Wedding photography tips and guide sample

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE
Author: Geoff Beattie
Formatting and design: Daniel Sîrbu

www.wedding-photo-guide.com

Copyright, Legal Notice and Disclaimer:

This publication is protected by international copyright law,
federal, state and local laws, and all rights are reserved,
including resale rights. No part of this document may be
reproduced, distributed, resold, or transmitted in any form or
by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written
permission of the author.

Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named
features are assumed to be the property of their respective
owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied
endorsement if we use one of these terms.

Copyright © 2010 Geoff Beattie.
All rights reserved worldwide.

The complete guide to capturing and creating
your own wedding photos and album.

This is a complete guide for anyone who wants to compile
a wedding album without being a photographer or hiring a
professional wedding photographer.

This guide will help you to produce your very own wed- Presentation
ding album from start to finish. Just think; you are about to
create your very own wedding album, exactly how you It’s not all about taking the photo.
want it, with all the photos you want in it!
Let’s be honest. If you’ve decided to set aside the better
part of £1000 on a wedding photographer, you could
Why have I written this guide? at least invest in a decent wedding album to present the
photos in.
In 1998, I came up with the idea to become self-em-
ployed and started the classic back bedroom business. And, what about the copies for Aunt Gladys and Uncle
After 6 months we opened a small shop offering services Nigel? You could just give them a print direct from your
like photo-processing, copies, enlargements, reprints, pho- printer on that cheap photo paper you bought off the in-
to-restoration, framing and the like. The business proved ternet to say “thank you” for the £50 gift voucher they
popular, and we soon moved into a larger unit and began gave you, though now that you’ve taken a step towards
to offer portrait and wedding photography. After about 4 creating some great wedding photos by investing in this
years, we expanded again and opened a studio where guide, you’ll be able to give them a fantastic professional-
we could concentrate more on portraits and studio work. quality print that will last longer than the cheap print you
can run off at home, and it won’t really cost you much
more. So, follow the tips in this guide and you’ll get some
We can help great results.

We do many copies and reprints of wedding photos in Even if you are not doing the main photos, or you will
the studio for people who have used the photos taken by be doing some in addition to a hired professional, you
a guests or a friend for the wedding album. Many of them need to make a little effort in the finishing and presenta-
are OK, but I know that, had they a guide like this, they tion. Maybe you’ll want to do something simple like tone
would have done a much better job! But, knowing that your photos sepia or black-and-white, and put them in a
you only get one shot at doing your wedding photos, you professional strut mount or folder. Presentation can make
need to make the most of what you’ve got. So, we now all the difference. I have had customers bring in prints
help with cropping, color casts, airbrushing, toning, and from professional photographers that my 7-year-old son
other editing tasks to improve the image before printing. could have captured better! But, because it’s presented in
a folder, and it cost £20 from the “best photographer in
But, what do you do with the photos? Either keep them town” as described in the BIG advertisement in the yellow
in the packet or put them in the cheapest photo album or pages, it must be good, right?
frame you can find, usually from a big high street photo-
processing chain, or one that looks great on ebay for £20 Presentation plays a big part in getting your shots looking
plus £10 postage, but turns out to be same one as on the professional. There are some tips on presentation in this
high street?! guide, too.

Risk This guide is designed to take you through a simple pro-
cess of creating your own wedding album without being
I’ve decided I’m going to take a risk in writing this guide, a photographer. It’s written in simple, easy-to-understand
in the hope that not everyone will buy it! Then, I’ll still language, without all the technical jargon that, to be com-
have plenty of customers in our shop looking for a “quick pletely honest with you, is of no benefit to 99% of the
fix” solution to their not-so-good attempt at taking wedding photo-taking population!
photos!
It’s written to offer advice and tips for doing your own
Anyone can do it! wedding photos. This is not a professional guide to the
wedding photography business, though many “pros” have
I love photography, and I love great photographs, espe- bought it in the past and will continue to buy it because
cially when I see them from my usual kind of customers we are all on the learning curve and always looking for
with their point-and-shoot automatics. I know that anyone new and different ideas.
can take a good photo, and the great majority of people
who do take photos can benefit from a little help and a
few good tips on the basics. Don’t be baffled!

