Hi guys,

I'm supposed to be shooting a wedding in July. I'm feeling pretty nervous about it - and was wondering if anyone has any tips regarding shooting wedding photos? I think the biggest challenge for me would be to get people into creative / flattering poses, especially in group shots for the bridal party... any tips there?

Also does anyone know of some great or memorable shots that shouldn't be missed? One I can think of from my own wedding is at the Pariliament building (Melbourne Australia) with the bride and groom in the foreground, and the bridesmaids/men in the background in a silly pose...



Another one would be the bridge and groom at the altar



Any help would be much appreciated indeed...

Try to sneak shots in when they don't realise you're there. Then you get that natural look....

At the altar, you should get a shot from the front as well as from the back..

Just remember to keep relaxed...I've done a couple of weddings and it's very easy to lose you're cool...

As the photographer you need to keep everybody...smiling

Hey Axeman!! Nice to have you onboard!

Be assertive. Dont let anyone get in your way, and dont let them be slow. Slow??? Yes!
Sometimes these groups mill about like confused sheep. One or two then get disgruntled and wander off. YOU then have to catch them!!
Take a mate with you. An extrovert mate. Get him to fetch and carry. Get him to help you arganise the group.
Failing that, get an attractive young lady to help you.
Shoot with a long lens where reasonably practical.
Be SURE that you are steady. Use a tripod if at all possible.
Take MORE memory cards and BATTERIES than you expect to need.
Write yourself a list of items to remember.
Write a list of poses and groups.
Discuss groups with bride and groom asap.
Check flashgun!
Visit wedding sites on the net. What are typical wedding pics? Can you mimic them?
Shoot bride and groom BEFORE the day, if possible. Tell them it's always nice to look back on the before-we-were-married pictures. In reality, you are merely improving your contact with them, and therefore calming nerves all round.

Never shoot same sex weddings without a 12 bore.

Rufus Wrote:Be assertive. Dont let anyone get in your way, and dont let them be slow. Slow??? Yes!
Sometimes these groups mill about like confused sheep. One or two then get disgruntled and wander off. YOU then have to catch them!!
Take a mate with you. An extrovert mate. Get him to fetch and carry. Get him to help you arganise the group.
Failing that, get an attractive young lady to help you.
Shoot with a long lens where reasonably practical.
Be SURE that you are steady. Use a tripod if at all possible.
Take MORE memory cards and BATTERIES than you expect to need.
Write yourself a list of items to remember.
Write a list of poses and groups.
Discuss groups with bride and groom asap.
Check flashgun!
Visit wedding sites on the net. What are typical wedding pics? Can you mimic them?
Shoot bride and groom BEFORE the day, if possible. Tell them it's always nice to look back on the before-we-were-married pictures. In reality, you are merely improving your contact with them, and therefore calming nerves all round.

Never shoot same sex weddings without a 12 bore.

Thanks for the tips Rufus! I'll certainly take notes and keep them in mind this Friday!

I think weddings are challenging to shoot (for me anyway )
Especially since the bride is wearing white and the groom is wearing black, it makes cameras go crazy with the metering, so overexpose, so that your camera will underexpose it and you will be able to see the details in the bride's dress and she won't just be a glowing overexposed light (unless that's the effect you want) hehe

or something like that.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm also here to learn and open to correction

backup camera might also be useful, just incase your camera has any problems

All right, thanks dudes! The big day is tomorrow... I've got my gear packed, batteries charged, tripod stowed. I'm using a friend's Canon 300D, hired a 550EX speedlight, and have my Fuji S5000 for backup.

Now, short of a EMP bomb (like the matrix), tomorrow should be a good day. Wish me luck!

Goodluck shuttertalk! Have a great shoot tomorrow
Hope you get many wonderful shots
Be sure to show us how you went! (if it isn't too private)

Hey ST where are the photos?!

Still sorting through them... I took over a thousand!

Just wanted to thank everyone for the tips -- it was the first wedding I've ever done! And digital too! The bride and groom just came over and I showed the photos to them, and the were quite pleased.

Overall it was quite tiring, but a good experience nonetheless. My learnings:
- Get plenty of inspiration
- Make a list of poses
- External flash is essential
- Bring lots of memory / batteries
- Get an assistant to help
- Stay cool
I think my main headache throughout the day was that I only had a 1 gig card, and had to download the photos to my laptop twice. It was fortunate that the driving time between locations was just enough for me to empty the card.

Just wanted to thank everyone for their advice again. Here's a few of my favourites:

Hey ST, good work. If you need an assistant next time... please let me know.

BTW, I'm keen on setting up a side business in taking wedding photos, and organise wedding as well... like JLo in wedding planner... but throw in the photo package

Plus I've start a new topic on making money out of our very dear hobby... Photography and $:
http://www.shuttertalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=205

Well done ST! Some of your photos look underexposed, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. So will you be investing in some lighting next?

"Jonathan! More light!!!"

Thanks guys! Axeman - I actually hired a flashgun and was using that - photos would have been much worse without. But you're right - I probabaly need to get more practice with the bounce flash / flash settings to get more consistent results...

hey...thanks to mr. gadget too for lending his equipment for the big day!

zedlav Wrote:hey...thanks to mr. gadget too for lending his equipment for the big day!

Pardon?

Hi and welcome, zedlav!

Yes, I was using Mr. Gadget's 300D... Very nice piece of equipment

hey ..so Mr Gadget is another 300D user ^^..
ill have to ask him for tips then .. .
those are really nice photos Julian .. Great work!

Ok, Should have read the whole thread more througly, Nice shots, the one with the line of guys is... well different =)

Thanks guys!

Better late than never... I just came across this at a site by a fellow Canadian...
http://www.camerahobby.com/WeddingTOC.htm

Haven't read it myself, but thought you might be interested.

Wow, great link (from just looking at the table of contents)
I'll bookmark it and look thru it!
Thanks Cailean

wow ..
ill have to have alook thru this ^___^