How to photograph a wedding… This is one of the top Internet search terms related to Weddings and there are many pages out there addressing the question. Many if not most of the articles out there on the subject are either aimed to discourage the weekend novice photographer from shooting weddings or are some kind of weird step by step instruction manual on herding and posing cats for the camera. What I’m about to tell you here may not end up being all that different but I’m going to try…
Truth be told an Avid Amateur Photographer can successfully photograph a wedding… Though chances are after all is said and done, they will wish they had passed on it because photographing a wedding has the potential to be an extremely physically and psychologically stressful task. Ideally having some wedding experience behind you would be the plan but I’m sure that the first guy to ever shoot a wedding didn’t have any so…
I am assuming the person reading this has the basic understanding of photography i.e. how things like aperture, shutter speed and focal length effect exposure and the depth of field… If this isn’t the case you have found the wrong article.
So… What is so different about Photographing Weddings?
Well… I could make a list that would take up a huge amount of bytes here but in truth it can be condensed down to one phrase: Great Expectations. The images you are expected to produce and the conditions that you will be working under to produce them are greatly variable and no amount of planning will get all the bases covered ahead of time. Wedding Photojournalism coverage is a moment by moment thing and you must stay right on top of it, actually you must stay just ahead of it all, predicting with some accuracy where things are moving to, how is the light changing and how this is going to affect the basics: Exposure, Frame, Focus and Fire. There is really no “down time” it pretty much takes every minute in between to prepare for the next. As to the more formal posed images you will be working against many distractions in a limited time frame. There is a whole lot of information I have alrady published here: California Wedding Photographer (opens in a new window).
First Things First… Are you prepared?
I’m going to talk quite a bit about equipment here. It is important to know though that the gear does not make the photographer. But I hope you will understand why we talk so much about it in conjunction with wedding photography by the time you get to the end of this.
1: The bare minimum requirements for a camera system to shoot a wedding:
As a bench mark, Here is the list of Professional equipment brought to bear on a wedding. I am now a Nikon photographer so all the equipment I am discussing reflects that but I suppose Canon has comparable units so… If you fancy yourself a Canon shooter you may be able to find a conversion chart somewhere.
Professional Wedding Photography Equipment
Nikon D3 Body and a back-up (currently my backup is last seasons D2x… I hope the D3 doesn’t break), 3 extra batteries and 6 8GB CF cards. The Holy Trinity of Zoom Lenses: Nikkor 17~35 AF-S f/2.8, Nikkor 28~70 AF-s f/2.8 and the Nikkor 80~200 IF ED f/2.8. Prime Lenses: Nikkor 50mm AF-S 1.4 G, Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D, Nikkor 105mm Micro AF-S G and I toss in a 16mm AF-D Fisheye (even though fisheye shots are dated I think they are still cool). Extra Light: Nikon SB-800 and a backup, SD-8A Battery pack (for quick recycling of the flash) and enough AA batteries to weight down a body dumped in the Rio Hondo River.
Canon f1 with Film Magazine - Early Wedding Photojournalism
When I first started to photograph weddings it was pretty much strictly as a photojournalist the only “posed” shots I did were more akin to family snapshots than classic formal portraits or group photos. I shot these events with exactly this: 20 rolls of film, one canon F1 body, One Canon 50mm FD lens, One Canon 100mm FD lens, an AE1 body as a back-up and this weird flash unit I think was made in the 50s. So I suppose what ever you have handy that will do the job is enough… No, I’m kidding, that was then this is now.
Now The Minimalists (Budget) Photographer’s List:
It is not necessary to have a “flagship” professional camera in order to produce professional quality images of a wedding the reason behind these are to stand up to the rigors of shooting many weddings and they are built to withstand a remarkable amount of knocking around and general abuse, but You will need at least a Semi Professional Camera body and a backup body… Do not rely on only one camera body especially if it is not a camera built for the professional. Modern DSLRs are a very complex piece of electronic and mechanical equipment and their are many possibilities inside that little box for things to go wrong.
On the top of the list for semi pro camera bodies is the Nikon D700 this camera is comparable to the Professional D3 in most every way. I would not hesitate to shoot a wedding with this camera as my front line (as long as I had 2 of them). More realistically though for the amateur is the D90 or D300 (these are both DX or “crop sensor” cameras unlike the D700) consumer grade cameras but they are capable of producing very high quality images the less expensive D90 has a slight edge in image quality where the D300 is by far a tougher semi pro build. One major drawback of these cameras is that they eat batteries like my 2 year old eats M&Ms.