4 www.wedding-photo-guide.com WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE


You don’t need to have a great technical understanding of
cameras, exposure, or photography. You just need a cam-
era, ideally digital (though not essential), and know how
to use it. If you want to do editing then you’ll need a com-
puter with a photo-editing program. Once again, don’t
think you need to go for a top-of-the-line Adobe Photoshop
CS with a full retail price tag of £500+. I have been using
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 at the time of writing this for
all of my editing in our portrait studio and our photo shop
with a price tag of around £60! Most of the videos are in
PSE 1.0 to show the simple steps you can to take to trans-
form you photos, though there are many other programs
available that offer many of the same features. Some you’ll
even find for free on the cover of a digital photo magazine
or as a free download from the net.

Once you’ve completed your editing, you can either print
your own or you can use professional labs for digital files
or film.

Once you have your own images, you can then make
professional-quality reprints for your friends and family
for a fraction of the cost of what a professional wedding
photographer would charge. You can get a reprint from
a professional wedding photographer for £25+ for a
10x8, though as this guide contains a list of printing labs
the professionals use, and because you own the copy-
right on your own photos, you can legally get the same
professional-quality 10x8 print from the same labs the
professionals use for around £3.50! Or, you can print
your own for under £1! How good will you feel that you
have actually done your own wedding album! Be careful,
though. Your friends and family may just want you to do
their wedding, too!

Maybe you’ve seen your friends’ photos that they’ve done
themselves and they did a pretty good job, and you prob-
ably thought that “we should do that.” Well, you could!
And, now that you’re armed with this wedding photo
guide, you’ll probably do a much better job and be able
to present your photos much better, too.

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE www.wedding-photo-guide.com 5


Contents
Tips on Organizing Photos.......................................................................................... Page 7

Digital Camera Tips.......................................................................................................... Page 9

Basic Ideas for Photos: Traditional & Reportage........................................... Page 11

Location, Location, Location Guide......................................................................... Page 13

Composition........................................................................................................................ Page 14

Light......................................................................................................................................... Page 18

List of “Must Have” Key Shots................................................................................ Page 20

On The Wedding Day.................................................................................................... Page 21

Tips For Editing and Selecting the Best Shots.................................................. Page 25

Black-and-White and Sepia Toning Guide......................................................... Page 27

Home Printing Guide...................................................................................................... Page 28

Professional Lab Guide................................................................................................. Page 29



TIPS ON
ORGANIZING
PHOTOS
So, if you are the groom or bride reading this, you’ll be Doing it this way, I believe, would make it more special
able to create some great wedding photos if you can as the photos have been taken by the guests, often the
organize it properly. If you have friends or guests with people who are closest to you. To have photos captured
cameras, that’s even better. If not, that’s no problem, as by guests is a great idea! If they are worried about taking
long as you have a camera and tripod you’ve got every- wedding photos, explain that you have a great guide with
thing you need. some fantastic professional tips that you will show them to
help them in getting some great wedding photos.

