Wedding Photography

How to Take a Great Wedding Photo

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Thousands of people take pictures during weddings daily, without any sort of formal training.  The key to taking great wedding photos isn’t going to school for photography or having an expensive camera, but here are some tips that will help you take super wedding pictures.

Scout Your Location

Get to the wedding hall ahead of time, if possible, and take some pictures with a digital camera.  Using the view screen, review the pictures to make sure the lighting is good.  Also check out various seating locations, and using the zoom feature on the camera, see how clear pictures will be.  It would help to have two people pose at the altar just so you can see how well pictures will come out.  Of course you want to be as close as possible when taking a photo,  but sometimes, due to close friends and family, that may not be possible.

Use Decent Camera Equipment

You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on cameras and lens.  A simple digital camera with a 3 megapixel is all the camera you need.  For some reason, everyone claims they MUST have a 5 megapixel camera for their wedding photography.  The higher the megapixel, the more “clear” a picture will be, the better the detail will be.  When taking “normal” pictures, a 3 megapixel is all the camera a normal person will need.

The more expensive cameras out there, such as a Nikon D2 or whatnot, have all sorts of add-ons, such as light meters, lens, etc.  I’ll say it again, any digital camera with a 3 megapixel is all the camera you need to make a great wedding picture.

Be Prepared!

It isn’t just the Boy Scout motto, be prepared.  Not only make sure that your battery is fully charged, but have one or two extra batteries on hand just incase you need them.  Just as important, have two to three memory cards, film rolls, or whatever you use to store pictures on.  Remember, you’re not only taking pictures at the normal events, such as the bride walking down the isle, but also the unexpected.  Everything from the Pastor fainting (hopefully not) to the flower girl planting a huge kiss on the ring bearer (too cute!)

Taking pictures at a wedding isn’t just for you.  Great pictures are made to be shared, especially with the bride and groom.  I personally have a wonderful picture taken by my wife’s cousin Carol that I love.

How to Find Your Professional Wedding Photographer

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You’ve made the decision to go with a professional photographer for your wedding photography needs.  Congratulations!  Cousin Carol’s offer to take your pictures during and after the wedding have been polietly turned down for someone who actually makes taking photographs for a living their business.

Find Your Wedding Photographer

There are three ways to find the perfect wedding photographer for you:

Google Search

Simplest, but also the least effective.  Go to Google and type in wedding photographer and your area, such as “wedding photographer Henderson KY.”  If you’re lucky, a yellowpages listing along with a map will be a result.  This is an easy way to find a possible photographer.  You’ll also see any sites where locals have actually made sites to promote themselves.

Some would say that this is a great way to find a wedding photographer.  Any photographer worth his salt will have posted samples of his wedding photography.  I suggest that you still make a visit to the studio and request a look at their portfolio.

Yellowpages

A Yellowpages listing give a great selection of wedding photographers, but don’t limit yourself to looking under wedding photographers.  Try looking under photography or other related categories.

When calling a photographer, setup an appointment when the artist to talk about what you expect and to also take a look at their portfolio.  Know this, anyone can line people up and take their picture; what you need to look for are “action” shots, a picture taken in the middle of the wedding that people will remember for the rest of their lives.  A great example of this is after the lighting of the unity candle my bride and I had to stand together during a song.  She was very nervous, not only standing infront of family and friends, but this was her day, her wedding day.  Without a thought, I put my forehead against her’s and gazed into her eyes and told her that she looked beautiful and that I loved her very much.  To this day, 7 years later, she starts crying when I put my forehead up to her’s.  Cousin Carol got the shot, and professional didn’t.

Choose your Wedding Photographer well.

Word of Mouth

In my opinion, the best way to fill your wedding photography needs.  Talk to your family and friends to find out who they used, or friends and family of theirs to see who they used.  Look at their wedding photos and ask who they used for great photos that you like.  Simple, easy, plus since you’re getting a referral, see about a discount.

Also if you are using a wedding planner, talk to them.  Wedding planner normally have business relationships with their various wedding partners, such as the wedding cake supplier, decorations, and the wedding photographer.  Then again, using a wedding planner means that all this, wedding photography included, isn’t a detail you’ll have to worry about.

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