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!
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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!
I love your work and loved learning more how you tackle your weddings!
Great tips! Your images are beautiful! TFS
Great post, I wished our wedding photographer read this before our wedding earlier this year!! Of course I love our photos, but if I could do it over again I would!!
Great tips! Thanks!!
Anxious to put in practice!
I think Alexis’s advice is great for any type of photographic scenario, not just weddings. And what a wonderful giveaway! Thank you, Sticky Albums, for the opportunity!
Really enjoying your posts – Thank you!
Thank you for the helpful and insightful tips! I am just trying to break into the wedding industry and with limited experience these ideas are priceless! Would love to read about the strategies photographers used to secure clients when just starting out.
Also looking forward to trying out the Sticky Albums app – what a great idea! The 28th is a great day to draw the prize – it’s a day when fantastic people are born ;)
One of the biggest regrets I have that’s photography related is not paying for a professional on my wedding day. We have some decent shots but nothing that’s just wow worthy and only one that we’ve framed.
Great tips in the article.
I LOVE Sticky Albums, by the way. I use it as a sales incentive and it promotes me too! I just wish I had a phone or iPad (iPad mini would be great :) to show what it looks like – will help push more sales across the line!!
Wonderful advice! Great article, thank you :)
Love the tips! Wonderful images! Thanks for the informative posts.
Great article, Alexis! Really enjoyed it!
Great images! Thanks for sharing your tips :)
Thank you for sharing your tips! Love your photography :)
Wonderful tips, and beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom!
Makes me want to shoot a wedding!!!!!!!! (and would love to win an iPad Mini!!!)
Great info and photos… and great prize too!
Awesome article! Thanks for sharing, Alexis.
Gorgeous! I’ve never been interested in weddings, and this almost makes me want to shoot one! :)
Very cool and sound advice. Thanks for sharing! And thanks to Sticky Albums for the slick give away, too!! :)
I have TONS of respect for wedding photographers. I could never do it! Lots of great information.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Fantastic tips. Thank you so much :)
Great article, I especially love the tip to make sure to get people’s reactions…these are definitely some of my favourites from my own wedding.
Great tips! I’m nowhere near ready to attempt photographing a wedding but these tips were very helpful
Great tips. I am photographing my first wedding as a 2nd shooter in two weeks, timely advice.
Great insight! Have always wanted to try to shoot a wedding but it is intimidating! These pointers are great to get you thinking about the process.
Great advices! Also I am testing my luck with the prize. Maybe one day… :)
Great post! I’d be ecstatic to win the iPad!
Great tips! I would love to win that ipad mini :)
Thanks for all the helpful tips :)…your pictures looked beautiful!
Great tips! Thank you!
Great ideas! Thanks!
Great ideas!! Thank you :)
Great article, thank you for sharing.
I agree that when you can catch them, reactions can be some of the most powerful images from a wedding.
Great ideas, tips, and some new things to think about. Thank you!
I love your ideas on capturing those special moments the bride and groom would otherwise miss. Beautiful images!
This would be awesome!!!
Great advice.
Great tips, thank you!
Great article with stunning shots thanks for sharing. I’m just about to invest in sticky albums so an iPad mini would be a cool addition
What a great article! Sticky Albums looks amazing, can’t wait to try it out!! :)
thank you so much for the great advice!!
Love your work! Thanks for sharing!
Amazing work and great tips! Loved reading this and I’m certain these words will stick with me as I dabble a little more in weddings. Thank you!
Oh my goodness, I have so much respect for wedding photographers! I was asked to second shoot, and I said no!! I’m too scared to even do that!
Can’t wait to try Sticky Albums!
Your photos are so beautiful and clean. I just absolutely love them!
Very nice article. Love the “reaction” photo. And what a cool app idea!