Tips from a San Diego Wedding Photographer
Being asked to take photos for a wedding is a huge responsibility.If you are doing it as a favor, or if you are doing it as your profession, following these 5 tips will help you do the job right.
This tips are coming from first hand experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned pro, or if you are an amateur, by following these tips, you won’t second guess yourself.Doing this you will be fully prepared come what may.
Our first tip is pretty simple and that is to have the couple and their families make a list for you of shots they want to take.With a day that can be as hectic and chaotic as a wedding day, doing this will help when you are trying to organize all the group and family shots later on in the day.Imagine how wonderful it will be to just go down your list and know that you aren’t leaving anything out.
The second tip on our list is to not delete any shots. In this day and age of digital cameras, most photographers use them. Great as they are, they also are tempting to delete a shot since it is so easy to do. Don’t even look at the previews. What makes a great shot in your mind could differ widely that what makes a great shot in the couples minds. And who knows, they might appreciate the so called un “professional” shots.
The third tip to make sure you do is taking candid shots.A good wedding photographer doesn’t look to just take your typical shots, like group shots, or wedding shots or your standard newly married shots. But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there.It may include the things that go wrong also, like a flower girl making a wrong turn or the ring bearer not wanting to walk down the aisle.Every photo matters.
The fourth one to consider, and something that can easily be overlooked is to make sure you have several cameras with several lenses as backup. Do you even want to imagine having a camera stop working halfway through the day. Plan for anything that could go wrong.By being ready with extra equipment, you will avoid the uncomfortable time of not being able to take any more pictures of the wedding day with a broken camera.
Finally, you have to be prepared for the lighting and you do that by practicing. Don’t get thrown a curveball by the different lighting conditions whether inside the church or outside, practice and you will be prepared. Think about seeing if you can go to the locations of the big day and look for the best spots to take pictures as well as study the lighting needs.
Doing these 5 tips will help you immensely. It will prepare you for whatever might go wrong, it will prepare you for capturing what goes right, and it will prepare you to help contribute to this wonderful day by being the best photographer you can be. Take it from my years of experience as a San Diego photographer.