One of my best friends is spending the next month and a half getting ready for his wedding. In a conversation we had this week, he told me he knows why people elope. Having been through it myself, I know where he’s coming from. As someone who photographs weddings, I certainly see the tension that builds when getting ready for a couple’s big day. You can almost see it slide off their shoulders the minute the couple starts walking hand in hand down the aisle after the “I do’s” and kiss. It’s not hard to imagine the stress falling off in dark, twisted clumps as they’re making their way through their guests. Finally, married after months of preparation and in a position to enjoy an evening of fun, family, and friends as a newly married couple. There is something amazing about that moment. It’s certainly one of my favorite moments to capture when shooting a wedding.
This last weekend I, along with my wife, packed the camera gear in the car and took off for Evergreen, Colorado, A beautiful little town a little West of Denver. Our friends, Mike and Alyssa, had asked us to photograph their long-awaited day, and we were more than happy to oblige.
I’ve shot quite a few weddings at this point and have certainly gotten much better at capturing the day. Mike and Alyssa’s wedding brought me back to some of the lessons I’ve learned since my first fumbling attempt at another friend’s wedding. Here are a couple of points I keep coming back to and make an effort to live by:
- Never let anyone touch your equipment, and check it thoroughly in the event that someone does get their paws on it. At my first wedding, I shot the entire event in the 1600 iso setting because a curious DJ wanted to check out my camera. Disappointing for sure when all of the images came back very grainy.
- Be prepared for anything. Weddings are extremely fluid, and there are constantly moving elements and innumerable factors that affect the outcome and flow of the day. If you don’t want to be too stressed, go into it with a limited set of expectations and the ability to change those expectations at the drop of a hat.
- Learn to adapt. This can be an immediate reaction to changing weather or taking a bunch of grainy images (see #1) and editing them in B&W with heavy blacks and vignetting to get an antique look. Take what you’re given and make the best of it.
- Cater to the bride as much as possible. I’m generalizing a bit here, but the groom (most times) couldn’t care less about a book of pictures of him getting ready. As long as he gets a couple of shots with him and his “boys”, the groom will typically be happy. This applies primarily to the prep shots, but listen to the bride as much as possible, because she is your real critic and client (with the mother of the bride being a close second). The bride, on the other hand, has often been dreaming of this day her whole life and will inevitably be a bit more demanding with a more concrete vision of what she wants.
- Get a second shooter. This could be #1 because it makes such a difference in the shots you get. While you’re concentrating on the bride and groom, the second photographer can be focusing on details and dad, grandma and grandpa, and the tears rolling down mom’s face in the crowd. That’s tough to handle and a tall order by yourself – especially in a fast-paced ceremony. If you’re lucky, your wife (in my case), a significant other, a good friend, or someone else you trust can act as a good complement.
- If you’re going to do it, spend the money on good equipment. Even if you know what you’re doing, having the right equipment will make a huge difference. Having a couple of flashes for the evening shots or fill light, a bag of lenses for some creative work, or a second camera body to lessen the time spent switching out lenses makes all the difference and makes your job of capturing those memorable moments that much easier.
- Know your equipment. Read the manuals. Know what the different settings do. Know why you are getting the results you’re getting with the settings you’re using. Understand how to adjust your equipment to attain the desired creative results. Do as much testing and shooting in your off time as you can to work on your technique and knowledge.
- Have a lot of memory cards and shoot a lot of pictures. It’s better to have too many pics, and if you can minimize the times you have to download your images or switch out a memory card, the chances of you making a mistake and missing a shot or accidentally deleting a bunch of images will be far less.
- Have Fun! The more fun you have at the event, the better your pics will look. If you have a minute, get some alone time with the bride and groom. Take them off to the side, and do a private little photo shoot after the ceremony when they are completely relaxed, relieved, and happy to finally be married. Your enjoyment in what you’re doing certainly comes through in the images you end up with.
- Remember, you are a storyteller. Years from now, the bride and groom will want to remember the feeling of that monumental day. What was the progression of events through the day? What was the weather? What was the view out of the windows of the venue? What did the details of the clothes look like? What did the decorations look like? What were all of their guests doing when they were so focused on each other?
Set the scene. Tell the story. The periphery is sometimes just as important as the main attraction.
So that’s my take on shooting weddings. Every event offers new challenges, and even though it’s a ton of work and responsibility, it can also be a lot of fun. Seeing the joy and gratitude for your effort – an effort that will be enjoyed for years to come by the couple – makes it worth it.
