a place called home

was sitting on my sofa and suddenly my focus shift to the curtain i recently fitted on. The patterns on the curtain reflects the lights from the sun about to set behind the mountain.

Wedding Photography - 21 Tips for for Amateur Wedding Photographers

from dPS (Digital Photography School) -http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/

Photo by rougerouge

"Help me - O'm photographing my first Wedding!"It’s a question that’s been asked a few times in our forums over the last few months so while I’m not a Pro Wedding Photographer I thought it was time to share a few tips.

I’ll leave the technical tips of photographing a wedding to the pros - but as someone who has been asked to photograph numerous friends and family weddings - here are a few suggestions.

1. Create a ‘Shot List’

Get the couple to think ahead about the shots that they’d like you to capture on the day and compile a list so that you can check them off. This is particularly helpful in the family shots. There’s nothing worse than getting the photos back and realizing you didn’t photograph the happy couple with grandma!

2. Family Photo Coordinator

I find the family photo part of the day can be quite stressful. People are going everywhere, you’re unaware of the different family dynamics at play and people are in a ‘festive spirit’ (and have often been drinking a few spirits) to the point where it can be quite chaotic. Get the couple to nominate a family member (or one for each side of the family) who can be the ‘director’ of the shoot. They can round everyone up, help get them in the shot and keep things moving so that the couple can get back to the party.

3. Scout the Location

Visit the locations of the different places that you’ll be shooting before the big day. While I’m sure most Pros don’t do this - I find it really helpful to know where we’re going, have an idea of a few positions for shots and to know how the light might come into play. On one or two weddings I even visited locations with the couples and took a few test shots (these made nice ‘engagement photos’).

4. Preparation is key

So much can go wrong on the day - so you need to be well prepared. Have a backup plan (in case of bad weather), have batteries charged, memory cards blank, think about routes and time to get to places and get an itinerary of the full day so you know what’s happening next. If you can, attend the rehearsal of the ceremony where you’ll gather a lot of great information about possible positions to shoot from, the lighting, the order of the ceremony etc

5. Set expectations with the Couple

Show them your work/style. Find out what they are wanting to achieve, how many shots they want, what key things they want to be recorded, how the shots will be used (print etc). If you’re charging them for the event, make sure you have the agreement of price in place up front.

6. Turn off the sound on your camera

Beeps during speeches, the kiss and vows don’t add to the event. Switch off sound before hand and keep it off.

7. Shoot the small details

Photograph rings, backs of dresses, shoes, flowers, table settings, menus etc - these help give the end album an extra dimension. Flick through a wedding magazine in a news stand for a little inspiration.

8. Use Two Cameras

Beg, borrow, hire or steal an extra camera for the day - set it up with a different lens. I try to shoot with one wide angle lens (great for candid shots and in tight spaces (particularly before the ceremony in the preparation stage of the day) and one longer lens (it can be handy to have something as large as 200mm if you can get your hands on one - I use a 70-200mm).

9. Consider a Second Photographer

Having a second backup photographer can be a great strategy. It means less moving around during ceremony and speeches, allows for one to capture the formal shots and the other to get candid shots. It also takes a little pressure off you being ‘the one’ to have to get every shot!

10. Be Bold but Not Obtrusive

Timidity won’t get you ‘the shot’ - sometimes you need to be bold to capture a moment. However timing is everything and thinking ahead to get in the right position for key moments are important so as not to disrupt the event. In a ceremony I try to move around at least 4-5 times but try to time this to coincide with songs, sermons or longer readings. During the formal shots be bold, know what you want and ask for it from the couple and their party. You’re driving the show at this point of the day and need to keep things moving.

11. Learn how to Use Diffused Light

The ability to bounce a flash or to diffuse it is key. You’ll find that in many churches that light is very low. If you’re allowed to use a flash (and some churches don’t allow it) think about whether bouncing the flash will work (remember if you bounce off a colored surface it will add a colored cast to the picture) or whether you might want to buy a flash diffuser to soften the light. If you can’t use a flash you’ll need to either use a fast lens at wide apertures and/or bump up the ISO. A lens with image stabilization might also help. Learn more about Using Flash Diffusers and Reflectors.

