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WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Wedding Photography - 21 Tips For Wedding Photographers

“Help me – I’m photographing my first Wedding!… Help me with some Wedding Photography Tips Please!”

It’s a question that’s been asked a few times in our forums over the last few months so while I’m not a Pro Wedding Photographer I thought it was time to share a few tips on the topic of Wedding Photography.

I’ll leave the technical tips of photographing a wedding to the pros – but as someone who has been asked to photograph numerous friends and family weddings – here are a few suggestions.

Wedding Photography Tips

1. Create a ‘Shot List’

One of the most helpful tips I’ve been given about Wedding Photography is to get the couple to think ahead about the shots that they’d like you to capture on the day and compile a list so that you can check them off. This is particularly helpful in the family shots. There’s nothing worse than getting the photos back and realizing you didn’t photograph the happy couple with grandma!

2. Wedding Photography Family Photo Coordinator

I find the family photo part of the day can be quite stressful. People are going everywhere, you’re unaware of the different family dynamics at play and people are in a ‘festive spirit’ (and have often been drinking a few spirits) to the point where it can be quite chaotic. Get the couple to nominate a family member (or one for each side of the family) who can be the ‘director’ of the shoot. They can round everyone up, help get them in the shot and keep things moving so that the couple can get back to the party.

3. Scout the Location

Visit the locations of the different places that you’ll be shooting before the big day. While I’m sure most Pros don’t do this – I find it really helpful to know where we’re going, have an idea of a few positions for shots and to know how the light might come into play. On one or two weddings I even visited locations with the couples and took a few test shots (these made nice ‘engagement photos’).

4. In Wedding Photography Preparation is Key

So much can go wrong on the day – so you need to be well prepared. Have a backup plan (in case of bad weather), have batteries charged, memory cards blank, think about routes and time to get to places and get an itinerary of the full day so you know what’s happening next. If you can, attend the rehearsal of the ceremony where you’ll gather a lot of great information about possible positions to shoot from, the lighting, the order of the ceremony etc

5. Set expectations with the Couple

Show them your work/style. Find out what they are wanting to achieve, how many shots they want, what key things they want to be recorded, how the shots will be used (print etc). If you’re charging them for the event, make sure you have the agreement of price in place up front.

6. Turn off the sound on your Camera

Beeps during speeches, the kiss and vows don’t add to the event. Switch off sound before hand and keep it off.

7. Shoot the small details

Photograph rings, backs of dresses, shoes, flowers, table settings, menus etc – these help give the end album an extra dimension. Flick through a wedding magazine in a news stand for a little inspiration.

8. Use Two Cameras

Beg, borrow, hire or steal an extra camera for the day – set it up with a different lens. I try to shoot with one wide angle lens (great for candid shots and in tight spaces (particularly before the ceremony in the preparation stage of the day) and one longer lens (it can be handy to have something as large as 200mm if you can get your hands on one – I use a 70-200mm).

9. Consider a Second Wedding Photographer

Having a second backup photographer can be a great strategy. It means less moving around during ceremony and speeches, allows for one to capture the formal shots and the other to get candid shots. It also takes a little pressure off you being ‘the one’ to have to get every shot!

10. Be Bold but Not Obtrusive

Timidity won’t get you ‘the shot’ – sometimes you need to be bold to capture a moment. However timing is everything and thinking ahead to get in the right position for key moments are important so as not to disrupt the event. In a ceremony I try to move around at least 4-5 times but try to time this to coincide with songs, sermons or longer readings. During the formal shots be bold, know what you want and ask for it from the couple and their party. You’re driving the show at this point of the day and need to keep things moving.

11. Learn how to Use Diffused Light

The ability to bounce a flash or to diffuse it is key. You’ll find that in many churches that light is very low. If you’re allowed to use a flash (and some churches don’t allow it) think about whether bouncing the flash will work (remember if you bounce off a colored surface it will add a colored cast to the picture) or whether you might want to buy a flash diffuser to soften the light. If you can’t use a flash you’ll need to either use a fast lens at wide apertures and/or bump up the ISO. A lens with image stabilization might also help. Learn more about Using Flash Diffusers and Reflectors.

12. Shoot in RAW

I know that many readers feel that they don’t have the time for shooting in RAW (due to extra processing) but a wedding is one time that it can be particularly useful as it gives so much more flexibility to manipulate shots after taking them. Weddings can present photographers with tricky lighting which result in the need to manipulate exposure and white balance after the fact – RAW will help with this considerably.

13. Display Your Shots at the Reception

One of the great things about digital photography is the immediacy of it as a medium. One of the fun things I’ve seen more and more photographers doing recently is taking a computer to the reception, uploading shots taken earlier in the day and letting them rotate as a slideshow during the evening. This adds a fun element to the night.

