Internet is full of good and not-so-good wedding photography guides. Some are for a serious photographer aspiring to become a professional and some are for people going to shoot their relatives wedding for the first time. Most of them seem to be written by professionals or by experienced photographers. So I thought to take a fresh angle into this matter and write one from first timers point-of-view. I'm not any kind of authority when it comes into wedding photography, I just want to share my own experiences to help people in similar situation I were.

People who are watching me might have noticed (probably have, I would guess) that I covered a wedding a while ago. This was my first wedding that I photographed (if one is not counted where I had a compact camera and didn't know anything about photography and we also had someone more experienced there) and also I was the main photographer for the event (probably... or absolutely not the best idea). Before taking that responsibility I naturally studied quite a lot about the subject at hand, so now that I still have the experiences freshly in my mind, I thought I would share with you what worked and what didn't for me. Also this works as a nice reference for me since this is a question that rises in photography forum from time to time.

In case you're interested, here's the results: [link] The couple actually was pleased with them so I guess I did something right.

I would like to stress that I do not encourage you to shoot weddings as the main photographer if you don't have any experience with it. It's probably the most important day for the couple (especially for the bride) in their life so far and they will most likely want to have good memories from the day. Usually that's what professional can give them: a certain quality without the chance of screwing the whole thing up. Naturally the pros also have experience that can be seen in the quality and they have adequate gear to shoot the event.

But from time to time, there are no other options. The couple might not be able to hire a professional to shoot the weddings (they tend to be quite expensive) and in that case, you and your dSLR probably will be better option than the random snapshots by aunt with a cheap point-and-shoot camera with build-in flash and red eyes on everyone.

So in next few chapters, I will go through some things and ideas that I felt would be important for a first time wedding photographer, if you ever find yourself in such situation. Part of the information is from my own experiences and part from different guides and discussions (though I can't specify from where). But be vary, these are experiences only from one wedding that was done according to Finnish culture and ceremonies. Also there are not absolutes (even if the next title says so). You might have have done something differently and even succeeded, like covered a wedding with compact camera. But most of the times, it's exception and won't mean that it's always possible.

Absolute prerequisites

Before you even think of shooting a wedding, you really need to have these few basics things covered. If not, I really would recommend thinking few more times before saying yes.

First of all, you need a dSLR. Don't think about shooting a wedding with a point-and-shoot camera. P&S image quality isn't too stellar, high ISO performance is, to put it mildly, crap and you can't use the mandatory fast lenses with it. Also you can quite rarely add a flashgun to compact camera and P&S cameras tend to be made for easy-to-handle in automatic modes but quite difficult in situations that require skills from the photographer.

You also need to know the basics of photography. And know them well enough so you can apply them on the fly. You really need to know the basic technical stuff and how it affects the image, and also some basics of composition etc, so the wedding couple won't have, for example, portraits shot vertically where the subjects head is in the middle of the frame. If you don't understand what I'm talking about when I'm saying something about aperture or focal length, I would recommend forgetting the whole deal (or if you have time, studying a lot). If you're using automatic (or any of those auto programs) and have no idea what letters P, A, S, M (or Tv instead of A) mean, well, you have lots of learning to do.

Here's an example of a disaster to happen (most likely): [link] Unfortunately these topics are quite common and there are stories all over the internet about situations where person thought that Canon 400D and kit lens + one month of photography experience was enough.

Control the expectations

Usually if you ask advices what to do when someone has asked you to shoot a wedding first time, people tell you to say no. And they tell you to recommend hiring a pro for the couple. This is not because they think you're bad photographer (most likely they haven't ever even seen your photos). This is because they have seen and heard about so many occasions where some self-confident person has promised to shoot the wedding and screwed the whole thing up badly because he/she wasn't experienced enough photographer to do it and didn't actually have good enough gear. And since you're asking for advice, you probably aren't experienced enough.

Remember that wedding photography is different from the photography you might do usually. You can't try many times to get it right, you'll just have to get it right with the first attempt. There are things like the first kiss as married couple that are just mandatory for you to get (or are you going to the altar and ask them to do it again because you missed it?). Also quite often the environment can be really challenging (dark church etc) and require experience and good gear. And naturally the day is more important than many other events that you might have covered before.