12. Shoot in RAW

I know that many readers feel that they don’t have the time for shooting in RAW (due to extra processing) but a wedding is one time that it can be particularly useful as it gives so much more flexibility to manipulate shots after taking them. Weddings can present photographers with tricky lighting which result in the need to manipulate exposure and white balance after the fact - RAW will help with this considerably.

13. Display Your Shots at the Reception

One of the great things about digital photography is the immediacy of it as a medium. One of the fun things I’ve seen more and more photographers doing recently is taking a computer to the reception, uploading shots taken earlier in the day and letting them rotate as a slideshow during the evening. This adds a fun element to the night.

14. Consider Your Backgrounds

One of the challenges of weddings is that there are often people going everywhere - including the backgrounds of your shots. Particularly with the formal shots scope out the area where they’ll be taken ahead of time looking for good backgrounds. Ideally you’ll be wanting uncluttered areas and shaded spots out of direct sunlight where there’s unlikely to be a wandering great aunt wander into the back of the shot. Read more on getting backgrounds right.

15. Don’t Discard Your ‘Mistakes’

The temptation with digital is to check images as you go and to delete those that don’t work immediately. The problem with this is that you might just be getting rid of some of the more interesting and useable images. Keep in mind that images can be cropped or manipulated later to give you some more arty/abstract looking shots that can add real interest to the end album.

16. Change Your Perspective

Get a little creative with your shots. While the majority of the images in the end album will probably be fairly ‘normal’ or formal poses - make sure you mix things up a little by taking shots from down low, up high, at wide angles etc.

17. Group Shots

One thing that I’ve done at every wedding that I’ve photographed is attempt to photograph everyone who is in attendance in the one shot. The way I’ve done this is to arrange for a place that I can get up high above everyone straight after the ceremony. This might mean getting tall ladder, using a balcony or even climbing on a roof. The beauty of getting up high is that you get everyone’s face in it and can fit a lot of people in the one shot. The key is to be able to get everyone to the place you want them to stand quickly and to be ready to get the shot without having everyone stand around for too long. I found the best way to get everyone to the spot is to get the bride and groom there and to have a couple of helpers to herd everyone in that direction. Read more on how to take Group Photos.

18. Fill Flash

When shooting outside after a ceremony or during the posed shots you’ll probably want to keep your flash attached to give a little fill in flash. I tend to dial it back a little (a stop or two) so that shots are not blown out - but particularly in backlit or midday shooting conditions where there can be a lot of shadow, fill in flash is a must. Read more about using Fill Flash.

19. Continuous Shooting Mode

Having the ability to shoot a lot of images fast is very handy on a wedding day so switch your camera to continuous shooting mode and use it. Sometimes it’s the shot you take a second after the formal or posed shot when everyone is relaxing that really captures the moment!

20. Expect the Unexpected

One more piece of advice that someone gave me on my own wedding day. ‘Things will Go Wrong - But They Can be the Best Parts of the Day’. In every wedding that I’ve participated in something tends to go wrong with the day. The best man can’t find the ring, the rain pours down just as the ceremony ends, the groom forgets to do up his fly, the flower girl decides to sit down in the middle of the aisle or the bride can’t remember her vows….

These moments can feel a little panicky at the time - but it’s these moments that can actually make a day and give the bride and groom memories. Attempt to capture them and you could end up with some fun images that sum up the day really well.

I still remember the first wedding I photographed where the bride and grooms car crashed into a Tram on the way to the park where we were going to take photos. The bride was in tears, the groom stressed out - but after we’d all calmed down people began to see some of the funny side of the moment and we even took a couple of shots before driving on to the park. They were among everyone’s favorites.

21. Have Fun

Weddings are about celebrating - they should be fun. The more fun you have as the photographer the more relaxed those you are photographing will be. Perhaps the best way to loosen people up is to smile as the photographer (warning: I always come home from photographing weddings with sore jaws and cheeks because of of my smiling strategy).

Wedding Photojournalism Myths

article from Wedding Photojournalism Association

With the number of wedding photojournalists perpetually on the rise, confusion over what they will and won’t do seems to be increasing at a parallel rate. The article aims to bust the most common wedding photojournalism misconceptions and stereotypes circulating in the marketplace.

