When you first venture into the world of wedding and engagement photography it can be pretty nerve-wracking, after all – you’re responsible for preserving the memories of two people’s most special day. A wedding day is something perfect, precious and something people want to be able to remember forever and always, and when you’re tasked with the responsibility of recording that – it can feel like a big weight on your shoulders.
As a wedding photographer myself, I can offer a few tips and tricks for those who are taking the venture for the first time. There are a few things you’ll want to remember, and a few things you’ll want to look out for too – which will make the whole experience better for you – and also it’ll make the end product better for the wonderful couple who’ve hired you.
- Offer an engagement photo shoot
An engagement shoot is something that will act as a “practice” session for you and the couple. You’ll be able to show them your way of photographing them – as well letting the couple become comfortable with you and your methods. If you offer the engagement shoot for free this is a great way to get in the good books of the couple too. - Ask the couples for “inspiration”
Before the big day ask the couple to send over some work from other weddings that they find inspiring. It’ll give you a very clear idea of what they’re expecting and what they’re hoping for – and it’ll give you something to work with as a brief too. - Make sure you’re clear on prices
Price can be something that often trips you up – so make sure you’re clear on this from the very beginning. Will your price include VAT, will it include an album? How many hours are you staying for? All of this needs to be completely verified before the big day. - Ask for a helper in the wedding party
Make sure the married couple have assigned someone in the wedding party to help you organise the guests during the group photographs. You’ll need a loud voice – so if you’re not up to bossing people around – then you might want to enlist someone to do the shouting for you. It’ll also come in handy to have someone to help you out – who can recognise and identify all the different family members too.
© Elle-Rose Williams - Make a “key photo list”
Ask the couple to create a list of key photos that they want from their day. Theirs nothing worse than getting home and realising you forgot to take a photo of the bride with her great-uncle (or something like that) – so insure you’ve got all these key-photos written out and to hand. - Don’t shoot in black and white
Don’t shoot all your images with effect pre-loaded onto the camera. It’s best to shoot them plain and then edit them on your computer afterwards. You never know – one image might look it’s best with barely there editing – whilst another might look great edited. - Back-up your images
After the wedding – the first thing you should do is back up the images. Make sure they’re safe and sound – otherwise you’ll have sleepless nights worrying about them!
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Elle works as a wedding photographer for 365 brides and CS Bedford.
Website: http://365brides.com
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