Glass… Lenses Needed to Shoot a Wedding.
The range of focal length most commonly used in weddings is form about 17 to 200mm. So theoretically… (meaning I wouldn’t do it but you can try it) One of those super zooms like the Nikon AF-S 18mm~200 f/3.5~5.6 G ED VR this is one hell of a lens and very hard to fault it is very sharp even wide open sharpness is good. The drawbacks though are through the range there is easily visible distortion from 18 to about 50mm and at f/3.5~5.6 this is not a low light shooter.
The Consumer Kit Lenses Nikkor AF-S 18~55 and the Nikkor AF-S 55~200 (and their new VR versions) will cover the focal length, the image quality isn’t all that bad but the construction of these lenses makes me wonder if they would survive rattling around even in a padded bag. And again… These kind of suck in low light.
Now considering that the most commonly used range out of that 17 to 200 is from about 24mm to 70mm so (again theoretically) a whole wedding could be covered with one professional wide to mid range telephoto lens lets say a 17 ~ 55 or a 28~70 would do pretty well… That would leave a few holes here and there, but…
Reality… A budget lens kit for weddings.
The Prime lens for shooting in very low light, shooting the “Romantics” of just the bride and groom and taking small group shots. Nikkor 50mm 1.8 AF-D (the new 50mm 1.4 AF-G is a lot better but twice the price).
The front Line ZoomThe Nikkor AF-S 28~70 F/2.8 or the new Nikkor AF-S 24~70 f/2.8 VR is the ideal but Another good zoom lens choice for DX format cameras is the AF-S DX 18~70 f/3.5 to 4.5 G this is a damn good lens though not super fast glass… A damn good lens… If you don’t have one you will have to get yours used because Nikon quit making it. This would make an excellent backup lens in case of a main zoom failure and is a pretty decent Wide Lens for broad scenes and large groups.
Now to shoot long… A long(ish) telephoto is a pretty good thing to have but I’m going to say not 100% absolute necessary… I only pull the f/2.8 80~200 out at perhaps every other wedding and mostly for subjects that are too camera aware to get candids without it. But another use for this particular lens is a back up the 85mm and 105mm primes to shoot “portraits”. So this lens by it’s self does an acceptable job of three lenses (and even if you never shoot another wedding dang it’s a nice one to have in the bag). As to the less expensive long lenses like the 70 ~300 AF G and D f/4-5.6 well they are just okay if you have plenty of light and they are both not quite sharp as a tack ( only sharp as a basket ball perhaps).
A portrait lens. Like I was just saying the 80~ 200 IF-ED will double for one but a choices for a prime portrait lens would be number 1) a 105mm micro f2.8 AF-D or 2) the 85mm 1.8 AF-D.
The Bottom Line on Lenses…
I did state earlier that the 24 to 70 or so range is what gets the most work however… If all my lenses failed but one? I’d pray for my 50mm… No kidding… You would have to either be in their faces or running back to get a wide shot but I could do it and the image quality is superb. On a crop sensor camera that would put the angle of view at like 75mm or so and my not leave you with enough room to get anything wide. On the DX format there is this really nice AF-S 35mm f/1.8 G that would be about equivalent to the 50 on a full frame… The price is right as well.
Flash (or not to flash)
Here is the thing… I pretty much only use a speedlight (nikon’s noun for flash) to overcome harsh shadows in broad daylight or back lit scenes (like shooting into the sunset), and on action shots (like a bouquet or garter toss). In these instances you need a flash. Their are really only two good choices here the SB-800 (no longer in production) and the SB-900 coupled with an SD-8a battery pack. That little thing that pops up on those consumer cameras just wont do the job in these circumstances and the lower cost speedlights don’t cycle fast enough and have no input for an additional battery pack. A couple of nice things to have on hand for flash are: a modifier ( I like the Gary Fong Tupperware thing) and a Good flash bracket (I like the Stroboframe Pro RL)
So that… And a box to get it all to the wedding venue about covers it for equipment.
2: You need an Assistant
When I am shooting as a straight photojournalist I will often work without an assistant but I can not recommend this at all to anyone shooting a wedding for many reasons. Most weddings I do have an assistant if for nothing else to lug equipment and chase down the stray Coke can or Big Mac container fouling the background of my shot.
