Learning Wedding Photography
When asked how to photograph a wedding, I usually reply along the following lines. Is your level of camera technique competent? What is your degree of experience in photographing weddings? Are you good with people? Do you have an understanding of the basics of posing individuals and groups? There are of course other factors which will dictate how successful you will be in photographing a wedding. There are some basics though. If for example you answered yes to my question about your camera technique then that is a good start. You should be able to operate your equipment almost without thinking about it, you will have many things to think about when photographing a wedding, and your equipment and it's intricacies and gadgets is not one you want to get bogged down with at that point. However, and it's a big however, all the technical knowledge in the world will not make you good at photographing weddings. Experience obviously helps, but for beginners to wedding photography this is often difficult to come by. One way to gain some experience is to ask friends who have recently gotten married to pose for you, assuming of course they are willing to do so! The promise of some free pictures usually does the trick. You will also have the advantage of looking at their album for some tips on posing. The third point, that is, are you good with people, is probably the most underestimated factor by those who set out to learn how to photograph a wedding. A big percentage of the wedding day is spent herding crowds and directing people on exactly how you want them to behave. Basically if you don't have good people skills don't attempt to photograph a wedding. The final point re posing groups and individuals at a wedding is also crucial to learn. This can be partly learned by looking at other photographers work, there are many examples of this freely available on the internet. However looking at it and organising the posing whilst under pressure are two different things! You must familiarise yourself with the thirty or so basic wedding shots and then add your own style to arranging and shooting a variety of others. It is very achievable for an amateur photographer to learn how to photograph a wedding. My advice to most who ask is to attend a course or alternatively get yourself a hold of a good DVD course you can follow at home. |
