Wedding photography at Castle Coch 5th August 2010

Wedding photography at Castle Coch 5th August 2010

You’ll want to hang around long enough to catch a little silliness on film, then you can call it a night. If you’re a friend of the family and you want to stay for the full run of festivities, store your camera gear away somewhere safe, and make sure you’ve got a designated driver.

You’ll want to capture the bridal party as they arrive at and enter the reception. Then, generally the feeding frenzy will begin. Seeing as how you’re most likely a friend or family member, which is how you got roped into this gig in the first place, you should be entitled to a little feed too. But first, get some shots of the cake, like the one shown in Figure A, and get table settings while they’re still pristine.

Preserve the cake with a picture.

After everyone has pretty well stuffed their gullets, it will be time for the toasts. Be sure to get shots of all the toasts and the reaction of the wedding couple like the shot shown Figure B, and then its cake-cutting time.

Be sure capture the toasts on film.

You’ll want to capture the bride and groom cutting the cake and the subsequent feeding of the cake, or smearing of the cake in the face, whichever it is. Figure C shows the couple sharing champagne. All the sugar in that frosting is going to provide the fuel for the goofiness to come. When the cake is finished a wedding picture, then usually the dancing will begin and you’re looking down the home stretch.

Sharing of cake and champagne are standards of wedding photography.

The dancing will generally be the end of your work. The first dance of the married couple wedding photo, like Figure , and the father’s dance with the bride, as in Figure E, are mandatory shots.

Their first dance as a married couple.

Daddy’s little girl is all grown up.

I’m sure the mother of the groom would appreciate a picture of her dancing with her son. Once you get those standards taken care of, you’re pretty much at your discretion as to what other dancing shots to take.

Often times, couples will have Dollar Dances, in which guests pay a dollar or more to dance with the newly married couple. This is a good opportunity to get shots of people that are important to

the couple dancing with them, such as grandparents, wacky aunts, and so forth. You may want to discuss this with the couple ahead of time.

Once the formal dancing is over, the ball really gets rolling. This is the point where the silliness begins, usually with the tossing of the bouquet and the removal and tossing of the garter. Be sure to get pictures of both as in Figure F.

Make sure to catch the tossing of the bouquet and garter.

Afterwards, the dance floor will open up for everyone and you’ll begin to see things like the Chicken Dance, Macarena, Electric Slide, and all those other silly dances they do at wedding receptions. Get a few shots of the couple and guests engaging in idiocy in their formalwear, the crazier the better, then pack up your gear and enjoy yourself. It’s been a long day and you’ve earned it.

The bride and groom are, of course, going to want to see their pictures as soon as possible. If they’re trotting off to their honeymoon, then you’ve got a little time, so don’t sweat it. If not though, get your film developed (or read into your computer if you’re doing this digitally) as soon as possible.

If you’re shooting on film, it would be a good idea to number the back of the proofs and make a key for the negatives so they can be easily identified later for prints. Remove any obviously bad shots and get the proofs to the couple so they can pick the prints and sizes they want.

Have the prints made (or make them yourself) and your job is essentially complete. Some photographers will put the album together for the couple; others merely deliver the finished prints. Which you choose to do is between you and the couple. If you don’t plan on doing any more wedding photography, then have a few prints made for yourself as mementos and give everything else to the couple.

If you want to continue with shooting weddings as the opportunity arises, then have double prints wedding photos made of the proofs and number both sets. Keep one set, the negatives and key for yourself, and give the other set to the couple. If you’re shooting digitally, it might be nice to give the couple their photos on CD-ROM as well, so they have the images for their digital library.

If you’re a friend, you may want to give all the photos to the couple. But if you’re doing this for money, you may want to engage in a practice as old as weddings (or at least as old as wedding photography). As you are now a budding wedding photographer, you may want your clients to come back to you if they want to buy extra prints.

Just because a couple doesn’t have a lot of money doesn’t mean they don’t deserve professional looking wedding photos. I was taught a long time ago that anything worth doing is worth doing well. This was never truer than wedding photography, because the events in a wedding only happen once. If you’re willing to take on the responsibility of shooting a wedding, then you have an obligation to do the best job possible.

Knowing your equipment and preparation beforehand will go a long way to making your job a lot easier. Not every wedding will be as formal as the examples or necessarily follow the pattern I have outlined here, so find out ahead of time what the sequence of events will be.

You also need to have confidence in yourself. If you don’t, you won’t be able to command the shoot and direct people. But that doesn’t mean being pompous, arrogant, or full of yourself either.

Be prepared for on the spot requests during the shoot. Do your best to accommodate them, but if time is becoming a factor, don’t hesitate to let them know. Ultimately, try to relax, have fun, and make the best out of it.

