Good wedding photography books?

Yes I searched! Some threads are a little old though.. was hoping for some fresh opinions.

Are there any books about shooting a wedding out there that folks would recommend? I've been asked to second shoot a wedding and I would like to be as prepared as possible!

"Captured By the Light" by David Ziser.

It kinda depends how you want to shoot. Captured by the light by Ziser is good, but he is teaching a very traditional/old school style of photography.

Picture Perfect Practice By Roberto Valenzuela is awesome.

Jose Villa's Fine Art Wedding is really good, but he shoots a very specific style of all film in mainly beautiful daylight weddings on the beach. It isn't really applicable to all types of wedding photography.

I've seen captured by the light recommended times, can't hurt to read it! But I agree with you Thomas Campbell about the traditional old school style, not sure that's what I want. (however, should always start with the basics) I'll probably pick it up anyways

Picture perfect practice looks good, I think I'll pick that up as well!

Thanks for the recommendations guys!

D Thompson wrote in post #14648326
"Captured By the Light" by David Ziser.

+1 recommendation

I have this on my kindle app on the ipad. makes it a handy reference if I need to.

I also recommend David Ziser's book. He has some good information on lighting.You don't have to adopt his wedding shooting style though.

Yup, we have Jose Villa's book, but there wasn't much in there that we weren't already familiar with, which will likely be the case if you already have a good idea of the kind of style you're interested in pursuing.

if you're having trouble posing, Jose's book has some pretty good techniques to get the couple to loosen up.

I've never seen a wedding photography book with important advice/tips.

D Thompson wrote in post #14648326
"Captured By the Light" by David Ziser.

I bought this book too and love it. It really helped me to shoot weddings.

I felt like I got a lot out of Picture Perfect Practice too (By Roberto Valenzuela, as posted above).

bnlearle wrote in post #14653264
I've never seen a wedding photography book with important advice/tips.

Well, I think that may be a litte strong.....

There are a number of (older) books out there that have some solid, basic information about posing, the types of group shots that some people like, and good suggestions for "shot lists." Unfortunately the titles escape me. I don't believe that group and family portraits will ever go out of style IMO. It's always meaningful when you may have shot those last images of grandpa or grandma.

bnlearle wrote in post #14653264
I've never seen a wedding photography book with important advice/tips.

I agree. you can get the same information in the threads in here as well. Most of the books are simply catered to the beginner and have little or no useful information to anyone that has 15-20 weddings under their belts. Im totally done with all the teaching seminars and teaching information thats out there. Been to one and you have seen them all.

Honestly, guys like Jim, nickson, allen, curtis and robert in the lighting forums,Tim, and Lloyd.....ive learned so much more from some of the guys i follow here at POTN than i ever have from PPA,WPPI instructors and from these basic books for sale on the net. Im totally in debt to Lloyd. He changed the way i photograph. One post and you see something and its like ive got to try that. And after you figure it out it puts you into a whole new world. Never get this from a book or a PPA class.

umphotography wrote in post #14678592
I agree. you can get the same information in the threads in here as well. Most of the books are simply catered to the beginner and have little or no useful information to anyone that has 15-20 weddings under their belts. Im totally done with all the teaching seminars and teaching information thats out there. Been to one and you have seen them all.

Honestly, guys like Jim, nickson, allen, curtis and robert in the lighting forums,Tim, and Lloyd.....ive learned so much more from some of the guys i follow here at POTN than i ever have from PPA,WPPI instructors and from these basic books for sale on the net. Im totally in debt to Lloyd. He changed the way i photograph. One post and you see something and its like ive got to try that. And after you figure it out it puts you into a whole new world. Never get this from a book or a PPA class.

I believe that's what the OP is looking for - he will be a second shooter so it sounds like he is just starting out with few or no weddings under his belt.

I agree that once he gets more advanced (and certainly even now) he will find the posts here very useful .

Thomas Campbell wrote in post #14648432
It kinda depends how you want to shoot. Captured by the light by Ziser is good, but he is teaching a very traditional/old school style of photography.

Picture Perfect Practice By Roberto Valenzuela is awesome.

Jose Villa's Fine Art Wedding is really good, but he shoots a very specific style of all film in mainly beautiful daylight weddings on the beach. It isn't really applicable to all types of wedding photography.

I try to keep a list of recommended books in my Amazon wish list and order as I get funds. I had a chance to look at both Picture Perfect Practice and Fine Art Wedding Photography and must say they both offer interesting ideas. Lots of ideas and reasons why some things work and don't work. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide if it is worth it or not, but for $26 or less it's worth a shot, especially when you consider the cost of lenses, cameras, and other gear.