How To Shoot A Wedding For A Novice Wedding Photographer!

I and you, this is a complete overview. Behind the scenes, what happened, interesting things, tense things, and things that need to be prepared are basically just a good summary. from a to z.

Wedding is a serious thing. The real thing is that you will never have a chance again. That’s why you need to be prepared to understand your things in an organized way!

So let’s set up a scenario: you have booked a wedding one year ago, regularly communicated with the couple within one year, held a pre wedding meeting, and learned about the schedule and all other details of the day(I will introduce them in another article in detail). Now it’s time. Tomorrow is the wedding day

The day before the wedding:

I have something to do before the wedding. Although not much, you can fully prepare for rock music and wake up without pressure. This is the catalog I made the day before the wedding!

Send a message to the bride saying that I am very excited to shoot her wedding, and basically just register(so she knows that I am 100% here!).
Organize all my devices to see if the camera battery is charging and if the flash memory battery is charging. Quickly clean my contact lenses and organize all my cards.
Check the itinerary carefully, refresh my memory, and know where I am going and what to do. In the past few days, 99% of the time, I found that I had already shot at the shooting site or location, so I didn’t need to do much preparation. But in the past day, I always took notes and planned the whole shooting. One scene, one posture
Please check your GPS to know how long it will take to reach your first destination. I always like to get up five minutes early. Because I think it can make me have a good day.
Please make sure there is gasoline in the car. I don’t like being nervous on the day of shooting.

Wedding Morning:

All right, let’s get up. Very excited. Now is the time to act. In order to stay full as long as possible, I usually start the day with a big breakfast. Everyone is different, but when I don’t eat, I will have a hangover and be a little impatient! So I take food with me every day on this note. I met many photographers and photographers who didn’t eat all day. I really don’t know how they work! I drive in a state of high vigilance and high energy all day long, so I like to eat grass and keep moisture all day long when driving in other places.

All right, now it’s time to start! Last list before moving:

The gears have been packed in the car. Check carefully if everything is there, batteries and cards are in the camera bag, and there is no charge at home!
Pack your lunch in Esqueli!
Dress appropriately and prepare to attend the wedding like a professional. Imagine yourself as a guest, and play this role well! My company doesn’t have jeans, T-shirts or anything that looks dirty. You represent yourself and your brand, and make sure you look good!
Please confirm that all paperwork is available. I use an amazing cloud based studio diary system called Tave. Really, I can’t run my business without it(detailed in other posts)

OK, let’s go!

Wearing rate of new clothes(45min-1 hour)

It’s time to put on my uniform and identify the groom. I introduced myself to you with a smile as soon as I entered the door(within a reasonable range, some large European weddings may have more than 50 guests attending the party!!) Make sure the groom is happy and comfortable, and start to establish a successful relationship with all important people, including mother, father and wedding party. Half the job is to make sure that everyone likes you and feels comfortable around you. If you can do this, it will be much easier to take pictures!

although I just want to talk about the shooting content briefly, I will introduce it in detail on the post in the future. Although photography is a very creative industry. Some photographers like to “fly” on that day, but I personally like to adhere to a very specific and systematic shooting directory. I have made this list to ensure that all my foundations are covered and that important things are not forgotten. In particular, 9 out of 10 are for making wedding albums, so we need to ensure enough coverage to fill the album. I hope we can do more.

So back here, I always start with details, rings, cufflinks, etc. This can calm me down, understand the surrounding environment, and give the children more time to prepare. After finishing the details, I found the most beautiful room at home. The background light is the best and the interference is the least.(The photographer turns his back to the window) Happiness begins. To put it simply, I always shoot one.