It is not necessary that an assistant be skilled in photography but they do need to have a working knowledge of what piece of equipment is what and this person should be someone you can communicate with effectively… Oh, and… they should know how to install batteries with the + and – pointing the right direction… As a matter of fact, lets call this the minimum skill level for your assistant.
3: Editing and Post Production
You Will Be Shooting in RAW… This is the rule. (If you don’t know why this is the rule perhaps you hit the wrong article) And as such you will need the capability to process and manipulate RAW files. You will also need a very high resolution and Calibrated /Color Corrected monitor without this you will not be able to accurately view the images you are working on and this will usually end up with not so good surprises when you go to print. I calibrate with a Datacolor Spyder 3 Elite Pretty much every time I sit down in front of it. I currently use an Intel Core 2 Quad 9550 with 12 GB of ram and a 24″ ViewSonic 1080p monitor. My guess is that one could do the job with less than half the machine but be prepared to sit in front of it for a really long time.
Now… A few Tips on Getting the Job Done.
1st… A special note about photographing a guy in a black suit and a girl in a white dress. Cameras have really come a long way and they are pretty good at taking pictures all by their self and all you have to do is press the button, however…
Your camera has a reflected light meter. It measures the amount of light reflected through the lens from the scene. The problem happens because when light falls on different subjects, different amounts of light will be reflected. This can lead to your camera to make some bad decisions for you. A Girl in a white dress is going to reflect much more light than a Guy in a black suit. The camera won’t always see that there is actually a difference in subjects brightness and just assumes the light has changed. As a result it will underexpose the girl in the white dress’ face and will overexpose guy in the black suit’s face. As of today there is not a “Dark Suit/White Dress” position in the automatic settings. If you do not know how to compensate for this hit the books now and go get some practice otherwise things may not turn out so well. It comes down to knowing when to use the spot meter and lock and what to point it at.
Tips on Planning the Wedding Shoot.
I’m guessing you have heard the saying “Man plans and God laughs” or “No battle plan survives at the first contact the enemy” well it has never been more of a truth than it is for weddings. But do it anyway.
A good first step is to obtain an itinerary for the days event as soon as possible, look it over very carefully commit the “timeline” to memory. When and where is the bride getting ready, when the guests are scheduled to arrive, what is the estimated time of the ceremony’s start and end. Get an understanding of how the ceremony will flow, Get a copy of the couples vows if possible. What elements (like: lighting of a unity candle, pouring sand breaking a glass…) are going to happen when. Be sure that there is time devoted to taking pictures (that is if couple wants traditional posed shots done).
Scout the location Go to the ceremony site and take a look around, preferably at about the same time the shindig is scheduled to happen. Look for good places and background “textures” to shoot against. Look at the light situation you will be shooting in. Take your camera and shoot, take notes.
Get in contact with the Wedding Professionals that will also be working this event, be honest about your expirence level, ask questions (but don’t be a pest) get in with them because you need these people on your side. You will be dependant on many of them for cues and information on the day of the event here is an article you can gleen little bit of info on other wedding vendors: California Wedding Vendors (opens in a new window).
Tips on Photographing the Wedding Ceremony
I now shoot ceremonies with only one camera body for the most part (but I can also switch lenses in about two to three seconds). You will want to get both Wide and Tight Shots of pretty much everything that happens. A super range zoom lens will do the job but so far they haven’t made one that works really bitchin all the way through ultra wide to long telephoto… Lots of distortion at some ranges so I would recommend putting your standard range on and put a long lens on your back-up body (you got one right?).
Use spot focusing and put the spot on the specific subject you are shooting have your focus mode set to constant, you don’t want to be waiting for that beep for the shutter to fine and miss something… Better a soft focus than no shot at all. Now I “spot meter for light and lock” but you may want to practice this a bit before hand. The “matrix” metering can be fooled like I said but it’s really really good most of the time at making the decision.
During the ceremony don’t panic and stay calm, move around and position yourself to get a good angle one what’s coming up next (that’s why you wanted the itinerary and time line). In between the “events” just shoot , see anything interesting? Just shoot it.
Tips for Group Wedding Shots:
A good rule of thumb is a full minute for each planned image and if you are new to this (and I assume you are if you are reading this you are) double that time and add an extra minute for shots that involve more than say 8 subjects.
