How to Photograph a Wedding

Photographing a wedding is at least as demanding as taking a still life shot or organizing a set for a fashion shoot. A field – that of wedding photography – made of:  choices, modus operandi, technique and rules. We try to go into this topic by giving some suggestions that will encourage those who want to seriously approach this type of photography to grow and providing equally valid reasons to give up to those who believe that this work can be done simply by buying a Reflex camera for € 299.00.

Choose the photographic kit

Yes, massification reigns supreme! When I happen to meet colleagues in marriage, I realize that for the most part they are always equipped with the same camera – perhaps one of the latest professional or semi-professional  Canon or Nikon – and with the same optics, that is, a bright standard zoom but not too much. For heaven’s sake, I have nothing against the aforementioned Japanese giants – so much so that I myself use Nikon equipment – but I must add: what a fantasy. I wonder: is it possible that everyone needs the same equipment? All with the same zoom? The marriages are not all alike, require different tools according to their particularities…. And among the photographers there are those who pose, who reportage, those who photograph conceptual ceremonies. It is not possible that these varieties of photographic proposals all converge in the same type of equipment. No. We must have the courage to make choices and to make them we must necessarily understand our needs. It should also be added that the perfect camera does not exist. There are only reflex cameras suitable for us and others less so. Indeed, it is not even said that we need a reflex…

Lightness and efficiency

Here is the most difficult compromise to understand and accept. The lightness. For a whole day even just 3 kg on the shoulders are too many. We leave home what we consider superfluous, what weighs us down does not make us work well. And based on the type of wedding that we are about to photograph, we make precise choices. Personally, I give up taking super bright lenses with me if I know I have to photograph in the daytime and I also leave my Nikon 70/200 Vr II 2.8 at home if I know I can participate in an event that is held in somewhat cramped places that would not allow a correct use according to my idea of ​​wedding photography services.

Photographing a wedding with the flash? Never. But this is my stylistic choice … Recently I happened to receive a commission for an important private evening party on the Amalfi Coast. After having had precise notions about lights, set-ups and locations I did two accounts and I chose what to bring with me. I had to be light, barely visible and quick in making the images. Here you will find everything that, on that specific evening, allowed me to bring home excellent photographic material.

What do you need to become a good wedding photographer?

To be a good wedding photographer, you need to have knowledge, a lot. The basic and academic rules are of fundamental importance just as it is good to look and fully understand how artists of greater caliber operate than us and who perhaps represent our references. The deepening of the studies on the light, on the color and on the tools we use is everything and it will always come in handy when we shoot helping us to face the unexpected events. Not to mention the fact that a good cultural background allows us to push the cameras we take “beyond” the limits. Finally…. The sensitivity, one thing we cannot buy, and if you miss it perfectly useless to the rest.