In my case, I think the couple though I could do good work because they liked the stuff in my gallery. But the problem is that the stuff in my gallery isn't anything like wedding photography. There's nature, there's portraits etc, but that's quite a lot different than weddings and naturally I'll only upload the photos that I think are good enough. I tried to repeat to the bride that she shouldn't expect professional results from me since I haven't done this kind of stuff before and I can't guarantee anything. Only after repeating this many times I accepted the job.

So make sure that the couple doesn't have too high expectations and that they realize that there isn't any ground to expect professional quality work from a hobbyist. There are just far too many stories where the niece etc was put to shoot the wedding because he had a nice dSLR (usually entry level camera with kit lens) and it ended up in utter disaster. Recommend them to get a pro to do it if they really want to be sure to get pro quality photos. In that case, perhaps you could assist the pro and learn by doing it.

You might be said that you can be there as a guest and photograph at the same time. But this is usually impossible, especially if you want to cover the wedding thoroughly with good quality. So if it's a wedding of someone close to you, you might want to think if you want to celebrate the occasion. As the photographer, this really isn't possible. It's full-time job there.

Prepare and plan ahead

I can't stress enough how important is to be as prepared as possible, especially since you're unexperienced with this type of photography. Study before doing it, plan ahead, talk with the couple. You can count on the fact that there will be some unexpected events during the day but being prepared helps.

First thing you should do is to ask the wedding couple to provide a list of shots they want. Keep this list with you and have it arranged in the order they will happen and use it as your reference. Check if often to see what's next so you'll be prepared.

Discuss with the couple what kind of photos they want: really traditional or something more creative. I would expect that they'll give you quite free hands as long as you'll have the few basic photos there too. But it's still good to make sure. I got free hands as long as I shot few traditional portraits for the "thank you" card.

Also it's important to plan ahead. Well ahead. In my case the wedding was in another town so there was no chance to see the places beforehand (not a good thing, not at all). So the bride said she would show the churct the evening before when I got there, and also discuss with me about the whole day. Well, nice idea but I actually saw here whole 15 minutes during that evening, barely enough to arrange a transport for me for the morning so I could shoot the bride getting ready.

One thing you absolutely need to plan is the logistics, especially if you don't have your own car (like I didn't). If you're doing it for free, you can expect support from the couple and people arranging the day. Make sure you know the schedule and have a transport from one place to another.

Scout the locations beforehand if possible in any way. Go and see the church (if possible, during same time of day as the weddings) to see something about the lighting conditions and about the location, and go and see the rehearsal to learn about the ceremony. Scout the best positions to shoot different things (where the bride comes from, where to shoot the kiss etc), plan your moving, see if there's places to bounce the flash from etc.

Final part of the preparation is to make sure all the gear works correctly. Check the cameras, format memory cards, recharge the batteries, clean the lenses and do this early enough so you still can do something if you'll find out that something is broken. You really don't want to notice during the wedding that your spare battery was actually empty. And naturally double-check that you really have everything you need.

Expect the unexpected

It's a hectic day and something unexpected is bound to happen. Try to be prepared for it. Most likely it's not because of you, just some problems with schedule etc, but try to think what you will do in such cases.

Usually the unexpected will result (from your point-of-view) into missing some photo that would be nice to get. In my example, I wanted to get a photo from the bride getting dressed in the dress. But since we were running out of time, I just had to leave for the church and I didn't get this photo.

In events like this, if possible, discuss with the couple about what you are going to do. State clearly that you can't get the photo in this case and ask if it's OK for them. In my case, bride decided it would be OK since I had to get to the church early enough (since I wasn't able to see the location before).

Have good enough gear

There are many areas in photography where the gear isn't too important: you can get nice images with lower end gear. But quite often with wedding photography it's really important to have good enough gear. Naturally if the wedding is held in well-lit place and no chance of it getting dark, you should be relatively fine with an entry-level dSLR and kit lens (I still wouldn't suggest P&S since there might be problems in situations requiring fast reactions). But I think that more often than not, the ceremony is held in dimly lit church and the parties after that inside with moody lighting. So don't go shooting wedding in dark church with entry level dSLR and the kit lens. That's just a prelude for a disaster. Also one limitation with the kit lens is that you can't get the background blurred enough for portraits because the low max aperture.

So for places with low lighting, you need good (and unfortunately usually expensive) gear. Fast lenses and cameras with good ISO performance are really crucial for this purpose. In my case, I had to be quite far away from the altar because of the shape of the church. I wasn't able to use my 50mm f1.8 lens to get close enough. What saved the day was combination of good ISO performance of my D300 and 70-200mm f2.8 VR lens. I was able to get nice images hand held with 1/50s exposure and good image quality at ISO800. Also monopod would have helped instead of VR, but tripod might be too clumsy.