Get a list of all of the wanted group shots and the subject’s names to be photographed in these. Make a list of these shots with a corresponding list of names. Start with the largest groups and work your way down. Dismiss all those that are done as soon as they are done. The plan here is to reduce the number of distractions as quickly as possible. This is the time that a good assistant is invaluable to escort the people who are finished away and to shout “Hey this is the guy with the big camera… Look at him”.
Usually Traditional shots are done right after the ceremony and before the reception and this works pretty well. I have done them prior to the ceremony but I don’t think I would recommend this; it seems that the anticipation creates an air of urgency that makes things difficult for everyone involved.
Tips to shooting “The Romantics” (Images of Just the bride and Groom):
After everyone else has been shot… This is the time to do formals of the bride and groom. If you have not done a lot of posing of couples go and look very hard at what others have done and how they have done it. A good idea here is to make yourself a cheat sheet of images. Pay special attention to what is in the background and spend some time composing your shots. One of my favorite tricks (time permitting) is to take a little walk away from the couple and just shoot their natural interactions. This can also be done in a lull during the reception if there is still good light and places to do it.
Tips on Shooting a Bouquet and Garter Toss.
Tossing The Wedding Bouquet
This can be a tricky thing so first and foremost DO NOT PANIC! Here fast glass is your friend but it can be done with a “decent” lens (we already talked in depth about this) and this is where an SB-800 0r 900 with an external battery pack comes in to play you need that flash to recycle fast to catch a bunch of flowers or that frilly rubber band thing in flight. Get your stuff ready by 1) Be sure that the batteries in the flash are fresh, 2) Set the shutter to CH (high speed), set the ISO to at least 800 (I shoot to 3200 on the D3) 3) I shoot kind of wide (say 35mm on a FF sensor) and stand about 8 feet from the bride (or groom) about 20 degrees out of line from them and the catching crowd. Focus on the thrower.
Right before hand get with the thrower and instruct them pull a fake out first throw – You Do the Counting - One… Two… Three ( lowering and raising the bouquet / garter over their head on each count ) Shoot the Fake out shots on 1-snap on two-snap, between 2 and 3 snap-snap-snap… Take a look to be sure that you haven’t blown him or her out and the light is reaching the catchers. If there is a problem adjust PRN… If you are not confident run another fake out but you better get it on the second try or you will go down in history as an idiot). Then for the real deal same motions for the thrower you count it down One… Two… And THR- hammer down the shutter on -EE. If all goes well you should have at least one shot of the thing in flight and if you are lucky (And the camera is fast enough… And the flash kept up.) you will have a shot of it getting caught on the back side.
Just a few more General Tips for Wedding Photography
You will be shooting in the middle of a party and as I hope you already know to get good images you want to step back and shoot from a bit farther away. When there is a happening (like the cutting of the cake or the first dance) it is automatic that people will close in to get a better look (or get better looked at… I’m not sure which). Here is where an assistant is invaluable keeping people back and reminding the herd… Whoops… I mean guests that the photographer needs room to shoot. Also keep yourself aware of what is going on around you it is very easy to get so focused on the viewfinder that you end up stepping on the flower girl or the ring bearer. Always shoot with both eyes open.
For some strange reason(and I’ve asked around… It’s not just me) you will probably have to work at getting candid or semi candid shots of the front of the Bride and groom. It seems that no matter where you go they will turn the other way. here is a whole article about candids on my main photography site here: California Wedding Photojournalism (opens in a new window)
Do Not Panic This is probably the most important tip I can give you (if you are paying attention this is the third time I’ve said this here). There is a lot going on and a lot to go wrong in wedding photography but staying the “Center of Zen Cool” is the best way to deal with it. Breath deeply and don’t ever run… Walk quickly and take long strides if you are in a hurry but just don’t run. Drink a lot of water while you are shooting and carry a couple of clean handkerchiefs for when you start sweating it out. Have a candy bar or a big bag of peanuts on hand for a real emergency… That sinking sick feeling may just be that you are running out of fuel.
If you find that after you are done that A, You really enjoyed doing it and B, you are very pleased with the job you did and C, you can’t wait to shoot the next one… Seek professional psychological help because you may be as crazy as I am. Not necessarily bad crazy… But crazy none the less.
