There might have been instances when you were requested to do wedding photography for a friend or relative. While this may appear to be a casual thing for some, for others there is a certain level of seriousness to doing wedding photography. Because of the wide ranging activities which take place in a wedding, wedding photography becomes a big challenge, what with the different lighting environs and the different strategies involved in such undertaking.
Everything starts with preparation. In this field, a good rule of thumb is preparing around two months in advance. There should be an ample acquaintance period between the photographer and the wedding couple and a good appraisal of their needs should be taken into account. There needs to be information on certain questions like how many photographers would there be, or what would be the photograph preferences, such as portraits or candid shots or a combination of both.
The number of expected wedding guests must also be kept in mind including the proportion between relatives and friends. The locations of the wedding ceremony and the reception would also be of primordial interest to the commercial photographers. Wedding photography takes account of these questions in order for it to be successful.
As soon as you are able to get the locations, times and dates, the next logical step would be to conduct an on-site inspection of the appointed places. In case of a church wedding, you may want to check the prevailing lighting, the surroundings and the decorations. During the on-site inspection, you may want to determine the strategic locations and positions you may take during the event to do your wedding photography.
Check for limitations like the banning of flash photography in certain churches, thereby necessitating the use of special camera equipment. It is also important to check the reception place and its surroundings. Verify the location of the podium where the speeches are to be made, the dance floor where the wedding dance will be held, and perhaps the seating arrangement for the wedding guests. Through the inspection, you can evaluate strategic positioning for your wedding photography.
The next important aspect is the preparation of your camera equipment and accessories. It would be practical to set up the equipment you would need at least a month in advance. The first is the digital camera. It would be wise and prudent to take along an analog camera as a back up to your digital camera. Next would be the camera lenses and filters that you would need to capture the different shots.
A camera tripod would come in handy for those memorable portrait shots, including indoor and low light photographs. Carrying at least a couple of 1 GB cards would prove useful as you could not imagine how many shots you would need to cover an event such as a wedding. It would also be good to carry along a portable drive in the remote possibility that you would run out of space from your memory cards. A personal assistant would also be a tremendous help to you like in the instances when group shots are prepared and arranged. This would relieve you of unnecessary stress.
