About the preparation for wedding photography:
The main thing in the success of any business is preparation. Always look for new locations, go away from standards, advise the newlyweds to go for a walk to various main squares and fountains of the city, try to look for special, deserted places, maybe near the city, maybe on a narrow street .. Study very well the terrain of possible future shooting. Make friends with who you will photograph, it is better to "switch to you", so it will be easier in the process of shooting.
Write to yourself the "timing" of the day to know the schedule of the day and be ready for the next destination. Discuss with the young plan B. In case of an unexpected rain or when shooting in the winter, it will be actual to agree in advance with some institution about photography in the interior. It may be a restaurant, cafe, bar, museum, homestead, theater, movie theater or any interior photo studio , where you can always come and rent it for an hour. Also do not forget to advise you to take on the wedding accessories, starting from ordinary tablets, baskets, transparent colored fabric, large letters LOV E. or the first letters of their names to the laid tables for the newlyweds in the middle of the field or in the park. Advise young people to create and adhere to the color scheme of the wedding day, that is, to emphasize a certain tone of color, this will greatly add to the wedding photos of the "European" style.
About the process of photographing :
Shoot in RAW, this opens up the expanses at the post-processing stage and at times allows saving important images. Shoot in M mode and only in M! Always try to achieve perfection in everything, so that you do not. You should clearly understand what lens to use for this picture, which you already have in mind. Do not forget about photographing guests, about group shots and general plans.
The newlyweds, unfortunately, are not professional models, and the production photography often does not look very good, due to its visual intricacy. Therefore, beat some moments so as to catch the right frame, so the bridegroom, bride and guests will be more relaxed and independent.
Be ready!
You must have an incredible reaction to the smallest events and emotions in order to have time to capture them and so that you are not noticed (for me, an important role for this played tennis in childhood).
Do not forget that you have to be both a photography artist and a reportage photographer.
Be creative, enter courage!
I do not know how to explain, but when I'm already going with the bride and groom to the location, the assessment of the terrain is already beginning in my head, and I assume all sorts of angles. Sometimes you should not spare the camera's run, it's better to make an extra take than not to do.
When shooting group shots, after the official snapshot, say "All! Super! "And continue to press the shutter button to end the series of shots. Often such frames are better, because people have already relaxed.
I personally use 99% only the central focus point. If you shoot on an open diaphragm, do not forget to focus on the eyes.
At a banquet or indoors, do not be afraid to raise ISO (if the technique allows). Try to use the flash less. If you manage to keep the atmosphere in the picture, it will be better and more soulful.
During the filming, show beautiful shots to the heroes of the celebration - they become more relaxed in front of the lenses.
Very often, many forget that in addition to the background of photography, she may have a foreground. Especially when shooting on high-speed fixes, place various objects in front of the lens (transparent curtains, veil, transparent objects, branches, flowers) to add blurry
highlights.
Do not hesitate to ask young people to show emotions, try to take as many diverse photographs as possible, both romantic and sentimental, and light, cheerful, carefree.
When moving from location to location, do not be bored listening to the radio along with the driver. Shoot the newlyweds in the car, stop somewhere on the empty road, take a couple of pictures of the traveling bride along the road in the field, take dynamic pictures of the wedding procession in motion. If the wedding is in the summer, you can even come to the beach and run barefoot on the water.
Come into the streets alleys! The more non-standard the place, the more interesting, and remember, the masterpiece can be removed everywhere, the main idea and creative foreshortening!
Also, there is relevance in external impulse light. Synchronizers, umbrellas for skylight, flash and assistant will help you with this.
Do not forget about flash drives. For the security and safety of at least some of the images, use flash cards at 8 GB or a maximum of 16 GB. I personally take 10 cards of 8 GB for each shooting.
Do not forget about spare batteries, especially in the winter in the cold they like to "give up" earlier than usual.
Always experiment, study the work of other photographers, do not be afraid to do something new for yourself, take unusual foreshortenings, forget about all the rules of composition of the picture, crawl, rise to high shooting points, look not like everyone, notice details and trivia, they are very important !! It's not just rings, bouquets and shoes.
If the newlyweds are hugging, you can make a close-up on the hands, show how the bridegroom holds the bride firmly. If the picture takes place in the garden - close-up on berries, twigs. If the survey takes place on the shore, a close-up can be made on stones, gulls, sand. And also interesting to emphasize glasses, table setting, candles, eyes, gestures, the groom's butterfly, bride's corset, emotions. Do not forget about the children at the wedding and animals.
If possible, shoot on two cameras at once. I sighed easily after I started shooting two cameras at the same time, remembering how I shot one camera and changed the lenses every 10 minutes. For one carcass wear a wide-angle lens, and another portrait and that's it!
You are Chuck Norris! Only it remains to choose a holster and how to shoot: grape shot (17-40L) or do a sniper shot (135L). If you are wondering how to carry two cameras at once, then now there is a special. belts for 2 cameras, which are very comfortable .. +50 to speed and responsiveness.
About processing:
About the processing of photos I will only say that I use Lightroom + Photoshop.
For the full wedding day of the shooting I make about 2000-2500 photos, of them I give 600-1000 + slideshow. All is recorded on branded discs, which are packed in beautiful boxes of Italian leather with an aluminum insert. For some orders: printing multiple photos.
Also this year I plan to add such an important service as a wedding photobook.
As for the timing of the delivery of photographs, I would not advise you to delay (regret the nervous system of the bride) and at the same time would not advise you to hurry up and mindlessly process photos.
For this, I would advise you to sit down for treatment only when you are in a good mood. Personally, I mostly work at night, with my favorite music, when nobody distracts, nobody calls, and I enter the rhythm of post-production.
And do not forget about the usual photo shoots of girls, photos of cars, landscapes, animals, friends, whatever you like. Such diverse pictures will add energy and inspiration to you, so as not to stop there.
A little philosophy:
Photography is in a way something that will never happen again. You look at this and you understand: this is what really was, and not is. Even if this picture is taken just now, you look at it and realize that life flows out every second. It is born again .. And flows away ..
And something remains - this is a cast of reality. This fragment .. this feeling .. this is happiness ..
Engage in wedding photography with love and responsibility. It is the wedding photographer that preserves one of the brightest moments in the life of lovers. It is his photographs that will then be shown to children and grandchildren, friends and relatives .. It is his photos that will live on the walls, and they will be passed from generation to generation so that in 100 years the people who will watch these photos could plunge into the atmosphere of the wedding holiday, feel the breath of the era, the breath of life.
Magic pictures, and let your muse do not leave you!