If you don't have anything else (aka only body and kit lens), at least get the 50mm f1.8 lens (if you're shooting with Canon or Nikon). It's fast, good quality and cheap. If you have more money, you can get something like 50mm f1.4. Personally I had 35mm f2 with me too. Other than that, any fast zooms would be recommended (constant aperture f2.8, you don't find any faster zooms).

Another somewhat mandatory piece of gear is a flashgun. Don't use the build-in flash, never. In that case you could be shooting with a cheap P&S and flash. It's just horrible. With flashgun, you can swivel the head and bounce the flash from somewhere, like ceiling or wall, for more natural results. It will also give you more power if needed. And if you can't find any surface to bounce the flash, I would recommend going back to fast lens and high ISO.

Here's a list of the gear I had with me:

- Cameras: Nikon D300 and D80 (and my Canon G9 as backup of backup)
2 bodies, with the main body being good with high ISO's. 2nd body as backup and with wide lens.

- Lenses: 14mm f2.8, 35mm f2, 50mm f1.8, 70-200mm f2.8 VR
Fast prime lenses for good quality and covering required focal length range. Fast telezoom for range.

- Flashgun: Nikon SB-600 (and umbrella for on-location portraits)
Several flashguns would be beneficial for on-location portraits. Make sure it works well with your camera. 3rd party flashguns are usually not as reliable as manufacturers own. Umbrella will soften the light while using flashgun off-camera.

- Diffuser for the flash, white/grey card, reflector
If you'll shoot with direct flash, diffuser would help. White card for white balance (though raw also helps here) and reflector for portraits.

- Extra batteries and memory cards (3 x 4Gb for the D300 and 1, 2 and 8 Gb for D80)

- Monopod
For extra support. Tripod would have been too clumsy for the day.

- Lens cleaning cloth

If I would have to shoot another wedding and would have the money, my choice for it would be D700 and Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8 + 70-200mm f2.8 VR on another body (probably the D300 though naturally optimal choice would be 2 x D700 or D3 + D700). Perhaps also the 17-35mm f2.8 for wide shots with the D700 (though 24mm probably would be wide enough on FF body for most situations). And few fast primes to go along.

Know the gear you're using

Having good gear is not enough; you also need to be able to use the gear without thinking what to do. So if you're considering borrowing a body, make sure you'll do it early enough so you can use it for several days before the event. Since things happen fast, you don't have time to search for settings. Weddings are not a place to learn to use the gear.

Also quite often people get the 50mm f1.8 after the kit lens. If you're getting that for the wedding, shoot with it before weddings. Getting used to primes (lenses with fixed focal length) might take some time if you're only shot with zoom lens so far, since to "zoom", you actually need to move back and forth. Try to shoot people with it so you'll get some ideas of the required range for different shots.

And then there's the flashgun. Many situations will be over really quickly so you don't have the time to first shoot, check the results and then adjust the flash output power. So you'll need to be quite familiar with it and know what adjustments it might need in different situation (though I've quite much grown to trust the Nikon system to get it right even though I'm bouncing it).

A good example of a situation where knowing my gear was important was when the bride and her father begun to approach the altar. We've been waiting for the bride for a while and suddenly without any warning they just appear there (even the groom was taken by surprise). I was still searching for optimal spot to shoot that event but had to start shooting. But at least I managed to get this out of it: [link]

Backup, backup and backup

And backup. Did I already mention that backup is important? Again, the underlying logic here is that since it's one of most important days in the couples life, you don't want to take any chances with it. Things will break down from time to time so it's perfectly possible that it also will break down during the wedding.

First of all, have enough batteries. I had 2 normal batteries with me for the cameras (two cameras) so basically I could have used these with both cameras. Then I had a set of rechargeable AA batteries for the battery grip of my D300 and finally also a extra set of normal AA batteries. And also have few extra sets of batteries for the flashgun, it tends to drain batteries easily if you have to shoot with high power.

Have enough memory cards. If you don't have, buy or borrow them. You really don't want to shoot with anything else than raw and it takes space. And keep changing the memory cards. If one breaks down, you'll only lose small part of the photos taken during the day. And if you change them often enough, you'll only lose part from that particular event.

