Photographing a wedding is a multi-skilled job. You need to think on your feet all the time and fit in with the changing moods and environments. Here are a great bunch of tips for creating better quality wedding photos.
Each photographer will have their own way and style of photographing a wedding, there is no right or wrong way, these are just tips that work for me.
Use your flash less and look for daylight through the window, especially for your bridal/groom portraits. Find a way to work with all types of light available, look for patterns it creates, for angles, and lines. Practice in your spare time at looking at light sources differently. Set the challenge to find a creative way to make use of it in an image.
Generally, if there’s some part of the day which you find more challenging, don’t run from it, face it, and get better at that aspect.
Use larger apertures to create that soft background and isolate your subjects.
Think outside of the box. Ask yourself, what other angles can I shoot from? Tip: try shooting below and try shooting from above.
If you’ve been shooting a lot of close ups think about whether a wide view would be good too.
I got the below shot by saying to the group ‘ok, this is looking lovely, now I’d like you to all just chat to each other…’. This tends to give you natural smiles.
After you’ve photographed a group shot, or even in between the set up of it, keep your camera close and ready to shoot moments where they’re talking/laughing together. Usually after I’ve said ‘ok great I’ve got the shot’ they tend to chat together and look more relaxed.
Use a pocket wizard, or similar, to create striking images where you can backlight the couple. You’re trying to create interesting shadow/highlight visuals by doing this. Also when using a pocket wizard or similar , use it to create off light that is off the camera. The direction of the light will generally be more flattering from the side than straight on from the direction of the camera.
Whatever you see around you, you can use. Make it your challenge to imagine a way to make something out of it. I believe a good photographer is one who can see what isn’t there and then create something special that blows peoples minds.
Find something to put in front of the lens e.g., if you’re doing couple shots in a garden look for leaves or flowers to frame the photo. Use plants! You’ll get a different shot each time you try this, but it can add something to the image. For me, it makes it softer and more romantic, whilst serving to frame the image too. This might be more of a style tip than a way to make better images as it’s subjective, but give it a try and find out!
If you’d like to see footage of Fiona working on a real wedding take a look at this video HERE!
Fiona Walsh is an award winning wedding photographer who captures moments that mean so much to that individual, and creates striking images with a creative and romantic twist.
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