14. Consider Your Backgrounds

One of the challenges of weddings is that there are often people going everywhere – including the backgrounds of your shots. Particularly with the formal shots scope out the area where they’ll be taken ahead of time looking for good backgrounds. Ideally you’ll be wanting uncluttered areas and shaded spots out of direct sunlight where there’s unlikely to be a wandering great aunt wander into the back of the shot. Read more on getting backgrounds right.

15. Don’t Discard Your ‘Mistakes’

The temptation with digital is to check images as you go and to delete those that don’t work immediately. The problem with this is that you might just be getting rid of some of the more interesting and useable images. Keep in mind that images can be cropped or manipulated later to give you some more arty/abstract looking shots that can add real interest to the end album.

16. Change Your Perspective

Get a little creative with your shots. While the majority of the images in the end album will probably be fairly ‘normal’ or formal poses – make sure you mix things up a little by taking shots from down low, up high, at wide angles etc.

17. Wedding Group Shots

One thing that I’ve done at every wedding that I’ve photographed is attempt to photograph everyone who is in attendance in the one shot. The way I’ve done this is to arrange for a place that I can get up high above everyone straight after the ceremony. This might mean getting tall ladder, using a balcony or even climbing on a roof. The beauty of getting up high is that you get everyone’s face in it and can fit a lot of people in the one shot. The key is to be able to get everyone to the place you want them to stand quickly and to be ready to get the shot without having everyone stand around for too long. I found the best way to get everyone to the spot is to get the bride and groom there and to have a couple of helpers to herd everyone in that direction. Read more on how to take Group Photos.

18. Fill Flash

When shooting outside after a ceremony or during the posed shots you’ll probably want to keep your flash attached to give a little fill in flash. I tend to dial it back a little (a stop or two) so that shots are not blown out – but particularly in backlit or midday shooting conditions where there can be a lot of shadow, fill in flash is a must. Read more about using Fill Flash.

19. Continuous Shooting Mode

Having the ability to shoot a lot of images fast is very handy on a wedding day so switch your camera to continuous shooting mode and use it. Sometimes it’s the shot you take a second after the formal or posed shot when everyone is relaxing that really captures the moment!

20. Expect the Unexpected

One more piece of advice that someone gave me on my own wedding day. ‘Things will Go Wrong – But They Can be the Best Parts of the Day’. In every wedding that I’ve participated in something tends to go wrong with the day. The best man can’t find the ring, the rain pours down just as the ceremony ends, the groom forgets to do up his fly, the flower girl decides to sit down in the middle of the aisle or the bride can’t remember her vows….

These moments can feel a little panicky at the time – but it’s these moments that can actually make a day and give the bride and groom memories. Attempt to capture them and you could end up with some fun images that sum up the day really well.

I still remember the first wedding I photographed where the bride and grooms car crashed into a Tram on the way to the park where we were going to take photos. The bride was in tears, the groom stressed out – but after we’d all calmed down people began to see some of the funny side of the moment and we even took a couple of shots before driving on to the park. They were among everyone’s favorites.

21. Have Fun

Weddings are about celebrating – they should be fun. The more fun you have as the photographer the more relaxed those you are photographing will be. Perhaps the best way to loosen people up is to smile as the photographer (warning: I always come home from photographing weddings with sore jaws and cheeks because of of my smiling strategy).

Photography Marketing ideas for the professional photographer

• K.I.T. -  Low pressure marketing for the commercial photographer

If you’re an independent commercial photographer, you probably already know the importance of KIT. (keeping in touch) Nothing can replace being able to produce good photography, except possibly a close personal relationship with a few key clients. :+)  I’m not saying that you don’t need to keep improving you photographic skills, but you also need to improve your marketing and personal relationship skills too. 

Have you ever heard the phrase “out of sight, out of mind?” That is oh so true in the world of commercial photography.  Let’s face it. There are plenty of jobs out there that many photographers could handle.  If your time is in such high demand that you only want the jobs that only you are capable of doing, read no farther. 

But if you’re like me and you would like to be shooting more than you currently are now, being at the right place at the right time, can mean thousands of dollars to your bottom line each year.

There are many jobs each month that cross the desk of an Art Director or Graphic Designer that could be done by a number of photographers in your town.  If you’re like me, you want that Art Director or Designer to think of you when that job lands on his desk. I’m not that proud. I’ll be glad to do that mundane job.  I can always find something to do with the money…  The twenty-four thousand dollar question is…  How do you make that happen?  How do we get the Client to think of us when that job hits his desk?

The best way I know to increase the odds of having that creative think of you when that job comes up, is to be fresh in his memory.  That’s why keeping in touch is so important.  The more you keep in touch, the more you are on the mind of the client, the greater your chance of getting the photography project.  It’s a numbers game.

