CameraCrazy

You’ve got the camera, you’re known among your friends as “the photographer”, and you’ve been asked to be your friends’ wedding photographer. In this post, I’ll share my experience and suggestions for shooting a smallish wedding (less than 100 people).

I think perhaps the most important thing is to be honest and upfront with yourself and your friends. Do you have the skills to do the job? Do you really have the skills to do the job? Are you going to be OK with putting in a full day (or more) of work instead of sitting back and enjoying the day? If everything goes horribly wrong, will you all still be friends? That might be extreme, but it’s also a possibility. Essentially, it all boils down to are you comfortable doing it? If not, now’s the time to tell them you’re flattered, but they need to look elsewhere.

Understanding expectations, both theirs and yours, is next. What kind of pictures are your friends expecting? The list of possible pictures at a wedding is endless. Are they just interested in formal family shot? Perhaps they have something more photojournalistic in mind, following the bride and groom getting ready, to the ceremony, and finishing at the banquet. In any case, knowing what they expect and that matching that with what you’re willing to do is a good idea. I’ve found the more you know and the clearer you are about what they want, the easier your job is. If everybody’s happy, it’s time for the fun.

In preparing for the big day, get the schedule for the wedding day and the rehearsals as well as the locations for the events. This way you know what’s happening and where you need to be. Once you’ve got that, try and visit the places before-hand and take a few test shots. If there are outdoor locations or there’s large windows, try to visit around the same time you’ll be there on the day to get a feel for the lighting as well as pick out some potential spaces for pictures with the bride and groom. I’ve found that web forums are great places to solicit advice and suggestions from the pros. I also browsed through the galleries of some wedding photographers to get a feel of what kind of shots I should be getting, as well as ideas for creative/artsy shots. In general, the basic shots that you need are: exchanging vows, the rings, the kiss, the first dance, the bouquet and garter toss. Add in some family and friends shots, a few candids of the bride and groom, and you’ve got yourself a wedding.

Now the question is what equipment should you bring? Most locations for the ceremony and banquet have terrible lighting. From my experience, a fast lens (f2.8 or better) and a flash is a must. If you don’t have them, rent them. As far as focal lengths go, people recommend a fast medium zoom as well as a wide angle and telephoto zoom. My kit included a 10-22, 24-70, and a 70-200. While I’m glad I had other options if I needed them, I found that I shot everything with the 4-70. I found that I could get pretty much everything I wanted with that lens, and it saved me the hassle of swapping lenses and missing shots when things were happening. I can see the wide-angle coming in handy in cramped areas as well as for sweeping shots and the 70-200 might have been useful if we were in a larger space.

When thinking about taking the pictures themselves, I think an important point is to talk with the officiant or priest. Some places don’t allow flash. Some priests don’t like it when you move around in during the ceremony. I’ve heard that some officiants forbid photography during the ceremony itself. Whatever the case may be, it’s always a good idea to know these things before hand. In my case the officiant was very cooperative, I could move around at will and she said the more pictures the better. During the ceremony I knew what shots I wanted and tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible, after all, it is their day. Personally, I tried to get a mix of wide-angled shots, to get a sense of what was going on, as well as a few close ups taken at large apertures to isolate the people from the background. When using your flash, try to bounce it. Bounce it off the roof, the walls, bounce it behind you. I find that a direct flash casts rather harsh, unappealing shadows. By bouncing the flash and toning down the power, more natural looking pictures can be produced.

Shooting a wedding is a very long day (even if it is only a few hours) but remember it’s also a lot of fun. Take some time, enjoy it, and you’ll get some really great pictures along the way.