The Best of Wedding Photography.pdf - Free

Tom Muñoz has a great deal of respect for the bride and for the wedding
as an event. “When we’re photographing the bride, we treat her
like she’s a princess. There are no unattractive brides,” Muñoz says
sincerely, “some merely reflect light differently than others. Besides
knowing how to pose a woman, one of the biggest things that changes
her posture and expression is what you tell her. “We’re not dealing
THE SMILE
One of the easiest ways to produce a natural smile is to
praise your subject. Tell her how good she looks and how
much you like a certain feature of hers—her eyes, her hair
style, etc. Simply saying “Smile!” will produce a lifeless expression.
By sincere confidence building and flattery, you
will get the person to smile naturally and sincerely and
their eyes will be engaged by what you are saying.
Remind the subject to moisten her lips periodically.
This makes the lips sparkle in the finished portrait, as the
moisture produces tiny specular highlights on the lips.
Pay close attention to your subject’s mouth, making
sure there is no tension in the muscles around it, since this
will give the portrait an unnatural, posed look. Again, an
air of relaxation best relieves tension, so talk to the person
to take his or her mind off the photo.
One of the best photographers I’ve ever seen at “enlivening”
total strangers is Ken Sklute. I’ve looked at liter-
52 THE BEST OF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
TIPS FOR BRIDAL PORTRAITS
with models,” Muñoz stresses, “and as stupid as it sounds, telling a
bride how beautiful she looks changes how she photographs and how she
perceives being photographed. It becomes a positive experience rather
than a time-consuming, annoying one. Same thing goes for the
groom,” Tom states. “His chest pumps up, he arches his back; they fall
right into it. It’s very cute.”
Tom Muñoz current style of
bridal portraiture is a lot looser
than when he photographed with
film only. He is all digital now,
and customarily shoots at wider
apertures using available light.
This image was shot with a
Canon EOS 1DS Mark II and
a 90mm lens at f/4. Note the
wonderful “old school” pose of the
bride.
ally hundreds of his wedding images and in almost every
photograph, the people are happy and relaxed in a natural,
typical way. Nothing ever looks posed in his photography—it’s
almost as if he happened by this beautiful picture
and snapped the shutter. One of the ways he gets people
“under his spell” is his enthusiasm for the people and for
the excitement of the day. His enthusiasm is contagious
and his affability translates into attentive subjects.
Another gifted wedding photographer is a Southern
Californian who goes by his last name only: Becker. He is
a truly funny man and he always seems to find a way to
crack up his subjects.
While it helps any wedding photographer to be able to
relate well to people, those with special gifts—good storytellers
or people, like Becker, who have really good senses
of humor—should use those skills to get the most from
their clients.