Finally one really important (and often more difficult) part is to have an extra body with you. Remember, if you're the only photographer there and your camera breaks down, you're screwed. Borrow, buy, loan or steal one, anything. But get the second body. You might be thinking that "This doesn't happen to me." You might be right, it's probably more likely that it won't happen, but are you willing to take the chance? I just talked with one person here in dA who actually had his only body to break down during the wedding he was shooting. So it's completely possible it could happen for you.

2nd body is also really handy while shooting something as hectic as weddings. Since you won't be covering the wedding with a super-zoom lens (at least I hope so since they're usually not fast enough), you'll need to change lenses. It helps you quite a lot if you can use two bodies so you don't have to change lenses that often. Personally I had D300 as main body and mostly used it with 30mm, 50mm and 70-200mm lenses and D80 as backup and had a 14mm wide angle sitting there. This way I was able to get wide shots like [link] or [link] without wasting time with changing the lens.

Shoot RAW and shoot lots of it

This should be quite clear but still worth of reminding: shoot RAW. Yes, it takes more space but since you're a beginner, you really want the versatility of RAW. You can save bad images by changing exposure or white balance sometimes.

[link] Here's an image that I managed to screw up quite badly (and absolutely something that I shouldn't have). I didn't get the settings right with changing weather there (sun coming back behind a cloud and probably still too high ISO after the church) and it was over-exposed badly. With the help of RAW processing and Adobe Lightrooms "recovery" slider I was able to save it.

Also shoot a lot. Normally I would say that try to concentrate on quality and learning rather than shooting a lot and hoping to get few good photos. But in this case the photos are not for you, they are for the couple. Forget the learning experience or thinking if this would make a photo worth of taking. Just shoot. Since you (should) have lots of memory cards, it's better to delete the bad photos home after the wedding than miss some nice photo because you stopped to think if it would be worth of taking. Naturally you have to keep your mind into it but still, shoot a lot.

Get some experience before the day

Since it's your first wedding and you don't have experience with wedding photography, I'm not saying that you should get experience with wedding photography. Or you should, but I take that you can't this time. You should get some experience with event photography though. Any experience is better than no experience and event photography will teach you at least something about shooting people in changing situations where you want to capture the moment.

Personally I've shot quite many different events. Part of them political (few in really dimly lit conditions) and quite large part of them being from events with pet birds (and that's how I know the bride and probably why she wanted me there since she has seen the results). This was really valuable experience: using the flashgun, knowing what my gear can and can't do etc.

Shooting the ceremony

There probably is a ton of guides that will give you different tips on shooting the ceremony. I won't go into too much details and examples what you could do. But here's few thoughts that came into my mind.

First, be there early enough so you won't have any surprises like the one I told with bride and her father just appearing from thin air. This is what really begins the ceremony (at least here) so be ready for it when it's scheduled to begin. If you'll have to wait, wait. Perhaps you could catch few candids from that location while waiting. Also make sure you're there early enough to get some shots from the groom and best man waiting, and perhaps few general shots from the church too.

Talk with the priest or someone else and make sure what you can do there, where you can move etc. The balcony was locked there but I got a permission to go there by asking. Usually if you move around according those rules, you won't bother anyone. More likely by acting a ninja and trying to be as unnoticeable as possible will draw more attention. Just walk around with good pace and with self confidence. That's at least what I did and afterwards the bride said that she was kind of worried since she didn't even notice me during the ceremony.

You should also take notice of the surroundings: is there anything special that you could add into image to make it stand out among the more traditional shots. You can see two examples of this kind of photos at the end of this article.

Celebrations after the ceremony

The celebrations might vary from one wedding to another, so I guess it's difficult to give any general guidelines. Perhaps one good idea would be knowing the program well enough again so you won't have any surprises. Also try to find out if there's any surprise numbers (like stealing the bride which is customary here) and when they'll happen.

Make sure that if people want group portraits, you'll do that early enough when there's enough light (if outside) and also people are sober enough. This is where you'll have to take the lead and use voice. Even though you're unexperienced people still expect you to guide them to right places in the group portrait.

Perhaps it would be good idea to ask when to stop shooting too. I left the weddings still rather early (after the official program). Later evening it might get a bit more wild and people might not want you to shoot everything that's happening there.

Official portraits

If the couple (or most likely when) wants any official portraits, I would recommend shooting at least that in some photography studio. This guarantees that there is at least one good photo from the day that can be used in "thank you" postcards etc. But if the couple wants you to do it, then first find out what they want: studio photo or on location? In my case they wanted both and that was OK for me (though I had to drag my studio flashes there).

