Photograph the catering team serving food, hair and makeup artists styling the wedding party, or the band performing during the first dance. Other vendors will love you for capturing moments of them in action. Aside from that, images like these spark feelings and memories when your clients see them.
When you upload the clients’ images on social media, tag them and the vendors on the post. In some cases, vendors will share your actual post, which can increase page engagement and views. There are cases when they’ll ask permission to upload photos on their websites, and they will include a backlink to you. Either way, it can result in new client inquiries and partnerships.
Leave nothing to chance! Tell your assistant what you expect them to wear. No jeans? All black? A suit and tie? Be specific. Your assistant represents your brand while they’re with you.
Larger emergency kits may contain rain ponchos, first aid kits, bug spray, crochet needles (for dress buttons), makeup basics, spare bow ties, lighters, a list of emergency phone numbers (backup vendors and photographers), and more. Your imagination is the limit!
Don’t overburden yourself but pack what makes you feel prepared and comfortable. Your assistant can help you manage this extra bag!
RAW files are uncompressed data files that contain all of the image information. Since RAW data are unprocessed, they look flat and lack contrast. They’re like a film negative!
The advantage is that you get more flexibility and range when it comes to editing your photos because RAW files capture more dynamic range in a scene. All visual information remains intact on the file, so you have leeway in adjusting sharpness, brightness, contrast, shadows, and colors.
A fast shutter speed is a good starting point for wedding photography because you’ll capture lots of movement. For starters, set the shutter speed to 1/200 or faster.
Wedding photographer Northern IrelandThen try shutter priority mode to really freeze moments. Set the shutter speed to 1/500th of a second to capture active moments. You can tweak these settings to capture laughter, dancing, twirling, and other movements.
The aperture dictates what part(s) of a photo are in focus. If you want to show the grandeur of a ballroom, make sure you’re putting everything in the scene in focus. In that case, you’d use an aperture of f/8 or even f/16.
When you’re taking photos of people and details, you can opt for high apertures to create depth by blurring out the background. In that case, try an aperture of f/2/8 or f/4.
On the other hand, lower apertures isolate the subject, making it the whole focus of an image. This is why it’s best to use apertures between f/1.8 to f/2.8 for bridal portraits. In this way, you can bring in more light while reducing unwanted distractions.
Here’s another wedding photography tip for beginners: keep the ISO under 1000 whenever possible to keep the digital artifacting at a minimum. However, you can always increase the ISO depending on the situation, especially in low-light venues. Want to capture the moody glow of candlelight? Consider bumping up your ISO to 3200. An entire ISO range is available at your disposal, so maximize it and try new things!
For indoor weddings, try to keep ISO between 400-800 to achieve beautiful, grain-free portrait photos. If you go higher than that, you may get more digital noise (though, this depends on your camera, so try a few options).
One of the best wedding photography tips for beginners is to arrive at the venue early. Not only does this give you ample time to prepare your equipment, but also time to scout for shooting locations and available lighting.
When you arrive 30-60 minutes early, you won’t risk working under pressure to get all the necessary shots. In addition, you can carve out time to talk with the coordinators, and other vendors who will work with you during the day.