Wedding Photography

Art and Techniques

Terry Hewlett

• Publisher: Crowood
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781847978493
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Matériel de photographie

Weddings are beautiful and exciting occasions, but they are a tense challenge for the photographer. This practical book explains how to take romantic signature shots, as well as how to capture the spontaneous moments of the day. Written by an experienced professional and teacher, it gives essential tips to managing the day and covers the small details that will ensure your photography is cherished for a lifetime. It introduces different styles of wedding photography and advises on building a business, as well as explaining photographic techniques. It runs through the day's timeline and suggests how to prepare the final photographs. This practical book will teach you how to take stunning photographs of the bride and groom, their wedding and the story of the day. Beautifully illustrated with 172 colour photographs.

Chapter 1

Developing Your Style

Any wedding will call upon a diverse range of photographic styles. The photographs will inevitably include some formal elements sprinkled with the candid shots. So the best advice is to broaden your skills and make your style eclectic. Your photography should reflect all of the following.

REPORTAGE, PHOTOJOURNALISTIC OR STORYBOOK

The current trend is towards photojournalistic wedding photography. As a photographer with this style you are more than likely to consider yourself a storyteller as opposed to just recording the day. You could be asked for photography that is natural and candid, less rigid and not intrusive, that is, to take images that capture moments unobtrusively. You will respond as the timeline unfolds with possibly unpredictable results; however, it is that unpredictability that can be so enchanting about this style.

This style of wedding photography may only represent about ten per cent of the total shoot, the balance being taken up with more formal images and records of the ceremony. The style lends itself to more oblique angles and a spontaneous approach to the day. More often than not you will be using oncamera flash (not the desired position), or on a flash bracket, using natural light in an informal style.

You will provide the story of the day, recording events as they happen with a natural feel. You will take photographs as the day develops, capturing elements as they happen, rather than shooting set-up shots. Not to be confused with natural shots, storybook will not show any specific group or have any kind of structure.

Photojournalistic/Reportage tells the story of the day, capturing events as they happen. 200mm @ ƒ2.8 1/50sec

The digital age has opened up the opportunities for photographers producing a storybook style of wedding photography. 200mm @ ƒ3.2 1/60sec

Arrival at the ceremony, using a 70/200mm lens to reduce the depth of field and make the subject stand out from the background. 190mm @ ƒ2.8 1/160sec

It is possible to take natural and spontaneous images with an element of control being exercised by the photographer: the fitting of the dress, pageboys and bridesmaids, groom and the best man and ushers. As the photographer, you will need to take some control, whilst at the same time being virtually invisible, possibly being a little forward and somewhat assertive to capture the moment.

This style of photography has evolved over recent years since the advent of digital photography, given that you can now shoot hundreds, if not thousands, of images without increasing your costs. However it does impose a greater workload upon the photographer in post-production. With this style of photography there is the danger of machine-gun shooting instead of the sniper approach. There is more to reportage or storybook wedding photography than putting your camera on power drive and hoping for the best. Be sure that you know why you are shooting an image and what you want it to convey to the viewer, and do not leave it to chance.

Try to capture the details at the speeches that reflect the mood and occasion. 200mm @ ƒ4 1/60sec

Look out for the impromptu cameo images that happen only once. 155mm @ ƒ4.5 1/100sec

During the day you will be looking for the spontaneous romantic moments – the loving kiss, holding of hands, affection and humour that are spontaneous and will disappear in an instant.

Providing a diverse mix in the couple’s wedding album will ensure that it reflects the emotional tone and feel of the day, and will help add balance to the layout, producing an album that reflects the whole day and tells the story.

FORMAL/TRADITIONAL

In the days before digital the number of images was dictated by the amount of film that was taken to a wedding, and if shooting in medium format, you would more than likely be restricted to twelve rolls of film that would produce 144 images, requiring the photographer to be very selective and make every shot count.

This formal approach produced very formal images, contrived and orchestrated, giving this style a rather tarnished reputation, somewhat undeserved. In any wedding there will always be the requirement to capture the families and generations, providing a balance to the opportunistic and photojournalistic style.

The formal approach to wedding photography is a thing of the past and is not generally desired by the current generation of couples getting married, who are influenced by contemporary magazines that depict natural and spontaneous images.

This does not mean, however, that the formal shots should be boring and mundane. On the contrary it will be your responsibility to put people and groups at ease, posing them naturally and producing an image that does not look too contrived.

After the ceremony, if the couple wish to do so, consider going back inside the venue for a formal pose or signature shot. 34mm @ ƒ4 1/60sec

At some point during the reception, you may be able to find some time to shoot the couple in a more relaxed environment. 24mm @ ƒ2.8 1/160sec

The exchange of rings is a ‘must-get’ shot, representing the union between the couple. 25mm @ ƒ8 1/250sec

AVANT-GARDE/CONTEMPORARY

Avant-garde is a style that can be related to art, music, written texts and photography. It was first introduced by a group of musicians, artists and writers who wanted to experiment with ideas that were very different to the norm, and these included new concepts and techniques. This genre edits the conventional methods, and is made up of a variety of informal characteristics of photography and other arts.

Avant-garde is a French term meaning a vanguard or advance guard that goes forward ahead of the rest. In art and photography it is synonymous with modern and applies to those that are experimental and innovative, and very often pushing the boundaries exploring new forms, the result of a creative mind. Salvador Dali was a key player in the avant-garde movement, a master of surrealism, taking the movement to a whole new level.

Given the experimental nature of this format and the fact that it will not suit every couple, you should use it sparingly.

Avant-garde represents an artistic theatrical approach that by its very nature will no dou...