I’ve listed a few ways that I use to KIT with my potential clients.  Here they are.

• Ways to KIT for the professional commercial photographe Phone call 

If you have an excuse to call, that’s great.  The trouble is, it’s hard sometimes to think of a reason to call someone you don’t know very well, just to chat.  And you can’t really call and just say that you want them to send you some work.  Remember, your goal is to just be on their mind in case something “photographic” should pop up.  This isn’t hard sell.  As a matter of fact, you want this to be just the opposite.  You want it to be a little on the social side.  You want to build a relationship, make a friend.  And whatever you do, don’t overdue it.  If anything, underdueit. (how come overdue is a word and underdue isn’t?)

• Direct mail postcards 

Post card mailers are great.  Maybe a little formal, but they have their place.  You don’t want to over due them though.  Personally, I feel that 2-4 mailers a year is enough,  Again… If you mailer happens to land on someone’s desk near the same time as a project, you might get a shot.   The reason I say that 2-4 is enough, is because I remember clients talking about one of my competitors and saying how they just dreaded this guy’s next mailer.  You can definitely overdue it with mailers or anything else.  And of course, the mailer better be the best that you can due and appropriate to the client too.  Don’t send your food shots to the healthcare client.

• Web page update 

Actually, updating your web page doesn’t directly help you keep in touch, but what it does do is to give you a great excuse to KIT.

• Lunch dates 

Expensive but effective.  Personally, I have to enjoy the person to have lunch with them.  It has to be good time, or you’re wasting your time and money.

• Portfolio interviews

Even with the Internet, you still need to have a three-dimensional portfolio and you have to show it around.  Clients will use your web page. But many of them still want to “see your book”.  And the more people you can get to see your book, the more work you will most likely end up getting.  When you first start out, everything seems easy.  Everyone is willing to see you because you’re new.  The problem begins when you want to see them again and you don’t really have that much new work in your book.  You feel as though you can’t show them the same stuff.  It’s really a dilemma 

• Photography Portfolio drop offs

I have a few portfolios that I have made up for the purpose of messengering around town. People seem to be a little more receptive to accepting a portfolio if there is no rush and no pressure from the photographer.  It’s sort of like a mega mailer.  The great thing about this is that you can do this even when you’re busy.  All it takes is a few phone calls and you can move your books book around town.  Your assistant can do that when they get a little down time.  The trick is to have predetermined list of people you want to see the book.  I usually create a list of agencies, design firms, and even web design firms that have very few people.  I like to see the larger agencies in person.  The personal interview is always better than the drop off, but the drop-off is always better that doing nothing.

  So pick the low percentage possibilities and send your book there.  If you can update the book significantly enough, you can send the book to the same place about once a year without making a nuisance of yourself. 

• Kit Emailers

I find emailers to be one of the best ways to KIT .  They don’t take much time, they’re personal (make sure they’re personal) and they’re FREE! All you need to do is think of an excuse to email someone.  Here are some of my favorite excuses to contact someone:  Let them know that I’ve updated my Web page.  I send them one of my latest images and ask them what they think.  I send them a really good joke.  I ask them “how’s it going?  As a follow up to a post card.  You can email more often than you can other forms of communication, especially if your relatively good friends with the contact.  Just a couple of lines are all it takes. 

• Parties and Trade Association meetings

ersonally, I can’t bring myself to attend these kind of events very often.  I guess that I’m just not a social kind of guy.  I bet they’re effective though…

The thing to remember when you’re developing your kit plan is to contact people as often as you can without being a pain or looking as though you’re desperate.  The more you talk with someone, the more they get to know you.  The more they get to know you, the more likely they are to give you a shot at a project. 

I like to have a plan of my KIT or marketing plan for the year.  Don’t get me wrong.  I never follow the plan, but it’s fun to make on up anyway.  It give me a benchmark to feel guilty about later…

The really big challenge of keeping in touch is to NOT overdue everything and damage the relationship.  Always be sensitive to the vibes. If you sense that maybe you’re overdoing it a little, back off and let things simmer for a while. Do your best.  That’s all anyone can ask.

10 Fundamental Ways to Market Your Photography

When working professionally as a photographer, taking the photos can seem like the easiest part of the process. It’s the business side of things that photographers often find difficult. Being able to market your services to attract customers is an absolutely key part part of any business. the process is no different from professional and freelance photographers, so here are a few key ways in which to reach out to the vast number of potential clients.

1. Advertising

When most people think about marketing, taking out ads would be one of their first considerations. However, most photographers I know seem reluctant to take out ads, as its hard to justify the cost, even though it’s a very good way of getting your name out there.


If you’ve already got a Facebook page up and running, you could try experimenting with the small costs of sponsored updates for which you can see stats and will be able to quantify whether you get any new enquiries.