MYTH: WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALISTS CAN'T CREATE GOOD PORTRAITS

Perhaps in an effort to protect their business, traditional wedding photographers often try to scare brides and grooms into thinking that they will not be able to have wedding portraits taken if they decide to use a wedding photojournalist.

In fact, many wedding photojournalists take portraits or posed shots if that’s what their client wants.

As WPJA member Shane Snider points out, there’s more than just one way to shoot portraits. “Just because wedding photojournalists capture moments, doesn’t mean we can’t use our creativity to capture a good portrait as well, he says. “If you look at a wedding photojournalist’s portraits, they can be artistic and natural looking. They’re still portraits; it’s just a different style. Photojournalists try to take portraits that fit the way they take the rest of the pictures.”

Snider says his clients have embraced his unconventional approach to portraits. “They want something a little different than the in-the-park pictures,” he says. “Obviously they’re going to want formal photos. But we try to be a little more creative.” Snider’s strategies range from layering the subjects for photo depth to creatively selecting a backdrop (looking for compositionally interesting elements in the environment). “It’s just a little different than getting everyone together and telling them to say cheese,” he says.

Photo by Jonathan Adams

As a wedding photojournalist who shoots a lot of outdoor weddings around Jackson Hole, WY, WPJA contest winner Jonathan Adams tries to incorporate the surroundings into his photographs as much as possible. “The outdoors is such an important reason people choose to get married here, so I work really hard to make the portraits unlike any of the photographs that the guests are shooting.”

So where does the portrait misconception come from anyway? Adams thinks that when wedding photojournalism is compared to traditional wedding photography, an easy way for people to describe the style is “un-posed”—a major oversimplification. “People take that description literally that we don’t do posed pictures, when in reality, portraits have historically always been a skill of a good photojournalist,” he says, adding that the overall difference, even beyond style, is that “wedding photojournalists are trying to tell a story.” And even portraits can be a part of that.

Although posed shots do seem to contradict the very notion of photojournalism—and are definitely not why you hire a wedding photojournalist in the first place—almost all are willing to take posed photos during a planned formals session, and will accommodate specific requests when asked.

Adams tries to keep his posing to a minimum, and notes that, “My favorite portraits tend to be the moments between the shots. You shoot a photo and the second after you lower your camera, they feel comfortable and let down their guard. And you start to see them as they are, not as they think they should be.”

He tries to create a laid-back, social environment in which people are comfortable and those natural moments are more likely to unfold in front of the camera. “A group hug seems so much more real to me then all the bridesmaids holding their bouquets properly,” he says. If everyone is standing stiff for a photo, he’ll ask them to come together real tight. “The word "hug" really helps them drop their defenses, and they start to smile because of joy and friendship, not because they are posing for a photo.”

MYTH: WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALISTS WON’T USE FLASH

Snider actually laughs out loud when he considers this myth, because it’s that absurd. “It is completely untrue. Some of the best wedding photojournalists out there use flash and they’re very good at it. Some people might think it’s more natural to use available light, but sometimes flash is the only light that’s available.”

Photo by Shane Snider

As one who takes every possible measure not to interrupt a real moment, Snider uses his flash sparingly and in a calculated manner. “Using flash correctly—in a way that makes it look more natural—is a skill that takes a lot of work,” he says. “You need to make sure the flash doesn’t interfere with the moment.”

“It gets tricky to use flash and to keep the moments real,” he explains. “As soon as people see a flash, they look at the camera.” Avoiding the intrusive flash-in-the-face approach, he applies more inconspicuous lighting techniques such as using bounce flash.

Another technique wedding photojournalists employ is to tone down the intensity of their flash by controlling it through the settings. This can be very effective in preventing the subjects from being too camera-aware, and it also helps produce pictures with more natural-looking light. When this technique is properly executed, most people will not be able to discern the use of flash in the pictures, and perhaps that's where the no-flash myth originated!

