Wedding photography tips: 10 steps to pro-quality pictures
Follow our stress-reducing wedding photography tips for shooting the big day - and get the wedding photos the bride, groom and family will love.
Professional wedding photographer Brett Harkness started taking wedding pictures over 10 years ago while working as a cruise ship photographer in the Caribbean. He returned to the UK in 2001 and shot his first wedding for £150 using one roll of film. Since then his business has gone from strength to strength and while he only shoots between 10 and 15 weddings a year, he regularly earns 5 figures a wedding. There are many challenges to successful wedding photographing and it can be a stressful day even for the most experienced photographers. Here, Brett reveals how he breaks the big day down into 10 easy steps, in order to capture a stunning collection of wedding portraits, group photos, close-ups and more.
1. Getting ready
Successful wedding photography is all about telling the story through a series of photographs and this starts with the preparations for the big day. It’s a good idea to arrive at the bride’s house early enough to assess how she’s getting on with her preparations. When she’s in the final stages, a simple shot showing her having her make-up applied – perhaps reflected in a mirror – is a great one to get. I use a mixture of a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens and 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens to capture the process of getting dressed and, as much as possible, I try to use natural light.
Look for little details like the delicately embroidered details of the fabric of her dress or try capturing special moments, such as when she has the back of her dress laced up or while she’s chatting to her bridesmaids.
Wedding photo problem: "The bride's getting ready in a small room and she’s facing the window!"
Solution: Try overexposing by about +1 or +2 stops to blow out the window, so that you get a bright background without any detail.
Extra photos to get here…
Incidental photographs are an important part of the shoot list. Good details will add to the story and look great in the wedding album. Use the time when the bride is having her hair done to get early detail shots in the bag. Take some of the items you want to shoot out of the dressing room so you’re not getting in the way of the bride. Shoes, flowers and rings all make good detail shots. Look for funky, bold backgrounds and arrange them into pleasing still-lifes. Natural light will give you some great results. Look for an area of open shade outside if the weather’s good; if not, a window light works well. A macro lens is essential – I use a 50mm f/2.5 macro.
Wedding photo problem: "When using my macro lens, a lot of my close-up details are soft."
Solution: When using a macro, try keeping to mid-range apertures such as f/6.3-f/8, to balance depth of field with reasonable shutter speeds. Focus manually too.
2. Arriving at the church
In an ideal world you should arrive at the church as early as possible before the bride. Don’t waste this precious time. If you're lucky enough to have an assistant, get them to park the car, making sure you can get away easily. Look for the groom and his ushers – they’re usually either walking from the pub or chatting outside the church. I always try to set the scene with my wide lens and then go in closer for the details, such as cuff links, flowers and shoes. This is also a good time to take some wedding portraits.
Other incidental images will help tell the story, such as guests arriving, orders of service, bridesmaids, the church gargoyles, flowers and children playing. There’s lots of potential subjects to capture at this point, however, you’ll need to have an eye open in anticipation of the bride’s arrival. The whole process of the bride arriving can happen in a flash so you’ve got to be prepared and have a plan in your mind.
Try to have 2 or 3 options for every stage of the day. You’ll need to be aware of where you should be as this critical moment won’t happen again. I’ll usually be on my wideangle lens and down low for a good dynamic angle or half way up the path using a long lens. I avoid the ‘normal’ shots and never get into the car to take pictures. Be there to capture it in your own unique way.
Finally, head for the church to get ready for the bride’s entrance. I stay on my 70-200mm lens while she walks up the path – a beautiful moment to capture with bride and father.
Wedding photo problem: "The bride's got out of the car and she’s bathed in sunlight!"
Solution: Try underexposing by -2 stops and use fill flash to light the bride. This will take some time to get right and is not for the faint hearted, but once mastered you’ll find it invaluable.
Wedding photography tips – page 2 (Ceremony, Bride & Groom…)
Wedding photography tips – page 3 (Groups, Speeches, First Dance…)
Posted by PhotoRadar on Wednesday, Aug 2010 at 02:51pm GMT. First appeared: Digital Camera magazine
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thanks for a great technique article nice to know that what i and my otherhalf do already is partway similar to what the pros do, although far off 5 figures its till nice to know we have the right ideas.
#1. Posted on Monday, 05 Jul 2010 at 09:15pm GMT. Report this
thx.. this article really helps.. great..
#2. Posted on Tuesday, 06 Jul 2010 at 07:05am GMT. Report this
Very useful tips the only thing I would question is fill flash for 150-350 people.