Your Options If no one has a camera, you’ll need to get one, or at least
borrow one. If you’re going to get one, take a look in the
1. Ask someone who you know who’s a keen photogra- members’ area for the latest recommendations.
pher to take some photos for you. I wouldn’t suggest you
go and ask him/her to take your wedding photos as this 4. If there is absolutely no one you can get to help, you
can be quite a responsibility to ask of someone and (s)he have no friends coming to your wedding, or no guests will
may just say no. I would explain to him/her first that you be at your wedding, then, at the very least, you’ll need a
are going to do your own wedding photos and album camera and a tripod.
and would like him/her to simply take some photos for
you. This is easier if you have a guest who’s into photog- 5. If, however, you are the person actually doing the pho-
raphy as (s)he will be there anyway, and as a keen photos, you just need to organize yourself and your camera!
tographer, (s)he’ll probably be bringing his/her camera,
as a wedding is a great opportunity to get some photos. If you’re getting a friend or guest to do the photos, you
I’ve done it like this myself for friends and family as a guest don’t just need to get one person to do them. If you like,
and photographer. you could get 2, 3, 4, or more people to do the photos. In
fact, if you let all your guests know what you’re doing and
2. Approach your local college and contact the photogra- that you would like to create an album from their photos,
phy class or evening class and ask them if they would be you can then get them all involved. It’s probably best to
interested in using your wedding as a “photo shoot” and choose 1 or 2 people to do the main group shots, though,
you would grant them permission to edit, print, and use if you do, in fact, want group shots.
your photos in connection with the work they are doing
in return for giving you a copy of all the photos on disk. If Then, you’ll need to discuss what key photos you want
you don’t want to call them and ask, send them an email. them to get…arriving at the venue, walking down the
aisle, cutting the cake. They will probably all benefit from
3. Ask the guests! Let them know that you’re doing your reading this guide and going through the photo list with
own photos, either because of budget or you just don’t you. When you’ve downloaded the list, discussed it, and
like the wedding albums you’ve looked at, or because edited the photos you want, you can print off a copy for
you want complete control over the photos and want to everyone to keep with them on the wedding day.
be able to put them on Facebook or as a slide show on
YouTube to show friends and family around the world, and Once you’ve discussed the photos you want and don’t
you want to make your own album with our own photos want, the style you want, and the location or locations,
taken by your guests. go through the list together and discus any other photos
you want.



Just to side track for a moment... Arranging the photos for the day

I have been reading about TTD (“Trash The Dress”) wed- If you are arranging the photos for the day, you’ll need to
ding photos and I thought it’s worth a mention to you. organize the person or people who will actually be taking
Basically, after the wedding and honeymoon, when the photos. There will be many other people taking photos. If
bride and groom have come back down to earth, the you can get a copy of all of them on disk, that would help
wedding dress is packed away in a box and won’t come to compile the photo collection. For the main shots though,
out again, well, except maybe to be shown to the children the person or people who are going to do the photos will
in a few years! So, the latest thing is to get the dress back need to know what and how you would like them to do
on and get some more wedding shots with a twist! it. If they already have a good understanding of photogra-
phy, they probably won’t need all of the information in this
You don’t need to worry about keeping the dress clean guide. If they are less familiar with photography, then go
and dry or not damaging it, so go run through the sea through the guide together. This will help everyone doing
or into a lake! Splash around and have some fun! Go the photos and give some inspiration, too.
run through some fields of long grass or climb trees, or
roll around in the mud! And, get some different wedding For the most part there will be no organizing! It’s already
shots. This is, of course, only recommended if you own the been done. Everyone will be following the order of events
dress. If you have rented the dress, it is probably best not as they unfold. You may have a couple of hiccups through-
to do anything risky.... out the day, but generally all will go according to plan.
The job of getting the photos is achieved by being there,
After the wedding can also be a good time to get some by watching and observing, and by photographing the
great bride and groom shots that are unrushed and more things you see and the things people do, and also by
relaxed. And, as there are no time limits or moaning guests paying extra attention to the key events. If you intend to
around waiting to get to the bar, you can go anywhere to take group shots in a location away from the ceremony,
do the shots and take as much time as you like. then one of the most important things you should do is let
everyone know when and where. If the guests or drivers
If the dress and tuxedo have been rented, you could try to don’t know you are planning on group shots in the park,
negotiate with the bridal shop an extra day, and in return they will not be there. This actually happened to me when
for a good deal, you could offer the shop some free prints nobody told the minibus driver that they wanted to do
to use as promotional material. photos in the park. The wedding party and I went to the
park, and all the guests went to the reception 3 or 4 miles
away. After the guests were dropped off, the driver went
home! We had no way of getting them back to the park,
so we had to do the other groups back at the reception.
The photos turned out OK, though not as photogenic as
those taken at the park!



