Lighting Digital Field Guide

Chapter 14. Wedding Photography

As your sensitivity to lighting grows and your passion for photography becomes more evident to your family and friends, it won't be long before you're asked to shoot a wedding. This chapter offers tips to make sure you get the best images possible on the big day. Unlike almost any other genre of photography, weddings involve shooting all the major styles — portraits (the bride and groom), group shots (the wedding party and families), events (the ceremony), products (the shoes, place settings and gifts), still lifes (the flowers), close-ups (the rings), and action (the reception and dancing) — all in one day! Photographing a wedding can be an admittedly stressful yet thoroughly enjoyable experience that will keep you on your toes looking for great light and great images.

I always make sure to photograph the cake, flowers, and place settings to tell the story of the day. Exposure: ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/50 second.

Preparation and Considerations

Preparation can go a long way toward your final success, so here's a review of getting set up for a typical wedding day. It helps to become familiar with all the wedding locations beforehand to get a feel for the light at the time of day the wedding will occur, and to scope out some great shooting locations that offer good backgrounds or situations. You could also take a compass, smartphone, or GPS unit or a little point-and-shoot ...