Tips for Taking Better Wedding Photos

It never fails. You buy a new camera, take some good pictures and a friend asks… "Can you shoot my wedding?"

Be Careful

If you haven't shot a wedding before, consider the following benefits of contracting with a pro:

If you are determined or it is just for fun and practice, read on...

Wedding Photo Preparation Tips

  1. You will need at least one high quality SLR, a flash bracket, external flash and diffuser, lots of extra batteries, lots of memory cards, and a backup camera.

  2. You must plan your shots ahead

  3. Shoot in RAW mode

  4. Spend time researching and learning your camera.

  5. Taking test shots on location using different settings and record your camera settings in a notebook you can refer back to when choosing the best settings based on the test shots.

  6. Extra equipment you may need include:

    • Batteries

    • Memory Cards

    • Spare Camera

  7. Format cards before the wedding (double check)

  8. Set Expectations with your friend

  9. Avoid harsh shadows

    • Use an external flash

    • Use fill flash

    • Shoot outdoor pictures in the shade if possible

  10. Avoid Red-Eye by keeping the flash a short distance away from the camera lens. 

  11. Avoid glare from prescription glasses by tilting the arms of the glasses up a bit so that the lenses are angled downward.