You’ll want to hang around long enough to catch a little silliness on film, then you can call it a night. If you’re a friend of the family and you want to stay for the full run of festivities, store your camera gear away somewhere safe, and make sure you’ve got a designated driver.

You’ll want to capture the bridal party as they arrive at and enter the reception. Then, generally the feeding frenzy will begin. Seeing as how you’re most likely a friend or family member, which is how you got roped into this gig in the first place, you should be entitled to a little feed too. But first, get some shots of the cake, like the one shown in Figure A, and get table settings while they’re still pristine.

Preserve the cake with a picture.

After everyone has pretty well stuffed their gullets, it will be time for the toasts. Be sure to get shots of all the toasts and the reaction of the wedding couple like the shot shown Figure B, and then its cake-cutting time.

Be sure capture the toasts on film.

You’ll want to capture the bride and groom cutting the cake and the subsequent feeding of the cake, or smearing of the cake in the face, whichever it is. Figure C shows the couple sharing champagne. All the sugar in that frosting is going to provide the fuel for the goofiness to come. When the cake is finished a wedding picture, then usually the dancing will begin and you’re looking down the home stretch.

Sharing of cake and champagne are standards of wedding photography.

The dancing will generally be the end of your work. The first dance of the married couple wedding photo, like Figure , and the father’s dance with the bride, as in Figure E, are mandatory shots.

Their first dance as a married couple.

Daddy’s little girl is all grown up.

I’m sure the mother of the groom would appreciate a picture of her dancing with her son. Once you get those standards taken care of, you’re pretty much at your discretion as to what other dancing shots to take.

Often times, couples will have Dollar Dances, in which guests pay a dollar or more to dance with the newly married couple. This is a good opportunity to get shots of people that are important to

the couple dancing with them, such as grandparents, wacky aunts, and so forth. You may want to discuss this with the couple ahead of time.

Once the formal dancing is over, the ball really gets rolling. This is the point where the silliness begins, usually with the tossing of the bouquet and the removal and tossing of the garter. Be sure to get pictures of both as in Figure F.

Make sure to catch the tossing of the bouquet and garter.

Afterwards, the dance floor will open up for everyone and you’ll begin to see things like the Chicken Dance, Macarena, Electric Slide, and all those other silly dances they do at wedding receptions. Get a few shots of the couple and guests engaging in idiocy in their formalwear, the crazier the better, then pack up your gear and enjoy yourself. It’s been a long day and you’ve earned it.

The bride and groom are, of course, going to want to see their pictures as soon as possible. If they’re trotting off to their honeymoon, then you’ve got a little time, so don’t sweat it. If not though, get your film developed (or read into your computer if you’re doing this digitally) as soon as possible.

If you’re shooting on film, it would be a good idea to number the back of the proofs and make a key for the negatives so they can be easily identified later for prints. Remove any obviously bad shots and get the proofs to the couple so they can pick the prints and sizes they want.

Have the prints made (or make them yourself) and your job is essentially complete. Some photographers will put the album together for the couple; others merely deliver the finished prints. Which you choose to do is between you and the couple. If you don’t plan on doing any more wedding photography, then have a few prints made for yourself as mementos and give everything else to the couple.

If you want to continue with shooting weddings as the opportunity arises, then have double prints wedding photos made of the proofs and number both sets. Keep one set, the negatives and key for yourself, and give the other set to the couple. If you’re shooting digitally, it might be nice to give the couple their photos on CD-ROM as well, so they have the images for their digital library.

If you’re a friend, you may want to give all the photos to the couple. But if you’re doing this for money, you may want to engage in a practice as old as weddings (or at least as old as wedding photography). As you are now a budding wedding photographer, you may want your clients to come back to you if they want to buy extra prints.

Just because a couple doesn’t have a lot of money doesn’t mean they don’t deserve professional looking wedding photos. I was taught a long time ago that anything worth doing is worth doing well. This was never truer than wedding photography, because the events in a wedding only happen once. If you’re willing to take on the responsibility of shooting a wedding, then you have an obligation to do the best job possible.

Knowing your equipment and preparation beforehand will go a long way to making your job a lot easier. Not every wedding will be as formal as the examples or necessarily follow the pattern I have outlined here, so find out ahead of time what the sequence of events will be.

You also need to have confidence in yourself. If you don’t, you won’t be able to command the shoot and direct people. But that doesn’t mean being pompous, arrogant, or full of yourself either.

Be prepared for on the spot requests during the shoot. Do your best to accommodate them, but if time is becoming a factor, don’t hesitate to let them know. Ultimately, try to relax, have fun, and make the best out of it.