DIGITAL
CAMERA TIPS
How many megapixels? of zooming in. The more you zoom, the more you lose
detail and quality, as you are only using the section of the
So, you’ve got a digital camera. One of the most impor- available image to create the captured image. Optical
tant features is the image size. I wouldn’t recommend us- zoom actually magnifies the light and uses all the CCD to
ing anything less than a 5MB camera, and ideally, 6MB capture the image, maintaining the detail and quality. If
or more is best. The 6MB will give good image size, you need to zoom in on a shot using digital zoom, either
capture plenty of detail, give room for cropping later if walk in closer or do it later in the photo editing package.
necessary, and enable you to go big (24”x20”) for full file Remember you can’t undo the zoom on a shot taken with
close-up or full-length bride and groom pro-lab enlarge- digital zoom in the camera, but you can if you do it later
ments. This large size is only really acceptable for close- in your photo editing program!
ups or close-up bride-and-groom full-length shots. If you
stretched a group shot with, say, 10 people, the small Be careful also with the zoom, as the more you zoom in,
detail in the shot, in particular peoples faces, would lose the more likely the shot will become blurred through cam-
clarity and sharpness, though with the close-up shots, the era movement. Generally, if the light on the subject is nice
main area of importance, the face, is of large size and and bright, you’ll get a good shot, especially if you have
contains enough detail to allow for some resizing while camera shake / movement reduction.
still retaining an acceptable amount of quality. Many pho-
tographers and camera dealers will tell you otherwise, but There is a rule of thumb to calculate the maximum zoom
a good, carefully re-sized and saved image will be fine. you should use, depending on the exposure setting. If you
When we first went digital in the studio back in 2001 we don’t go mad with the zoom in good light you’ll be OK,
used a Fuji 3.1MB camera and easily achieved good but following is the calculation for those of you that are
results with 20”x24” professional prints! interested.

Quality settings Manual or Auto

Your camera will have either quality settings or a choice If you are familiar with the manual settings on the camera,
for the number of mega pixels, 1M, 2M, 3M, 6M, etc. Al- you have more control and you can be more creative,
ways use the best setting, especially when memory cards especially if your camera is an SLR or SLR-type. Compacts
are big and as cheap as they are, you’ve no need to are great, though most do lack the manual setting. The
sacrifice quality to fit more photos on your card. Just make auto usually produces good results in most situations, espe-
sure you have plenty of storage. cially as so many cameras have preset modes for specific
scenes and lighting situations. Many now have face-de-
tection to enable the photographer to quickly and clearly
Zoom see that the camera is concentrating on the most important
part of the photo (in most cases)... the face.
If you haven’t acquired a camera yet, get one with as
much OPTICAL ZOOM as possible. And, BEWARE OF In any case, do yourself a big favor and read the manual.
DIGITAL ZOOM. Please avoid the digital zoom! This is It’s not all technical jargon. You’ll probably find a great
the work of the devil! Keep to optical zoom only. Digital guide to get the most out of your camera. But, don’t just
zoom only uses the center of the CCD (The CCD is the read it. Go through the given examples with your camera.
mechanism that captures the image. It’s like the film in film
cameras.) and enlarges the center pixels to give the effect



