The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

THE BOUQUET
Make sure a large bouquet does not overpower your composition,
particularly in your formal portrait of the bride.
The bride should look comfortable holding her bouquet
and it should be an important and colorful element in the
composition. Give the bride some guidance as to how she
should hold her bouquet for the best effect. It should be
placed in front with her hands behind it, making sure it is
held high enough to put a slight bend in her elbows, keeping
her arms slightly separated from her body.
THE BRIDE SHOULD BE CLOSEST
When you have a choice—and the photographer always
has a choice—position the bride closer to the camera than
the groom. This keeps the (usually) smaller bride in proper
perspective and allows her dress to be better seen.
A CASE OF THE NERVES
The wedding day is usually a tense time and people tend
to wear those emotions on their sleeves. Your demeanor
and professionalism should be a calming and reassuring
presence, especially to the bride. Be calm and positive, be
funny and lighthearted—and above all, don’t force the situation.
If you can see that demanding to make a picture is
going to really upset people, have the will power to hold
off until later. Remember that positive energy is contagious,
and can usually save a sticky situation.
THE DRESS
In most cases, the bride will spend more money on her
wedding dress and more time on her appearance than for
any other occasion in her entire life. She will often look
more beautiful than on any other day. The photographs
you make will be a permanent record of how beautiful she
looked on her wedding day. Do not ignore the back of the
dress—dress designers incorporate as much style and elegance
in the back of the dress as the front. Be sure to get
the bridesmaids’ gowns as well.
DRESS LIKE A GUEST
This is award-winning photographer Ken Sklute’s advice.
A suit or slacks and a sports jacket are fine for men; and for
women, business attire works well—but remember that
you have to lug equipment and move freely, so don’t wear
restrictive clothing. Many wedding photographers (men
and women) own a tux and wear it for formal weddings.
ABOVE—It is important to capture shots that display the dress in all its
splendor. Here, Tibor Imely used the beautiful rays of the setting sun to
show the form and folds of the gown. FACING PAGE TOP—Little moments
like this one make the overall coverage of the wedding day richer
and more meaningful. Photograph by Bruce Dorn. FACING PAGE BOT-
TOM LEFT—Positioning the bride in front of the groom keeps the size
relationship consistent and shows off the wedding gown. Photograph by
Jerry D. FACING PAGE BOTTOM RIGHT—Brett Florens captured the
couple by a pool and added mist rising from the water to give the image
a very dreamy, romantic effect. He made the image with his Nikon
D2X and 70–210mm f/2.8 lens.
FLASH SYNC CHECK
Check and recheck that your shutter speed is set to the desired
setting for flash sync. This is particularly important
with focal-plane shutters, because if you set a speed faster
than your X-sync, you will get half-frame images—a true
nightmare. It has happened to everyone who has ever shot
a wedding, but it’s certainly preventable with a little vigilance.
Check the shutter speed every time you change film,
lenses, or CF cards. If you’re like most photographers,
you’ll check it more often—every couple of frames.
GETTING THE BRIDE INTO A CAR
This tip is from Monte Zucker, who says, “I learned a long
time ago how to help the bride sit in a car without wrin-
HELPFUL TIPS 101