You could also take out ads in print in local arts publications or newspapers, and it’s worth thinking about Google ads in order to ensure that when people are searching for you, they can find you on Google.

2. Social Networking

One of the key parts of marketing is reaching out to people on a level that they use, know and feel comfortable with and at the moment. The most vastly used examples of this would be Facebook and Twitter. I’ll concentrate on Facebook, but the ideas generally apply to both.


I would recommend building a profile specifically for your photography work. This allows you to have a presence that keeps people informed about your work without the interruption of personal updates. Be sure to include examples of your work in the image galleries and to regularly post images of the jobs that you’ve been working on to give your followers an impression of the type of work you do and what your capabilities are.


Once you’ve built profiles on Facebook and Twitter, make sure you use them. Be sure to have updates and links regarding the work that you’re doing, but also interact with other photographers, photography blogs, magazines, galleries, and local businesses. Twitter is one of the best ways to reach out to people that you would have otherwise never come across, so don’t be shy. Get out there and use the tools available to you!

3. Portfolio Website

It’s essential that you have a website that showcases the best of your work. It doesn’t need to be an extensive catalogue of all your images over the years, if anything, it needs to be a simple site that shows a balanced selection of your imagery.


With the addition of your contact details and links to other sites such as social network profiles, you’ve got yourself a platform which can act as the first port of call for potential clients. They’ll be able to search for you themselves, without needing any initial interaction.

4. Blogging

I find that keeping a blog works very well alongside my website, as it allows me to build a feed of the images and current projects that I’m working on. This works in contrast to the ‘best of’ selection in the portfolio sections of the site.


In a similar way to updating my social networks, blogging the latest photographs that I’ve taken will give a good impression to potential clients of the type of work that I can do. However on my blog, I’m able to present the images in a far more satisfying way!

5. Testimonials

Testimonials are a great way to hook new clients. For the most part, previous clients will make recommendations on their own terms, you can still take advantage of the power of personal recommendations by having a selection of testimonials on your website.


We are all now accustomed to looking for online reviews of products and services. So, once you’ve delivered work to a client, simply ask whether they can provide a few sentences regarding their experience or working with you.


Hopefully, some of them will be glowing reports from very satisfied customers that you can post on your site for potential future clients to read. This will reassure potential new customers that they’re making a good decision.


You may also find that some of these offer constructive criticism and allow you to make positive changes for future clients.

6. Networking

Over the years, I have found that nothing makes a stronger impression than meeting someone in person. Attend exhibit launches, photography events and meet ups, as well as visiting new businesses. Take the time to introduce yourself.


Undoubtedly one of the first questions that you’ll be asked is, “what do you do?” This gives you a great opportunity to explain that you’re a photographer, hand over a business card and offer your services!


When out with other photographers, look to build up relationships, you may think at first that you’re all in competition with each other, and to a certain extent you are, but there’s a great value in the support network of other local photographers who may end up passing work to you if they’re booked up!

7. Exhibit Your Work

This could turn out to be one of the more expensive marketing options, but from experience, I’ve found that exhibiting your work gives you a certain amount of status as a photographer that is otherwise hard to achieve.


Exhibitions build your name and profile and attract people towards your work, which will hopefully lead to future commissions. It doesn’t have to be expensive, especially if you’re selling the prints. You just need to find the right space to exhibit. Ask local art centers or small galleries whether they would consider working with you.


You then need to curate a body of work that has a unified theme to display. It gives you the chance to invite friends, family, local photographers, magazines and blogs and gives you the best reason to publicly declare yourself a photographer!

8. Online Arts Profiles

As well as having a presence online through your own site and social networks, there are a number of other art profile sites such as Behance, 500px and Flickr. On these sites, you can host your work and interact with other artists.


These prove most useful when you spend time using them and interacting with other creatives. You’ll not only make new friends, but also pick up advice, finding new work opportunities and get ideas for shoots.

9. Enter Competitions

I’ve written before about why its so useful to enter competitions and it may seem an odd marketing strategy, but marketing your work is about getting it seen and generating new opportunities. Entering competitions ticks those boxes.


Pick the contests that you enter wisely, ensuring that your style or subject matter is relevant to the theme, and don’t spend more than you’re comfortable with spending. Remember that more often than not, your work will be viewed by a panel of industry experts, and even if you don’t win the competition, making those connections can lead to future opportunities.

10. Putting All of It into Practice

Hopefully there are some marketing tips here that will prove useful at every stage of your photography career. For some, the business side of photography comes far easier than for others. If something doesn’t feel completely natural, work to find a tool that you feel comfortable using and get started on building a name for yourself. Once you get to a certain point, you’ll then feel ready to branch out and start building your profile in other areas and through other means.

GOOD LUCK