In light of today’s widespread news coverage surrounding a couple’s disastrous experience at the hands of a less-than-professional wedding photographer, here are a few tips for photographers to take on board before the big day.
Professional wedding photographers spend a lot of time preparing for the big day and there are a number of tips that you can learn from them:
1. Speak to the bride and groom about the type of images they want.
2. Find out if there are any particular family or friends who need to be photographed and make a list of these people.
3. If possible, visit the venue beforehand to scout for locations to take pictures.
4. Try and speak to the people hosting the ceremony to find out whether they have any restrictions on photography. Some venues will not allow you to use flash during the service itself.
5. Look at the seating plan and make sure that you have noted where all of the important guests are sitting.
Equipment preparation
Besides the obvious camera and lenses there are other items that are a must if you are photographing a wedding. If you are taking a landscape image and you have forgotten something, or the image hasn?t turned out quite how you want, you can always go back and re-photograph it on a different day. However, a wedding is a one-off event, so it is important to make sure you are covered for any eventuality.
1. It?s essential to bring spare batteries for both your camera and flashguns. Remember to make sure that they are fully charged.
2. Take as many memory cards as you have available
3. Format memory cards rather than just deleting all of the images. This helps prevent them becoming corrupted
4. Clean all of your lenses and your camera?s image sensor beforehand, and take a lens cleaning cloth with you
5. Take a grey card and a white balance card to ensure that you get good exposures and that the bride?s dress comes out the correct colour.
