From advertising to booking to corresponding to planning to actually taking pictures and editing them, there’s a lot that goes into photographing a wedding. With experience, you’ll become better and better at capturing all those touching moments beautifully. Meanwhile, you should be reading as much as you can on wedding photography to perfect your own skills.
You’ll find that the BP4U “Walk Me Through A Wedding” Guide is a tremendous help — whether you’re a beginner or intermediate wedding photographer. The guide covers a slew of topics, including finding clients, consulting, various shots (family formals, bridal party, details, photo booths, etc.), editing, blogging and “sticky situations.” Speaking of which…
Always Expect the Unexpected
No matter how prepared you are for the day of your wedding shoot, something’s bound to go wrong. When it does — and it will — don’t panic. Don’t get angry, don’t break down and cry. Just roll with it.
There’s a groomsmen running an hour late? Take all the shots you can without him and then include him when he gets there. The lighting isn’t exactly working to your advantage? Take as crisp of pictures as you can, focus on capturing details/memories and keep in mind that Photoshop and Lightroom are your friends.
With that said, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you, outside of rolling with the punches, is to be prepared. As the hired photographer, it’s your job to have backups of everything. Don’t be the photographer who ran out of memory cards and don’t be the photographer who forgot to bring her extra batteries.
Photographer Essentials For Every Wedding
You’ve got to cover yourself in case anything goes wrong. Before you leave the house for the wedding, make sure you have the following:
- A backup camera body
- A backup camera flash
- Extra camera battery and a battery charger
- A tripod
- All the lenses you’ll use (70-200mm/2.8 , 50mm/1.2 are basics, but bring more if you have them)
- More flash batteries than you think you’ll need
- More memory cards than you’ll use
- A GPS pre-programmed with all the destinations you’ll hit the day of the wedding
- Your purse with all the essentials (money, debit card, ID, sunscreen, feminine products(if you are a girl ))
- An extra set of clothes (spilled beverages are known to happen at parties)
- Snacks and lots of water for yourself
- First aid kit (just in case)
- Small products for the bride/groom to keep them looking fresh (blotting papers, paper towels, an unused comb, hand sanitizer, for starters)
Of course, you’re more than welcome to bring other items, as well.
Click here for more information on BP4U’s “Walk Me Through a Wedding Guide.”
{Topics Covered}:
- What to say to a client
- What to discuss in the consults
- How to prepare for a wedding
- What to wear to a wedding
- What to bring to a wedding
- How to shoot a wedding
- Information about settings
- Information on post-processing
We’ve also included BONUS information on photo booths, their setup, what to charge and how to handle different “sticky” situations that may occur on the day of the wedding.