Indoor natural light photography(also, most of the time I face my back to the window)

details
The boys are ready
Best man and personal combination
It takes some time to take a picture of the groom.
Drink beer, Scotch whisky or their poison “Cheers” series!
Main cam, all other combinations

Video lighting shooting room(curtains are closed, ceiling lighting is closed, creating a little atmosphere)

Interesting scene, all the boys try to keep calm!
Portrait of the groom

In the wild

Walking shot
The more stupid group had fun.
When I have time, I will take out the Ellincrum Quadra and take some commercial/fashion style photos.

Business SkillsIt may look very similar, but as I said before, most of the time I’m designing wedding albums. Ideally, all the new scenes would be to add two pages to their wedding album. And, ideally, that is also the case. Hope these pictures are too good, they can’t be deleted from the album! From a commercial point of view, we have 10 scenes here, so the groom’s report alone can fill the page 20 of their wedding album(more information will be introduced in future posts)

Bride insurance(1 hour – 1.5 hours)

The beauty of taking pictures of the bride is very similar to that of the groom. 80% of the rules are the same, but the images are brighter, clearer, and more interesting. Please remember – smile when you arrive, then introduce, build a successful relationship, and make everyone your best friend!

As before, I always start with details(engagement rings, flowers, shoes, etc.). This lets me relax and feel the surrounding environment. Let women finish the fluffy action of applying hair and makeup at the end.

One of the tips I use in the women’s dormitory is to take many photos in the back room. It is usually well lit, has enough space, is clean, and gives me good portrait settings. The best thing is that I can close the door and let others stay outside. I can take a photo with the girls, or take all the photos I need without interference!

In order to disassemble the camera, I basically follow the system of juvenile reporting.

Natural light in the inner room(preferably with your back to the window)

Details of bed or coffee table
The girls help the bride prepare
A combination of bride and bridesmaid and individual
Take a picture of the beautiful bride near the window and on the bed

Natural light in the lounge(again, ideally I would face my back to the window)

“Cheers” series, champagne
Main cam, all other combinations

Video lighting shooting room(curtains are closed, ceiling lighting is closed, creating a little atmosphere)

If I have time, I will use video lighting to take more portraits of the bride. Provide more diversity for the bride, and add value to the overall shooting when conveying the image

This almost covers the bride’s report. It’s time to go. It’s time to eat something, replenish water and go to the wedding!

consciousness

I don’t want to start passively, but I must say that 10 years later, some people will still be a little nervous in one day. If all the weddings are held in one place, no problem. But if it is a city wedding, and it takes a long car from the bride’s home to the wedding, I usually worry about getting to the church in traffic, parking, and in front of the bride! Fortunately, this never happened, but sometimes I would be late for traffic jams, but the bride was also late, so I escaped!

So go back to work. We are halfway through today. I think I can relax in this temple. My job is to capture what I can do, because what happens in my consciousness is completely out of my control. In addition to being technically challenging, the church is dark, yellow and notorious, so I think it’s interesting. And always liked the couple’s vows. Especially if they swear by themselves.

Here are several main scenarios:

When the bride comes in, the groom’s reaction is more important!
A wide-angle photograph of the church behind.
Close up of all of them swearing.
If you can see, take a close shot of the ring on your finger with a long lens
Pay close attention to your parents. If they cry, you must understand!
kiss! Shot for 10 years, only missed a kiss! It happened too fast, and without notice, my camera ended without focusing! I looked at the photographer standing next to me. When my face bled, he gave me a big smile. The next day, he sent me a video photo! Close call!
Let me take a signature photo.
Finally, I like to go out. The bride and groom took pictures in the cheering crowd.

Congratulations, photos and Family photos

congratulations

Therefore, when we are outside(depending on the weather), all the guests come out of the church or ceremony area to face the bride and groom. I really want to take some photos:

Display atmosphere and crowd size with ordinary wide-angle lens
A close-up of the couple being congratulated by their parents and siblings
Then I ran around in the crowd, trying to take pictures of people like family or friends.

Business Skillsalthough it may take a lot of work to take pictures of everyone everywhere, I find this is a good way. You can meet people and get photos that they don’t really expect. And in most cases, these people can visit your website and see the photos of your online gallery! Great for website traffic and marketing!