#3. Posted on Tuesday, 06 Jul 2010 at 08:49pm GMT. Report this
I had the dreaded request recently - "Your pictures are amazing, will you shoot my wedding?". Out of a ridiculous sense of loyalty (and wonder I guess) I said yes. I have probably most of the equipment I need from a top ISO performer like the Nikon D700 to lenses like the 85mm f/1.8, 24-70mm f/2.8 and 105mm f/2.8 macro. BUT I'm a landscape photographer first and foremost, I often take a lot of time over each shot, that's why they look good! This whole piece makes me feel physically sick - how the hell can I adapt to the pace of something like this; I have a lot of respect for anyone that can do this to such a professional level...
#4. Posted on Wednesday, 07 Jul 2010 at 07:03am GMT. Report this
Fantastic article that really walks you through some of the things you should be doing. I imagine the majority of this is second nature to Brett, but it's knowing in advance what to look for the helps.
I think it's the pressure that get's to most people and panicking and not trusting their ability.
#5. Posted on Wednesday, 07 Jul 2010 at 01:03pm GMT. Report this
Really good article. Thanks. I like how everything is broken down into segments. Makes life much easier. Thanks Brett.
#6. Posted on Friday, 09 Jul 2010 at 04:08am GMT. Report this
Great article. Thank's
#7. Posted on Monday, 12 Jul 2010 at 07:41pm GMT. Report this
Great article. Thanks!
#8. Posted on Wednesday, 14 Jul 2010 at 01:08am GMT. Report this
Superb...
Really helpful, I have done one wedding (for friend) and getting the groups sorted was the hardest for me (you need a big mouth to shout - *LOL*) but someone else has asked me to do theirs next year so articles from the pro's like this are VERY helpful
Thank you !!
#9. Posted on Saturday, 17 Jul 2010 at 10:41am GMT. Report this
Call me a cynic but one of these days I will see an article like this where the happy couple dont look like catwalk nodels and the location is not a fabulous mansion,how about letting a top wedding tog loose witrh a couple who are not super beautiful and get married in an inner city church or registry office with a receptoion at the local hotel that does not have huge grounds with sweeping vistas. A set of shots from a scenario like that would be of m8uch greater help to the majority of wedding photographers than the fantasy images shown here
#10. Posted on Friday, 06 Aug 2010 at 12:54pm GMT. Report this
Thanks for the tips....I have my second wedding next week and you have given me a couple extra ideas.
#11. Posted on Saturday, 07 Aug 2010 at 02:29pm GMT. Report this
CaptainPenguin makes an interesting point.... the article seems to be aimed at new 'professional wedding togs' (what with hiring spare camera bodies and all that cabling), but most of us PhotoRadar readers would be us 'togs that may get asked to photograph a wedding not just because we 'take good pictures' but mainly because 'we'd be cheap' (or even free) and therefore the wedding itself is being done with an extremely tight budget.
On the other hand, nearly all the advice in the article can be scaled down, so it's been a very useful stack of information.
But - what next? What about those Albums, Prints, Presentations, etc. More about the 'post-wedding' side, please - it would affect us all, amateur or budding pro. Amateurs need to get a good job done but will need re-imbursement so won't want to over-reach the budget and, if somebody's going to pay their costs, they'll need it all laid out as an account of some kind.
#12. Posted on Sunday, 15 Aug 2010 at 03:07pm GMT. Report this
Thank you very much. Loved the article! photoradar is invaluable!
#13. Posted on Wednesday, 18 Aug 2010 at 11:07am GMT. Report this
Thanks for the comments guys & girls. The way I see it is that everyone is ordinary until you make them otherwise. No one we shoot likes having their pictures taken.There is so much more to photographing a wedding. It's what you see, it's how you make an image in a split second out of nothing , it's how you make the client laugh and photograph them them when they cry, how you keep it real when you need to and the take it the next level if the situation needs it, become invisible & be seen!! A lot more to it than people think, certainly when you take it to another level. Our weddings are not fashion shoots but a document of the day in a subtle, caring and beautiful way. We use a mixture of styles to suit the couple. Most importantly it's about them, not me, not what I can bring but what I can do without them realizing it! That's the secret! cheers, Brett
#14. Posted on Monday, 27 Sep 2010 at 04:03pm GMT. Report this
Very good article. Thank you
#15. Posted on Saturday, 19 Mar 2011 at 07:37am GMT. Report this
Very useful tips and advide, your wedding photos are amazing. It's so nice to meet you Brett Harkness, I'm Viet Dzung from Vietnam, and if you don't mind please add me via Flickr, my photostream is www.flickr.com/milano_vn. Thank you for sharing.
#16. Posted on Wednesday, 06 Apr 2011 at 09:40am GMT. Report this
Thank you for sharing!!! :xx
#17. Posted on Friday, 24 Jun 2011 at 09:08am GMT. Report this
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