I’ve been shooting weddings for the last 10 years, but I still get nervous for the week running up to the day, and still feel butterflies in my stomach until I’ve started taking shots and have a few in the bag.
Being prepared makes a massive difference though. Once I know everything is ready and set up for the day, it definitely takes the edge off things and helps me sleep easier. Here’s a list of wedding photo tips and advice to do just that.
1. I meet my clients normally at least twice before the wedding, once at the initial consultation, and normally again at an engagement shoot, sometimes at the rehearsal. I sometimes get the booking a year or two in advance, so it’s really nice to meet up again closer to the time of the wedding to get to know each other a little better, so everyone’s more comfortable on the day. It’s also a great opportunity to re-confirm all the arrangements.
2. I hold of a written list of all the formal groups the couple would like, and make sure I’ve chatted it through with them so I’m sure I know who is who. I work out a good order in which to do the shots, so they go as smoothly as possible. For example, I like to do say,
- parents of the bride and siblings
- parents of the bride
- all parents
- parents of the groom
- parents of the groom with siblings
This makes it very quick to add and take away people. I can also call up all of those people at once, and get it done then in 5 minutes. The quicker and easier it is for them, the more they’ll enjoy it, the better the photos.
3. Check, double check, triple check locations for everything. If you’ve got a sat nav, take a map too. Check on timings for every element of the day too.
4. A list of all the important people is also vital. It makes sure I don’t miss out anyone important, and helps me work out my own set of informal groups and shots that I can do throughout the day. For example, I can look to set up shots of siblings, bridesmaids and groomsmen with their partners and families. They will love it and I may get a few more sales too.
5. I ring the bride in the week running up to the wedding just to double check on everything again, especially the key timings like the church service and the start of the wedding breakfast. Sometimes people forget to mention changes to the photographer, so you can avoid a lot of pain doing one last check.
6. I get all my kit checked, and double checked (again). Have spare batteries, chargers, cleaning products, spare memory cards, and definitely more than one camera body and lens. If these fail, my reputation is history.
I hope these tips will help to take some of the stress off things when it actually comes to the wedding day, so who knows, you may be able to just enjoy taking great shots. If you’d like some more info and advice on the photography business, please do check out my site at http://photographygems.com/.
Thanks for reading,
Stefan