Focusing Don’t worry! Composition tips come later on.) Then, when
you’re ready, press the shutter all the way. When you are
Many cameras will automatically focus on the center of going for the candid reportage shots, use the focus lock
the shot. The viewfinder will usually indicate the center when you have found a subject to capture. You can then
with a square or circle, so when you depress the shutter capture the shot in the right second, not two seconds later
release to take the shot, whatever is in the center will be when the person looks away.
what the camera focuses on. That’s great if what you are
photographing is in the center of the shot, though so many
times I have seen a photo with the people in the shot out Flash
of focus and the background nice and clear. Why? There
was a gap in the group of people that just happened to It’s usually better to use the available light for the given
be right in the center. This is more common with 2 people setting. Avoid flash whenever possible, especially if your
since typically they stand to either side of the center! camera has an ISO or film-speed settings. You can alter
the setting to a higher number to enable the camera to
Here’s what to do. First, get your camera. Now, hold it take better shots without flash in low light settings. Look
ready to take a shot. Look for an item close by, with other in your manual for the best settings. Be careful, though.
objects in the background as far away as possible. Now, Setting a high number, such as 800 or 1600, will re-
set the center focusing point on the near object and slowly sult in grain or small speckles across the shot on many of
depress the shutter release. Before it takes the photo, you your shots. I would recommend that you take some sample
should feel the button stop at about half way. On many shots as soon as possible in a range of lighting conditions.
cameras this will also be indicated by a light in the view-
finder or a bleep. This is the focus lock. Now, keep your If you must use flash, remember the built-in flash is not
finger still and move the camera to put the object off-center. usually very powerful, and will not be of any use on any
Fully depress the shutter and take the shot. This will leave subject more than a few meters away. Check your own
the object you focused on in focus while the background manual for the correct flash distance and, again, do some
will be out of focus making the subject really stand out. tests beforehand.

NOTE: NOTE:

To increase blurriness of the background, keep the dis- A good quick test would be to take a photo of someone
tance between the camera and the main subject as small in low light with no flash and without moving. Then, take
as possible and the distance from the subject to the back- another shot with flash. This way you can see the differ-
ground as large as possible. Also, if available on your ence in the shots. To test how powerful the flash is, take
camera, choose a small aperture or f-stop number. a photo of someone in low light from 3 or 4 steps away.
Then, take 2 steps back and take another shot. Then, take
The use of this focus-locking is helpful when taking all pho- another 2 steps back and another shot, and so on, until
tos. Ideally you should identify the subject you want to you have at least 5 shots. Ideally you need to take shots
take the photo of and get them in focus with the focus lock up to around 20 or 30 steps away from the subject so you
before you are ready to take the shot. Then, when the can see how effective the flash is at a distance.
moment is right, fully depress the shutter and take the shot.
I would also recommend that, if you are using flash, you
Practice this method of taking a photo as it’s a much better not have the subject standing against a wall, especially a
and quicker way of taking a photo than just pressing the pale or light one, or with less than a couple of meters of
button all the way in one go. You may find your camera space between them and a wall to avoid hard shadows
takes a second or even two to actually get the shot in surrounding the subject.
focus before it will take the photo. If this is the case, you’ll
have probably missed the action by the time the camera One of the worst cases of “big shadows on the wall in
actually takes the shot. Especially for reportage wedding the background” I have seen was actually taken by a
photography, though, once you’re in focus, the shot can wedding photographer. The photographer had turned the
be taken spontaneously and will capture that second, not camera by 90° to better compose a shot of the couple,
two seconds later when the person has moved and the and the resulting burst of flash had left big, crisp, clear
shot is gone forever! shadows down the right-hand side of the couple. If the
Use this focusing method on all your shots. With posed camera had remained upright, and the couple had been
shots of people, get your camera in focus on the face. standing 2 or 3 meters away from the wall, the shadows
Hold the button still. Reposition the subject in the view- would have mostly fell behind the subjects.
finder to get the composition right. (Composition? What’s
“composition,” I hear some of you asking yourselves!



BASIC IDEAS FOR
PHOTOS: TRADITIONAL
& REPORTAGE
This guide is aimed toward the typical western style wedding.
Many tips and ideas can be used across any event, though
other wedding styles have different ceremonies and key events.
It will be important to research your particular wedding be-
forehand to become familiar with the traditions and style. I will
get some more information up for you in the members’ area.

