I recently shot my first wedding in Florida and had a blast and came away with some photos I was proud to take with a couple that was very easy going and fun to be around, it also doesn’t hurt they are good friends of mine.
But this post is dedicated to those of you who were in the same position I was just two weeks ago.
You are about to shoot your first wedding and you’re scouring the internet for any tips and help that you can get. This is video is for you.
While there are way more than 10 things to think about while shooting your first wedding, these are a couple of simple ones that I wanted to share to try and help you on your first shoot:
- Continue to do what you’re doing now: Research!
- Find poses! You’ll want a few to fall back on if you start running out of ideas
- Only positive comments! Do not say anything negative when shooting the happy couple, even if you think you’re making a joke.
- Practice now. You are going to have to be johnny-on-the-spot with your exposures. Go outside and test yourself and take photos, well-exposed, as quick as you can.
- Shoot more photos than you need.
- Make sure you get the shot, then move on. Don’t keep shooting the same thing over and over when you already have it in the can.
- Get reaction shots. Make sure to look around whatever the main focus is (usually the couple) and get photos of other people reacting to them.
- You can stay in one location for the first dance and get many different angles of the couple because they will twirl around!
- Back button focus – especially for portrait oriented shots because of all the head room you’ll give them when you accidentally take a photo instead of only focus if you are using the shutter. The back button focus eliminates this problem.
- Get a wider composition. This will allow you to rotate the image and get the horizon straight in post, and just give you a little more room to play with later. Also – people move! so if you’re too tight on them, then they may move out of your frame by the time you take the photo. Give them some room in frame.
I also talk about the vertical grip: you can hear Louis Torres talk about why you should get one on his podcast “Buy a Veritical Grip Now.” Click HERE to go to his podcasts.
Below is the vertical grip I use and the R-strap that is so comfy and nice compared to the normal straps that come with the camera:
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I’m entering my 2nd year in the pro-photography field and I am learning new stuff continually, including this article – thanks for this site. Jen
Thanks for the tips Lucas.
I have been following your career from afar – as much as I can through hanging out at LMFP and following your success, both in hangliding and making movies. I am really glad to see you come so far so fast – good job!!
I enjoyed your 1st Timer Wedding Photography tips. I learned some really good stuff, including I was not using my focus back button on my Nikon. I am going to try to start using, although I rarely shoot much quantity.
Good luck and say hi to people that might know me… my wife and I are now part time residents of Germany as we are living with our Army kids here.
Best regards,
Doug
@Doug – Thanks! That’s cool you’ve been following my progress, I still have a long way to go, and will hopefully keep it interesting for those watching my blog.
I moved away from LMFP in July and am about to make another move in January, which I’m going to blog about soon. There’s some awesome places to fly in Germany! I think they have more hang gliding sites per capita than in the US by an large factor. I hope you get to fly while you’re there. Safe travels.
Lucas