Training for weddings - how do I do it?

[DocFrankenstein]

I want to shoot weddings next season starting spring. I will fill the paperwork for business and will either shoot myself or as a second photog if I can find a position like that.

So I have 3-4 months to prepare for it.

What should I focus on in terms of technique? How do I prepare myself photographically for it?

Thank you for advice

[Ray Marrero]

Hey,

You can start by looking at as many wedding pictures as you can. Search the wed, the library, friends albums, etc... Then get a book or two on the subject of weddings and lighting. Read everything you can get your hands on. Then actually photograph an event, I started with a Sweet 16 Party. Then photograph an actual wedding, I did my friend's sister's wedding as a guest, not the paid photographer. They had a pro photographing their wedding. I learned alot that day by watching him. Then get hired as a second shooter.

Finally, get your porfolio together and start on your own.

I did not even mention the post processing you have to learn. The marketing and selling, the ordering of prints, making albums, etc... There is alot to do and learn. I am still learning and having fun. With the technology in the photography field constantly changing, you will never know everything.

[robertwgross]

I had shot a few weddings as an amateur, and then I tagged along with a pro on some of his weddings. For the first one, I was the Gopher and Gaffer only until he thrust one of his film cameras (Brand N) into my hands and told me to shoot. Well, I am not familiar with Brand N, so I put it down and hauled out my own Canon (digital). By the second wedding, we had our choreography down right. By the third one, I was shooting the parts that he could not get to. Then it just got better from there. The rest, as they say, is history.

Many of the old film photographers do not trust digital. However, the two different technologies can kind of back up each other. It would be rare that you would have a film failure and a digital failure at the same point. The digital shooter has to demonstrate that there are a few things that can be done digitally that are hard to do with film, like jump from ISO 100 to ISO 800 to ISO 3200 and back.

---Bob Gross---

[tim]

Get a job as a 2nd photographer if you can. Prepare by reading as many wedding photography books as you can: 3 minimum - i've posed my favorite books before, the best is wedding photojournalism by a bunch of people. Practice is the key, i've only done four so far and I can see a massive massive improvement in that time. A lot of that improvement could've been done as a 2nd, if i'd been able to do that.

[DocFrankenstein]

Thank you for the replies guys. There's so much to do...

[MattyB]

all the replies are great, and will help you ALOT.

i'm not sure if it's been said, but you should also invest some time in learning to talk to people. how to gather crowds into your framed shot, change peoples expressions, move people around, speak loudly and confidently, and know what you're doing.

the worst wedding photographer is not only the one who takes crap shots - but also the one who just keeps his face behind the camera and doesn't tell people what is expected, or what he wants.

he(sorry, or she..) will only get candids, or the suprise shot. they can be good, but they can be better. - if he/she had the confidence.

ask around for any weddings going during these months you have to learn. leave the camera at home, and just shadow the professional, see what he does, see how people reacted, etc etc.. (ofcourse, be welcome at such a wedding, and with such a photographer. might look scary if you just rocked up and started peering over the pro's shoulder. haha)

good luck

[Nidz]

I agree with what MattyB said. With my wedding almost all of the shots we got were ones that we said "I didn't know you were taking photos then". They were taken when most of us were not lookiong so a mix of formal and informal photos mixes it up a bit. We have a great colage of small prints measuring half a meter square on the wall with lots of great shots like this. What I think makes a great wedding photographer is one who captures the momnet but also thinks outside the square.

[cmM]

everyone so far told you to learn what other people do. Don't copy them. Never follow, lead. Learn everything, and most importantly, put your own accent on it. It's the only way to distinguish yourself from the crowd.

[Shekinah]

everyone so far told you to learn what other people do. Don't copy them. Never follow, lead. Learn everything, and most importantly, put your own accent on it. It's the only way to distinguish yourself from the crowd.

I really like what you have said, I was talking to a professional photographer who has done MANY weddings (it is his profession) this week and to be honest I did not like his shots, he showed me a recient wedding album he has put together for a couple that he did and there is NO WAY his style would be my style, and that it OK!!! I have learnt a bit from him, but I certinally will not ever take photos like him. I think it is great that there a so many photographer who find THEIR own style.

