occasion, they will appreciate having a graphic document ?
- Infórmate antes del día de la boda, con los novios o los familiares, cuáles serán los momentos más importantes del banquete (además de los clásicos), de este modo podrás prepararte y situarte en algún lugar estratégico. Estos son algunos ejemplos de momentos que tu cámara no se puede perder:
- la entrada de los novios
- el beso
- la entrega del ramo (pregunta cuándo y a quién será)
- si hay alguna sorpresa para la pareja o para alguna de las personas invitadas
- la tarta
- el brindis
- etc.
- Tampoco te olvides aquí de los detalles, decoración, listas de mesas, flores, etc. Si puedes fotografiarlos antes de que entren los invitados al salón mucho mejor. Esto no sólo lo valorarán los novios, si existe alguna empresa organizadora del evento te lo agradecerá también y con este tipo de organizaciones te conviene aliarte.
- Dancing is another important moment. Find out if the couple have prepared a dance, study what is the best angle to record the couple. Get close-ups and long shots that also feature the guests.
MISTAKES A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER SHOULD NEVER MAKE
At the beginning I commented that a wedding is an unrepeatable moment, you cannot spoil it. For you and for your responsibility to the couple. Caro tells you in this article what are the mistakes that should never be made in wedding photography .
Some of them may seem too incredible to be true, but they are lived in the first person. Please read them so you don't fall into any of those mistakes or your career as a wedding photographer may end before it even starts.
HOW TO DO A POST WEDDING
If the pre-wedding is important, the post-wedding should not be ignored either. Away from stress, without fear of spoiling the suits, in the place dreamed of by the couple, whatever the distance from this location. THERE ARE NO LIMITS. That is the best of the post-wedding.
You can allow yourself all the creative licenses that your body as a photographer asks for and those that the couple dreams of. In the following link you will find tips, tricks, locations and other ideas to carry out a post-wedding.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY INSPIRATION
Every photographer, whatever their discipline, can use a good dose of inspiration, right? In this article you have prepared a good series of inspiring wedding photos . In this other one you will find nothing more and nothing less than 100 of the best wedding photographers from around the world , write down ideas for your next wedding report ? .
You can also find inspiration in books , in this case, I highly recommend Roberto Valenzuela's book on Wedding Photography to which we dedicate a complete review on the blog that you can read by clicking on the link. If you want to delve into the subject and you like to read on paper, this book should already be on your shelf.
And what about wedding photography accounts on Instagram? I recommend these three, although there is much more inspiration on this network, you just have to search for the related hashtags.
- wedding.photographers
- weddingphotoinspiration
- wedding.photo.inspiration
Finally, I would like to remind you of the wedding photography awards as an option to find inspiration. There are several associations that call for this type of award, such as:
- unionwep
- wedding photographers
- mywed
- Wedding Photojournalist Association
- Wedisson Awards
The profession of a wedding photographer is not easy. Knowing how to take good photos is only the first requirement, then comes a long list of skills that you have to know how to work on if you want to stand out in a particularly competitive world. Wedding photography is full of intruders, people willing to do botched jobs as we say here. If you want to prosper as a professional wedding photographer, be sure to prepare and take care of all the elements that we have discussed. If this is your dream, follow it please. Do not wait any longer to start. You've already taken the first step by the time you started reading this mega guide ? Use it as a reference, cross out each item as you become clearer, and off you go for that first wedding!
