How to Photograph a Wedding - Getting Started
Posted by admin at 14:02 | Filed In Photography
Wedding Photography
Photographing a wedding is not for the faint hearted, but it is possible to get started in this business without formal training.
What I will say in this article does not come from the pages of photography books but has been learned the hard way, from experience, including making mistakes. Photography books, like any other, have their uses, usually as a reference point upon which to base the groundwork of practical application.
The purpose of this article is to help you save time and frustration, by explaining how I got started in this business, and hopefully how you can too.
When I first started taking photographs, over twenty-five years ago, I did not then envisage going into business and earning an income from my compulsive hobby. Over the succeeding years I refined my photographic skills, concentrating mainly on black and white printing and colour transparencies. Digital photography was not an option when I started.
I joined the local camera club, learning from the experiences of others, both practically and through a variety of lectures and presentations; I highly recommend you seek out your local clubs and consider joining. Soon I started to enter competitions and exhibitions, initially without much success. However I persevered, studying the work of successful photographers and copying their techniques. After many experiments, and a few hundred rolls of film later, I won my first competition. I was hooked, and went on to win numerous competitions and to be exhibited nationally and internationally.
Many of my friends and relatives started to ask me to take photographs for them, one of my relatives asked me to take her wedding photographs, that was over twenty five years ago. When I look back now I realise just how much I had to learn.
Shortly after this experience I befriended a local professional photographer who had been invited to our camera club. He knew I was interested in becoming a wedding photographer and very kindly invited me to assist him in shooting a number of wedding assignments. This proved to be an invaluable learning experience. If you have the opportunity to do this, do it!
Now, over twenty five years on, I have accumulated the knowledge and experience, which enables me to provide a quality photographic service with confidence.
At this point in your venture you should not be dwelling on basic photographic technique. I have assumed that as a competent amateur photographer you will already appreciate the basic aspects of exposure, depth of field, fill in flash and other such like basic techniques. If you do not, then at this point a visit to your local library followed by some practical trials in the above techniques is recommended.
Equipment
Also, do not get too hung up on equipment; it is not as important an issue as many amateurs would argue. Equipment is just the tool that will assist you to produce quality photography. The most effective means of improving your photography is to shoot lots of digital images and critically analyse the results.
I will however emphasise the importance of familiarity with your equipment. This will give you greater confidence and allow you to concentrate totally on the situation at hand. Nothing looks more unprofessional than fumbling with your camera controls whilst your subjects look on. So, get these basics in place first and then you can move on with confidence to tackling your first wedding.
Bobby Jonnes has been a photographer for over 25 years. He has an in depth knowledge of the subject, specialising in wedding photography. You can access his site for more information to help improve your wedding and group photography at http://www.photobiz4u.com
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