[SQUAREROOT]

What lense would you suggest for a wedding shoot?

[Harry Settle]

Lenses: On top of what you have I favor a 24-70 and a 70-200, both 2.8.

I am going to switch directions from the actual picture taking. Take the next few months to lurk at some weddings so that you can see and get a feel for the flow of things. Think about how and what shots you would be taking. The best photographer would be lost at a wedding, if they'd never attended one, and attending one will teach you little. You need some exposure.

[tim]

I use all my lenses for weddings : 12-24, 28-75, 50mm F1.4, 100mm F2.8 macro, 70-200 F2.8 IS. I could do most of most weddings with the 28-75, but having a good quality wider lens is good at times, and having the 70-200 is very useful at times. The 50 and 100 I use for cake shots and the 50 for low light. The 18-55 isn't really much use at all.

Best go read some wedding photography books, i've recommended a few in the past, I could post links again if you like. Choose from the best rated ones at amazon, I like the best of wedding photojournalism, bambi cantral is interesting though not my taste, gero has a good intro book, etc.

[cmM]

I use all my lenses for weddings : 12-24, 28-75, 50mm F1.4, 100mm F2.8 macro, 70-200 F2.8 IS. I could do most of most weddings with the 28-75, but having a good quality wider lens is good at times, and having the 70-200 is very useful at times. The 50 and 100 I use for cake shots and the 50 for low light. The 18-55 isn't really much use at all.

Best go read some wedding photography books, i've recommended a few in the past, I could post links again if you like. Choose from the best rated ones at amazon, I like the best of wedding photojournalism, Bambi Cantrell is interesting though not my taste, gero has a good intro book, etc.
fixed ;)

[tim]

Eh I was close!

[Wilt]

My advice...get so good at the technical aspects of your craft that you can very rapidly adapt the a very wide range of photographic circumstances and deal with them without prolonged indecision. Get to know your equipment so that everything is an adjustment that is almost automatic and instinctual. Weddings are a VERY HIGH intensity setting, and my pros cannot take the pressures and the guff that bride and mother can often dish out to the photographer and 'hired help'. So you do not have the benefit of lots of time to think. You have to capture the altar shots FAST because the wedding party and guests all want to socialize, not model for the photographer! You have to capture many shots with the speed of a photojournalist because many will not put up with a slow and tedious yet demanding photographer who has to set every shot at every moment in a dictatorial manner. Get a shot list IN ADVANCE and read it over before and during the wedding day, so that you will capture the shots the bride and mother want to capture...you might be photographing a guest or family member for the last time they will ever see them!!!

[Mark_48]

I found it helpful to browse around sites such as the following to get a perspective of what the B&G are looking for.

http://www.weddingbasics.com/photography/

http://www.usabride.com/wedplan/w_photolist.html

Also I did alot of Google searching for Wedding photographers and their galleries to see the different styles and what they were offering for packages.

[DocFrankenstein]

Thank you for the replies everybody! It is really helping.

[dengli]

Four pieces of advice.

1) Know your equipment inside out so you don't have to think about settings

2) Get some practice at managing people - you may have great technique but you won't be able to use it if people are all over the place

3) use lots of small memory cards (256Mb will fit 37 RAWS @ 6Mpixels) in case you lose a card or it turns its toes up.

4) Always start with large groups and whittle them down 'til you're just left with the bride and groom.

Good luck

[tim]

3) use lots of small memory cards (256Mb will fit 37 RAWS @ 6Mpixels) in case you lose a card or it turns its toes up.

Oh wow you must change cards a lot. I use 1-2GB cards and get 100-200 photos on them, I swap randomly so if I lose a card I don't lose all the images from one part of the day. Using 256MB cards sounds like an unusual form of punishment to me.

[RichardtheSane]

Oh wow you must change cards a lot. I use 1-2GB cards and get 100-200 photos on them, I swap randomly so if I lose a card I don't lose all the images from one part of the day. Using 256MB cards sounds like an unusual form of punishment to me.
Seconding Tim here
OK, I don't do weddings, but I do lenghy shoots.

I basicaly plan to make sure I split my shoot over 4 CF cards (more if needed, as I use 1gb cards)
So for me 256Mb cards would be fine if I only take 100 ish shots