How to Shoot a Wedding- for Amateurs

Before the big day, I charged a ton of batteries, filled my SD case with empty cards, made sure my computer was charged and a USB cable handy, and had 2 cameras and lenses on standby. (I shot with 2 cameras. My point-and-shot Canon, and my aunt's Nikon SLR. I love my point-and-shoot for the size, and it takes excellent pictures, but a lot of flexibility comes with using an SLR if you know how to do it. I will write a lens soon on these two cameras. And no, I am NOT an expert SLR user, but learning a few things about the tools on a camera, and adding it to what I know about lighting has improved my photo quality drastically. You can read about that later.) Your equipment doesn't matter a ton, but make sure you know how to use it!

Make sure you have an itinerary of the day. Hair, makeup, arrivals, everything. Then you can plan your driving. Pack some water and snacks. You'll spend a lot of the day in the car if the preparations aren't all happening at one location. Make any lists of things you think of beforehand; write everything down; and brace for chaos.

Also, make sure the bride and groom are okay with you wandering around, taking pictures. It's probably a good idea to tell the wedding parties and maybe their parents as well. This gives you permission to be where you need to be, and it tells people to grab you if there's something cool happening. Occasionally, someone will call you over to snap pictures of things you didn't see.

If you're going to be near the stage or whatever, wear blacks. (Make sure you ask the bride and groom if it's okay for your to be there!) Again, this is a preference, but I was at a wedding where the photographer was wearing light-colored clothing and everyone talked about how distracting it was to watch him moving around. Americans, by and large, are trained to not notice people in black.

Don't forget a tripod! And a power strip and extension cord for charging batteries and computers and whatnot. And extra memory cards!

Oh, and practice a little courtesy. Turn any digital sound on your camera OFF! It's annoying anyway, but no couple wants their wedding video filled with beeping! (Before my wedding, there will be an announcement. "Please turn off all sounds on your digital cameras. If you don't know how, you probably shouldn't be operating a camera." Something like that.) And don't use a flash during the ceremony. Plus, your flash can throw off the professional's photos. (This is just a personal preference. Generally, if you're using a flash, you don't know what you're doing anyway, and your pictures won't be that great. Just my opinion.) Try to reduce your annoyance factor as much as you can.

Most of the preparations were done at my house, so I was there as my aunts readied the flowers, dresses, and everything else. (My aunts are incredibly talented. The mother of the bride made 16 dresses for all the girl cousins, as well as the centerpieces. Another aunt did all the flowers, including the bouquet. They are amazing!)

Get shots of things the bride and groom won't see. When Heather (the bride, my cousin) was getting her hair done, my house was aflutter with activity. She didn't get to see the zillions of boxes of things to be taken to the site or the buckets of flowers that made my kitchen look like a jungle. These were part of the "process" of the wedding that she missed out on.

Once you have an idea of the bride's day (in this case, the groom went golfing, so I didn't follow him around), you can decide where to go. I visited her at the salon getting her hair done, at the makeup studio, the flower factory in my house, and anywhere else I could think of. These are all things the photographer wasn't around for yet, and I got some great candids of Heather, her mom, and her mother-in-law. For some of these, I took my 3-year-old cousin, who was the flower girl. Having a kid around adds lots of genuine smiles and funny snapshots.

Other than watching the bouquets get built, the cars get packed, and the bride get fancy, I followed around some of the cousins. We come from a family with a zillion girl cousins (Heather and I are some of the oldest), and Heather wanted to include them all in her wedding. We all had matching dresses, and each played a part in the wedding. These lovely ladies made an appointment to get manicures and pedicures together. I joined them (but my fingers were busy snapping pictures), and got some fun photos of the painting. This is another activity that Heather did not get to be a part of, but she enjoyed seeing what happened. Plus, none of the girls had cameras, so they had reminders of the fun they had too.

At the ceremony, you want to shoot the set-up, the bride getting ready (although, the pro may be in there with her), candids before the formals, people arriving, food, cool things if they are outside, decorations, and anything else. If you find a way to become a teleporter, like on X-Men, please let me know. That would make this so much easier!

Professional photographers are just that: professionals. They are generally pretty well trained in the art of photography and they are paid to be there. They take first place for anything regarding shooting the wedding.

If you know you will be taking lots of pictures, it is often helpful to introduce yourself to the other photographer. Make it known that you are not trying to edge him or her out. "Hi there. I'd like to get some pictures too. You have priority, though, so please let me know if I'm in your way." I did this at my cousin's wedding, and it worked out great.

