Wedding Photography

Weddings can be a great time for photograph taking. Note the following tips:
Most couples hire a professional photographer, so be careful not to interfere with the professional's work.

Buy some bridal magazines beforehand and look at the photos inside for inspiration.
The bride's dress can overpower the camera, as it's all white. Either the dress looks perfect and the bride's face is too dark, or her face is perfect and the dress has no details. This can be circumvented by using a reflective surface (like a large white card) to direct extra light towards the bride's face. A white wall can achieve the same purpose.

Use different angles. Try zooming in on a kiss, or tilting the camera slightly.

At the Church: Some churches don't allow flash photography. If your camera doesn't work well in low light don't try to take any shots in the church. Instead wait until the happy couple pauses on the church front steps. Plan ahead and find a good location before they exit the church.
Don't just focus on the bride and groom - take photos of the other guests.

At the Reception: Events at the reception include cutting the cake, the first dance and the bouquet toss. Plan ahead so you can be at the right place at the right time - it helps to have a family member alert you when the event is about to start.

"Be prepared" is the motto when shooting weddings! Attend the rehearsal and take note of the sequence of events. If there is no rehearsal, visit the scene of the wedding beforehand and study the lighting and other conditions that will affect your photos. Knowing what to expect will save you lots of time on the day.

When shooting at weddings you want to minimize the distractions of using any manual settings of your camera, but still want great photos. One way to do this is to use your camera's custom white balance feature. Take a white balance reading at the front of the church; inside the church; and in the hallway - whenever the light changes a lot. Use the same reading for all shots at that location. If your camera supports it, you can also 'save' these settings beforehand as index shots and switch back to the appropriate settings when you take the photos.

For interesting shots, try not showing everything in your image - leave some to the imagination. For instance, the bride may have a veil and a headdress etc. Rather than showing these with every picture, cut it away and leave hints every now and then.