I made a quick mention of a friend of mine shooting her first wedding and sending me a quick recap of what she learned on my Facebook Photo page.
In jest, I only posted up #7 (because it really is the most important haha), but figured I’d post up her other thoughts as they are great tid bits of information.
Most people are worried about aperture, lens selection, how to use flash, what ISO and other technical settings. But there is soooo much more going on in a wedding than just what’s in the camera.
1. Under so much stress, people can be a handful to deal with!
*So very true! While you are hired as a photographer, your social skills need to shine. Yes, you are clicking your shutter all the time, but you need to deal with your stress and the stress of others. It is not your day, it is the bride and groom’s and their guest’s day. Get your job done, but be ready to be a psychologist while working.
2. Wear comfie shoes, fuck what the bride wants.
*You do need to dress appropriately for a wedding. Keep the style and theme of the wedding in mind. I often wear black or very dark colours. But as you are on your feet the whole day, comfortable shoes are a MUST! If you plan on doing lots of wedding, invest in a good pair of clean shoes. White sneakers with pants look bad no matter what the situation is.
3. Do a full body warm up before shooting for 12 hours straight. I feel like I’ve run 50 marathons while being chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex over hot coals. Still recovering.
*Yep! Your body does take a beating. You are bending in odd angles to get your shots, kneeling down, getting back up, moving around, carrying gear with you all day long. Being in good physical shape makes a different and taking the time to stretch helps! Something I need to do more often.
4. No matter how hard you try, you will never, ever be able to please everyone at the event.
*Really?? hahaha. You are hired for the bride and groom and your main job is getting them images that represent their important day. You will always have people there asking you to take their photos. Try and accommodate for sure, but don’t be shy in telling them that you’ll get back to them in a bit if you are working a shot. Use tact and a smile at all times, as the guest’s impression of you can sometimes lead to new contracts.
5. When the groom wants to take shots (of tequila) with you, do the first 3 but skip the 4th.
*I’d actually say do the first but not the others, but that’s me. You are part of their day whether you like it or not. And the fact that the wedding party wants you to drink with them is a great sign that they are loving how you are acting, so great on you! But still keep in mind that you are working. I use the old “if I drink too much, my pictures will be blurry” joke. Goes over very well when people are already drunk. And if that fails, just blast your flash in their eyes and run away.
6. Eat. Drink water. Eat again. It’s a full time job with overtime. We should get breaks.
*You need to take breaks. But this comes with experience knowing when to stop and when to work. Water is huge! I go through a few litres of water during a wedding. And then I have to go to the bathroom and that becomes a break! Tying in to the you can’t please everyone, you also can’t get every shot all the time. You MUST get the key shots, that’s your job, but getting another photo of uncle Bob doing the limbo may not be necessary.
7. Always, always, always, listen to Pierre! Your advice was amazing! 🙂
*I don’t think this one needs any more explanation. I’m always willing to give advice and help out where I can 🙂
8. That’s all for now…I haven’t started editing yet lol
*Editing is a big part in wedding shooting. If you are doing your own (I do), make sure you factor this in to the overall price of the shoot. Some people can spend more time editing than shooting! So a 12 hour wedding becomes 24 hours of work.
Great tips and thanks for sharing them 🙂