The ceremony can be the most nerve wracking part of a wedding day for a photographer. Tons of pressure to capture every important moment in a short time frame, no control over lighting and placement of subjects, no do-overs, and of course despite all that, the images have to look beautiful and dreamy and effortless.
Luckily, many of you are like me and thrive on a challenge, so here are 3 key ideas to think about that will allow you to tackle any ceremony with confidence and ease!
1. Anticipate moments
Find out as much as you can about the ceremony ahead of time; length, order of things, special or unusual additions. Then, make sure you can get to the ceremony site early so you can really take a few minutes to survey the area and make a plan. Put a lot of detail and thought into your plan. Look at things like the length of the aisle (it’s short so I’ll use a wide angle for the processional), direction and quality of light (hmmm…it’s overcast, so I don’t need a polarizer and I’ll avoid shooting from the shady area), position of ceremony items (there’s no space for me to stand near the Kiddush cups, so I’ll make sure I have my telephoto ready for that moment). Because of this careful preparation, you’ll be able to calmly and confidently be at the right place at the right time throughout the ceremony and you won’t miss a thing. Make sure you are in the aisle for the kiss so you can also get their “I can’t believe we did it!” faces right afterwards.
2. Variety
Make sure you have both a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens and try to get shots of each event with both perspectives. For example, a wide shot of the whole wedding during the ring exchange is nicely complimented by a close up of just their hands holding the rings. If you have two cameras, you can put one lens on each and switch back and forth. Move around as much as you can to get different angles and points of view…whole ceremony from the front, back, side as well as lots of tightly cropped details and faces. Get really low for some dramatic shots. Zoom way in and grab a shot of the groom’s tightly clutched vows or the flower girl’s shoes. At each ceremony, make sure to get the shots you need and then allow yourself to experiment a little with new angles, ideas, or techniques.
3. Reactions
It’s very easy to be caught up in the ceremony and focused on the bride and groom, not wanting to miss anything important. However, some of the most emotional shots you can get are not the moments, but the reactions to the moments. Don’t forget to turn around and get the groom’s reaction as the bride walks down the aisle, the parents’ tears as they watch the vows, the loving look of the maid of honor as she beams at them, even the bored ring bearer making silly faces. These photos will mean so much to the couple when they see them later, because they only have eyes for each other during the ceremony and this will give them a chance to see it through the eyes of their loved ones as well.
Alexis Rubenstein, Florida
CMpro
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Alexis Rubenstein of Red Stone Photography currently lives and works on the Emerald Coast in Navarre, Florida. She loves to photograph families and kids, but her primary focus is weddings. She has been fortunate to photograph beautiful weddings in the U.S., Japan, Thailand, and Greece! She loves to mentor new photographers, and she spends her spare time traveling, cooking, running long distance, and hanging out with her 3 amazing kiddos.
sponsored giveaway!
Thank you to today’s sponsor, StickyAlbums! Designed by pro-photographers in early 2012, StickyAlbums has already taken the photography community by storm. The idea is genius: create a custom photo album app for each of your clients so they can share your work via their mobile device. Clients access their own album—complete with your branding—via their phone or tablet. They can share the album face-to-face, or they can send the app to the devices of their friends and family.
Today, StickyAlbums is generously giving away a FREE IPAD MINI to one random reader! How awesome is that?! Simply comment on this post before next Friday December 28th at 12pm EST to enter to win. We’ll be back here on Friday to update the article with the winner. Good luck and please share with your friends on facebook, twitter, and pinterest so they have a chance too!
giveaway update!
Congratulations to the random winner Heidi G who commented with, “Another great article. :)”! Heidi, I will email you with the details on claiming your awesome prize!
Fabulous share and giveaway!
Great tips! Love the pics!
love this!
Great tips!
Loved the app idea. Would definitely try it. iPAD is the perfect device to display and show your photos off.
Wonderful tips and suggestions!!! And exciting giveaway ;)
Awesome tips and giveaway. Thanks so much!
The wonderful world of apps and how it makes work so accessible; what a grand idea and great opportunity!
Thank you much for the fabulous tips!!!
Great tips, thanks.
Great tips, thanks!
These are some excellent tips! Thanks!
Great ideas and giveaway!
Fabulous article full of great tips. And, what an awesome giveaway!!
thanks for the stunning article and giveaway~ would love to win as got robbed last night and they took all my camera equipment and my ipad :( fingers crossed!!
Fabulous tips…thanks for sharing!!!
Amazing tips and everything!!!!
What a great giveaway!!
Me me me!!!!!!!!
Good article. Count me in for the fabulous IPad giveaway.
Those are great tips. The app software is awesome too…people always have a phone or ipad/tablet with them to show off their photos!
What a fantastic app! Thanks for the chance to win!
Thanks for the “pointers”. And giveaway!!!
Great tips and thanks for the chance to win!
Thanks for a great article, and a chance to win!!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Great tips! Especially about capturing family and friends reactions too.
Fingers crossed for the iPad mini!
Love the tips and awesome giveaway! Thank you!
Fab.u.lous!! Love this site!!!
Really helpful article. Always love learning from others. Thanks so much for sharing.
Great tips & beautiful photos!
Fab site. Great helpful tips. Never too old to learn more
Great Idea, I’m going to give it a try. Great give away!!
Great tips, love the thoughts on anticipating moments. Thanks for a great giveaway!
Thanks for the article and giveaway!
Love the photos in this post. Nice giveaway.
This is awesome! Hope I win the givaway!!!
Beautiful shots and great article. Love it!!
Wonderful tips!
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Thanks for the great tips and the giveaway!
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I love this. Thanks so much for sharing. I saved the tips to my browser!
Great article and giveaway! Thanks!
very nice wedding venue. It looks really fun too. This gives me a good idea of my own wedding few months from now.