MYTH: WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALISTS TAKE GRAINY AND BLURRY PHOTOS

This is often related to the flash myth, since shooting pictures in low light can lead to unappealing grainy and blurred-looking images, especially if the photographer is not particularly skilled at working in such settings. There’s also a misconception among many people that wedding photojournalism is defined by ambient-light only imagery, and that all of its practitioners exemplify that style.

Some highly accomplished wedding photojournalists do go for the occasional blurred image to capture the movement or atmosphere of a scene as it unfolds. They basically take the picture using a slower shutter speed that does not freeze everything in the photograph. However, the vast majority of photojournalistic wedding pictures are clean and sharp, as illustrated by a browse through the WPJA’s contest galleries, or those of individual members. In a nutshell, blurry and/or grainy images are most likely the product of deliberate artistic shooting, especially as it pertains to WPJA members, not technical shortcomings as some would contend.

MYTH: YOUR PHOTOS ARE GOING TO LOOK CLUTTERED BECAUSE WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALISTS NEVER ALTER SCENES

Many wedding photojournalists take weddings just as seriously as they do any news event—making even the slightest of changes in the surroundings, regardless of how insignificant they might seem to you, a breach of ethics.

It’s important to recognize that wedding photojournalists are skilled at altering the background without actually moving anything. Without bulky equipment to lug around, they’re able to move quickly around the room, capturing scenes from various angles, making background decisions based on what they see in their viewfinders. Something as simple as a photographer's step in a certain direction or a change in elevation can do wonders in cleaning up a distracting foreground/background.

Because wedding photojournalists don’t create fake, unrealistic backgrounds, they’re constantly looking for the most pleasing backdrop for their photos. It’s a different way of controlling the scene. “I think that has been one of the hardest things for many photographers to learn. Giving up the control of what takes place but controlling what the final image looks like by the way you see it and shoot it,” Adams says.

MYTH: ANYONE CAN BE A WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALIST

Just because some wedding photographers may try to emulate WPJA members' documentary approach, it does not make them wedding photojournalists who are qualified to document your wedding. “Photojournalism and shooting candids aren’t the same,” Adams stresses. “Wedding photojournalists don’t go into a situation and randomly photograph things around the room.” And neither do they follow the "machine-gun" approach, hoping that out of the myriad of shots a handful of decent pictures will emerge out of sheer mathematical probability.

Photo by Michael Albert

Wedding photojournalism is applying professional skills and honed talent to tell the story of a wedding. WPJA Gold Medallion winner, Michael Albert understands how this myth might have been propagated. “Not to say they’re spreading rumors, but traditional photographers see wedding photojournalism as a fad that totally upends their paradigm,” he says. Or they’re seeing bad wedding photojournalism, letting a few mediocre photographers who call themselves “wedding photojournalists” speak for an entire industry. “I see a lot of people who say they’re photojournalists—and that doesn’t always translate to strong work,” he says.

REALITY: COMMUNICATE AND TRUST YOUR OWN EYES

When considering a wedding photojournalist, it's best to communicate and trust your own eyes, not rumors or heresay. Ask your WPJA photographer about his or her style. Ask to see samples. Look for a wedding photojournalist who is able to tell the story from start to finish, instead of presenting just one good photo from each wedding. “That means you have potential,” Albert states, “but it doesn’t necessarily mean you can tell the story of the day.” Fortunately, WPJA members have mastered the art of storytelling. And that’s no myth.

—by Meghan McEwen for the Wedding Photojournalist Association

Emmeline & Jerry's Wedding

Emmeline and Jerry's big day, I was invited to captured the special moment for them.
Camera Nikon D40
Date July 2007

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Chinese rituals

My brother's pre-wedding rituals. My mom looks happy and my yougest brother look on at the background.

Adelene & Alex's Wedding Day

Alex getting out of the car.

even the youngest of all was getting ready for the special day. Everyone turn their focus on her and forgot about the bride

Alfred was suppose to kiss the hand and not Jo Ann's cheek

Alex and Adelene.



It was an opportunity, and the strong lighting at the background created this interesting shot of gloom and bestman about to enter the bride's room. The photo had been through photoshop to retain the colour of the bouquet.


Photo was taken during Adelene & Alex's wedding dinner. Wonder who she is....
camera used: Olympus C750