And one of two things usually happens, pay attention! People leave or leave slowly. Otherwise, I will notice that the bride starts to get tired of all hugs and kisses. If I notice which of these two things happened, I will catch the couple’s attention and check whether they are ready to take photos!

Group shooting

It’s time to stand on this reliable step and accept the test of public speech! When I first started, I hated doing this and was afraid of becoming the focus of 50-300 people! But like some things, as time goes on, you will become better and more confident. Now I like it! This is also a good marketing opportunity to position yourself on everyone, including potential wedding customers in the future. So I usually make jokes to make everyone laugh, take photos of various combinations, and improve diversity.

Primary Snapshot

This is another part of the day I was afraid of, but after some training and good systems, I can now close my eyes! I found that this is usually the part of the day where the bride and groom may be a little depressed and upset. So your job is to come out and control the situation.

TipsAt the end of the photo, announce that you will take a family photo, point out where you will take it, and then make it very clear that you want all your immediate relatives to come. This will let everyone know what happened, will not be confused, faster and easier to adjust family photos!

So it’s better to arrange the bride and groom in a good position, and use their backs as some green plants or the most beautiful background you can find. Notice the sun and its shadows on everyone. If possible, try to keep everyone in the shadows. Otherwise, their back is facing the sun. In order to prevent squint, please only pay attention to the flash in the camera! Once the bride and groom are ready to go, they begin to call the group. Another technique is to always take 3~4 pictures of each family, and let them take one in a place where no one blinks, even including them, 3, 2, 1!

We have to start again! Go back to the car to eat something, eat some gum, and then go to my favorite place of the day!

position

I like this part of the day. Just you and the wedding party. Generally speaking, the atmosphere is more relaxed, the ceremony is over, the beer comes out, and everyone is cold. But I think that although the wedding party is easy, it is the most challenging day!

In short, this is something you should remember and do.

Get a bunch of beautiful couple photos, worth hanging on the wall
Elsewhere
Use many different ingredients
Let them do different jobs
At the same time, it makes the whole experience very interesting.
Do not repeat the same scenario(ideally)
Record time
Go to two or three completely different places.
Facing the challenges of traffic, lighting, background, parking lot and even people with random background

And… don’t forget wedding party photos and their traffic photos(exotic or antique cars, etc.)!

Reception

We did it! The last part of the day for us, I can completely relax. I found that the reception was very similar to the ceremony in difficulty. Everything is happening and out of control, so I can only catch it as much as I can.

I usually stay in the living room until my first dance. Personally, I find that everything before the first dance is very important, and then repeat.

I did this:

Bring photos of many guests(meet again, and push the traffic to the network gallery later).
Location photos
Cake, table setting, business card and other details
Announcing the Wedding Party and the Wedding Couple
Photos of couples and wedding parties
I usually relax during the main course
Then(usually) the first dance started. I took a lot of pictures of the couple and published the wedding after the night. Then(usually) the dance floor is open to everyone. The last is wide-angle lens. The photo dance hall was packed with people. The couple is in the middle.

It’s amazing! We have reached the end! I always say goodbye to the couple and tell them how happy I am(it’s true). I hope they have a happy honeymoon. I have to pack and go!

After the wedding

Ha, when you think you can sleep at the end of the day, it won’t be like this. I have one more thing to do. No matter what my plan is that night, this is one hundred percent, indestructible, and must be done. It is a stricter rule for all weddings!

Once I go back to the studio or home, I always upload all the cards first, check them on the computer, and then do other things!

Once I know that the photos have been uploaded and are safe, I can relax. Or, if I shoot again the next day, I will be ready for everything, put my cards in order, and prepare for the second round tomorrow!!

Thank you for reading!!

Thank you for reading my blog and understanding my feeling of becoming a wedding photographer on the shooting day from my standpoint!