I've heard of occasions where the couple had to go to studio the next day since they didn't get any good enough photos from the day. Also once I ended up photoshopping the only close to decent photo that friend had from his wedding so they could have the "thank you" postcard.

Studio photos, in my case, were the least demanding part. At least I've had some experience working with the gear I have and naturally we were able to shoot as many photos as needed. I just set the studio up on previous evening (no chance to do that during the wedding day.. measure the right power need etc beforehand). Perhaps biggest problem ended up being that the couple was too close to the background so I wasn't able to lit it separately and it was perhaps a bit too well in focus. I just didn't have enough space to move them farther from it. So that required some extra post processing from me. Again, there's no shame doing something in post processing if unable to do it during the shooting. The results are that matter.

For on-location portraits, try to find some suitable spot before you'll go to shoot there. Lighting and background are important things to consider. I didn't have time to look for the place before the ceremony but fortunately I found almost perfect spot for it. It was nice and shady and also I used my flashgun off-camera for some extra light: [link] [link] If you don't have a flashgun with you for off-camera lighting, you might want to bring at least a white bedsheet to act as reflector.

Other small things to remember

- ISO value is something you need to be careful with. For example, you might move from a really dark church to outside. Remember to check the ISO and adjust it as necessary. I managed to forget it to too high few times.

- Keep a bottle of water with you. I got somewhat dehydrated and that gave me (as usually) a head ache. Thankfully I got a pain killer early enough and had a chance to drink.

- Also try to find some time to eat. If you're doing this as a service for the wedding couple, you probably can eat while rest of the people are eating too. I wouldn't expect too interesting photos from that situation. But it's long day, so you might want to use any chance you have to grap something to eat.

- Should be self-evident, but still: don't use too much alcohol. You're there to work, not to celebrate. Few drinks probably won't kill anyone, you should know your limits (and if you don't, then don't use the alcohol at all).

- Be prepared for a really tiring day. You'll be running around with your gear from early morning to late evening. Plan how you'll back your gear for easy access during the day and still so it's easy to carry around. Try to make sure you'll have everything you need, but you still should avoid extra weight. Also try to get a good night sleep before the day.

- Another self-evident advice: dress like other guests. Even though you're working there, you naturally should look good. As courtesy for the wedding couple and also this way you don't stand out that well.

- A photo book might be a nice thing to give for the couple. Something that tells the story of the day with photos.

Study and find inspiration

Now that you have read my thoughts on this matter (and if you're still thinking you can do it) you can actually start studying for the job. Try to read several wedding photography guides from internet, at least. There are also probably tons of topics about this in different forums. If you ask questions from forums, be ready for "Don't do it" responses. Some people try to help you and the couple here and some people tend to over reach when it comes into discussion about wedding photography.

Another thing you can easily do is to go through experienced photographers portfolios on internet and try to find some inspiration. In my opinion, there's no shame to copy some idea or setup. It's the end results what matter, not artistic integrity. You're still doing it for the wedding couple, not for yourself.

More reading

Here's at least few more links where you can continue reading about wedding photography or might find handy otherwise:

[link] French Foreign Legion
When things go bad, there's always an option. Quite often recommended just after you're asked to shoot the wedding.

[link] Flash Photography Techniques
A must read if you're not really familiar with your flashgun.

[link] Wedding Photography Tips
Good guide about the subject.

[link] Photo.net
Photo.net's guide into wedding photography.

Few example photos

Here are few example photos from the wedding that I covered and uploaded here:


Really traditional wedding portrait. Everything just went right here: I found just perfect spot (behind the first corner) where was nice background and some shade from the tree. Also the weather was just right and adding some extra light from SB-600 shot through white umbrella made the couple stand out.


Another basic portrait. I just noticed how the light shined through the hair of another guest and dragger the bride there. I lit the face with golden reflector.


One example of using the surroundings. Still somewhat traditional but the painting makes interesting extra detail in the image.


Another one with something found from the church. Also playing with DoF often gives nice effects.




My previous articles:
[link] 7 Photos as an Example - How did I make them?
[link] Do-it-Yourself Photography Studio
[link] How to analyze and critique a photo
[link] Photography as a Hobby: How to start improving
[link] Guide to better sunset photos
[link] Photography learning resources on internet