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Photography Article 61 Photography Article 78
Wedding Photography Tips
for Amateur Photographers
(Article 6)
By Christopher MaxwellThis article series is designed to help beginning wedding photographers prepare for their first wedding.
My previous article discussed the mindset a photographer should have as they approach a wedding. I will repeat the core mindset: the wedding is the most important day in the shared lives of this man and woman, there are no “second chances”, and, as such, I will work my absolute hardest to capture the best possible photos during the day that will bless the couple as they begin their life together.
This article looks at two more real-life scenarios and how the above mindset impacts them.
Transporting Digital Files
You have an out-of-state wedding. There is an 8-hour drive. You leave early Friday morning so you can arrive with plenty of time to visit the venues and also attend the rehearsal. The next day the wedding goes great. You get in the car to drive home. A question comes to my mind: what will happen to the wedding photos if you were to (terrible thought) die in a fiery car crash on the way back? If the most important day of the couple’s life together is their wedding day and you have that thought in your mind, you will realize that you cannot take the slightest chance of losing their photos.If you have a laptop computer you could burn a copy of all the photos onto DVD’s, put them in a box, give them to one of the bride or groom’s relatives that you trust, and then have them ship the box back to you. Doing so doesn’t cost you anything since they are paying for the shipment. There is always the risk that they won’t ship the DVD’s to you or that they could download them to their computer. If you are concerned about those risks you could always ship the box yourself. It’ll take extra time/effort/hassle – but, it will keep it so that you have control over the RAW images.
Will you ever regret taking the time to ship a copy of the files back? I don’t think so. And there are lots of different ways you could do it in handling the nitty-gritty details. But the bottom line is this: always be thinking “worst-case scenarios” to make sure the photos are safe and protected.
Spontaneous Additions to the Formal “Shot List”
You are in the middle of the “formal photo session” after the ceremony. These photo sessions are usually (for me) pressure-filled: people are everywhere (generally they are anywhere but where they should be); you have to arrange and then take top-notch formal photos in a very short amount of time for each grouping; you have to maintain overall control without appearing controlling – and all while smiling! You worked ahead of time with the bride and groom to create a detailed list of who will be in each formal photo. The list they created was significantly longer than what you were hoping for – but, you said it would be fine (remembering that the day is all about them and what they want). You did share how long you felt the photo session would take to make sure they were OK with that – but, since they were, so were you. Then, in-between almost every single formal grouping the couple is coming up with new ideas for photos. “Why don’t we do a separate one with Grandma?” “How about a shot with both sets of Grandparents together?” “Let’s do one with all the distant cousins.” The originally-scheduled 20 minutes has already passed and they just asked for another formal photo grouping.
What do you do?
By now, you’ll probably guess my answer! Think about it… It’s the bride and groom’s day. If they want to spend it doing formal photos (which is normally something that is dry and boring!), then that’s how you spend the day!! Maybe it is a testimony to your skill and personality in making the photo session fun – but, either way, have a good attitude and keep on taking the photos.This is how I usually handle such a situation: I work hard and fast so I can try and accommodate the extra photos into the original schedule while still doing quality work. Anytime the couple asks me if we can do an extra group or setting my answer is always “absolutely”. At some point I’ll also glance at my watch with a goal of simply informing them (not controlling) and say “we are running just a little behind schedule but I have all day and we can do whatever you’d like.” However, if they are aware of what time it is and that they are the ones delaying the schedule – I wouldn’t even mention the time or delays to them. Sometimes, in their original request they’ll mention that they know it make take a bit longer but they would really like a photo of them with their great-grandmother. Other times the couple doesn’t even really know what time it is and that they are already 30 minutes late to their reception…
Whatever the situation or delay, always remember that the day is about the couple getting married, not (and this is a difficult thought – especially considering how much time you are spending in preparation) you photographing your first wedding!
If you are about to photograph your first wedding and this article has been helpful for you, you'll want to visit my web site which has additional Wedding Photography Tips for amateurs. I'm a wedding photographer based near Kansas City.
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