So, will you go for traditional or reportage? This depends marriage certificate, and posed photos of everybody
directly on the bride and groom, their style, tastes, home standing formally, posed and grouped together for the
style, etc. The album can consist of a good mix of both the group photos. These are often taken all together at the
bride’s and the groom’s families. This way, all the groups wedding venue before the wedding breakfast.
are covered, and everyone at the wedding will be in the
photographs. The feel of the album will be modern with
a good mix of reportage shots, but since you are doing Reportage (The reporting of news or informa-
your own, you don’t need to worry about the cost of extra tion of general interest)
prints, or going over budget, or paying the photographer
to be there all day long. If the groom, or bride, wants a pint in the nearest pub
before the ceremony, then get a photo of it! If the groom
needs help from his future mother-in-law fixing his bow tie,
Traditional (Of, relating to, or in accord with photograph it! If someone yawns in the service, photo-
tradition) graph it! You need to capture people doing what people
do best…being people, and being natural! You don’t
The traditional style follows the usual group-style of photos, need them to look at the camera and say “cheese!” to get
is quite a formal approach, and generally consists of a set a good photo of them. A photo can tell a story, especially
of standard shots. A good guide list is contained later on if it’s taken of someone who is unaware that the photo is
in this guide. With a traditional approach, all the shots being taken. You’ll capture the moment. You’ll capture a
(well around 95%) would generally be set up and posed true record of events and record what actually happened
for the camera. This does take more time and involves on the day instead of creating it with posed shots.
setting up and organizing the shots with a basic set, pro-
ducing just enough to fill a basic album with 20 pages The modern style, the only setting-up in this style, some-
consisting mostly of group shots. times called “paparazzi,” should be the setting up of the
equipment. The whole idea of reportage is to capture
Generally, a set of traditional photos would start with the and record events as they unfold. Try not to be intrusive,
groom and best man before the ceremony, the bride and but sneak around and people-watch. Concentrate on the
the person giving the bride away arriving at the ceremony, main close family members. Follow the order of the day
a couple of shots in the service when the bride and groom and pay extra attention to the key events (listed later on
are exchanging vows, the bride and groom signing the in this guide.) Watch for people smiling and laughing



with others. Watch for groups of people chatting together. Play it safe and cover everything.
Anticipate them all laughing together and get that shot
of them enjoying themselves. Get photos of the children. I personally think a good album consists of a basic set of
They are usually doing something…! If there are babies close family groups, combined with lots of reportage shots
at the wedding, especially at the wedding breakfast, get of everything from the bride having her hair and make -up
shots of them eating! The messier, the better! Look for sim- done, to shots of everyone getting ready at home, to Dad
ple shots, like small children chatting, or an adult kneeling cooking breakfast, to the groom and best man getting a
down to speak to a small child, and get those close-up shave, to photos of the guests photographing each other,
candid shots of people smiling and laughing, or looking to shots of children chasing each other around... With this
serious and deep in thought. style you’ll get a great record of the wedding. The only
thing when doing this kind of photography is that later on
When someone whispers in someone else’s ear, get a you’ll have to decide what pictures to put in the album,
photo of it. It’s an interesting shot, even more so if they are as you can quite easily end up with around 300+ edited
laughing. Single people out, especially the main members photos from an initial collection of over 1000 taken that
of the wedding party. Concentrate on them for 20 or 30 day, especially if you have a couple of people taking
seconds. Keep the camera fixed on their faces. Watch for photos.
their expressions.

Catch their emotion. If they
catch you watching them,
get the eye contact look-
ing right into the camera.
If they are not to happy
with you photographing
them, get the shot and
tell them that you’ll show
them the shot later before
you make the print. They
will probably forget by the
end of the day. But, don’t
upset people. If they really
don’t want you taking their
photographs, then don’t
do it.

Remember that you are
looking to capture the
emotions of the guests.
Capture the true feel of
the day and don’t cause
upset.

Take in the surroundings,
too. Don’t just go for close-
ups and full-lengths. It’s
good to show the venue
and how it was the loca-
tion for the wedding.

To keep the shots of rele-
vance to the wedding and
venue, keep the guests in
the shot to show “how it
was” on the day. If there
are petals or confetti on
the table, use them in the
shot with guests in the
background.

Close-up shots of glasses,
maybe full of champagne,
and a set table before the
meal are good reminders
of the special little things.

If
Thank You for reading my free chapters, If you would like to buy the rest of the book and the other free bonuses

Wedding photography tips and guide sample

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Último

Último (20)

Destaque

Destaque (20)

Wedding photography tips and guide sample