Don't photograph the formals. When people are lined up and posing, the pro is in charge. Oftentimes, he will ask friends and family not to take photos. Here is the reason: If you are both shooting at the same time, people don't know where to look and you can be distracting. Also, your flash can and will change light values for their photos. Also, if a zillion people are taking photos of the formals, no one will buy the fancy ones, so the pros don't want you to take your own because they lose money. When it comes to posed formals, the professional rules the world. You could certainly help by making sure people are ready to go when it's their turn and whatnot. This will make the photographer's job easier, thus making her like you more.

During the reception, and especially toasts and dances, make sure you are not in her way. She gets the top spot when it comes to views. Be aware of where she is and where you are and if there's a problem. I took over 2000 photos of the wedding, and because I was conscious the whole time of the paid pro, we didn't have one problem or any interference. Perfect!

One of the reasons my snapshots turned out better, or at least were more valuable, than the professional's is that I knew the family. Especially with the amount of divorce today, it's hard to know what groups of people are normal to see together, and which are unique to the situation (and therefore special).

At this wedding, both the parents of the bride and groom had been divorced nearly 2 decades, and don't often get together. When I saw the mother of the bride chatting with the sisters of the father of the bride (the aunts), I made sure to snap that one. It's not something we're likely to see again anytime soon. The father of the bride with tears in his eyes isn't too rare, but when it's the stepfather of the bride who raised her and loved her as one of his own, that's worth capturing. All the grandmothers together. That was eight at this wedding! Old married couples dancing.

Another advantage to knowing people is they are comfortable with you, and you often know them well enough to get a genuine smile out of them or ask them to scoot closer for a group shot. Don't be shy, but be polite.

I didn't realize how important knowing the crowd was until my family saw my pictures. Because I knew everyone, I captured people at their truest, as well as unique moments we may not see again. The bride and groom loved this as well as the rest of the family, who got to see photos of things they missed or weren't a part of (because they were on the other side of the room!) If at all possible, know as many people as you can.

In photography, digital equals cheap. It doesn't cost you a thing except some time to take a zillion pictures. I took over 2000, slapped them on a CD and let me cousins decide what they wanted. I didn't print any for them but left it to their discretion. By all means, fill up your memory cards! You have nothing to lose. Plus, you never know what you're going to catch! (Like the man of honor stuffing his jacket with Kleenex!)

Along with burning CDs for my cousin, I also did for her mom and the mother of the groom. Then it was up to them to pass them along to family members who wanted them. No hassle for me, and everyone got what they wanted!

If you're shooting a wedding like this, probably you know the bride and groom and many other people. Make sure you enjoy the wedding. (And certainly don't forget to eat!) People will see you having fun, and they will reflect that in your pictures. Remember, you are not getting paid. You are not there solely as the photographer. So take some time to enjoy the wedding as a guest as well.

One of my amazing aunts came up with a great idea. (Sidenote: I am a techie, so they assume I can make anything happen if it has to do with computers and stuff.) Why don't we bring a printer and computer and print the photos as we go? Why not?

We made it happen and it was so cool! People loved it!

My printer does pretty good photos, and we bought lots of 4x6 photo paper. (And lots of ink!) Before anything started, I staked out a corner of the reception room/tent, ran power, and got a table. My aunt got clothes pins and a rope and hung it nearby. I had a cousin (also a techie) trade me memory cards every few minutes as I wandered around taking photos. He picked good photos (usually group photos from tables) to print and hang. We told all the guests that they were welcome to take photos home with them. It was so cool!

So often, people get fun pictures taken of themselves on someone else's camera and they never see them again. This way, they had take-home memories of the wedding and their time with family and friends. I made sure to get photos of all the families or groups at all the tables. This way, I didn't have to worry about a million people emailing me! But I did tell my cousin not to print photos of our family since we know where to find them. "If you don't know the people in the picture, print it."

Seriously, this was an awesome idea. I wish I could take credit for it, but it wasn't mine. I think it will be a staple at weddings and parties from here on out. (I have another cousin getting married this summer, and we will be doing it. My sister is getting married too, but I'm not sure if we'll do this or not. I want to be available for other things.)

Some of the funniest things happen at wedding rehearsals and rehearsal dinners, and no one ever has a photographer there, and people rarely bring their cameras. At Heather's, I got a picture of her man of honor (her brother), holding her bouquet of ribbons and a roll of toilet paper (for all the crying people.) At another rehearsal, while the bride and groom were practicing walking down the aisle, I snapped a few of one of the groomsmen doing cartwheels in the grass. Being at the rehearsal will also help you get to know the wedding party if you don't already, and get an idea of the set up of the ceremony so you can get good shots there too.

At rehearsals and rehearsal dinners, there is often a lot of family around, including out-of-towners. Laughing, crying, telling stories, sharing meals. There is generally less stress than the day-of, so people are calmer and more willing to be photographed.