Five Tips For Shooting Your First Wedding

Hello dearest Crafty Wife readers! I’m so pumped to be here with y’all today!

This month, I had the incredible opportunity to shoot my first two weddings! Crazy enough they were back to back weekends but in hind sight I’m glad they were because I picked up so much from the first wedding and was able to apply it right away!

Both of these were friends who asked me to shoot their weddings. The great thing about this was that I was already comfortable around the couples AND that they knew what to expect from me! I knew that they would be happy with what I was capable of producing at the time that they booked me. But I wanted to do even better than that!

Here are a few tips for you if you are shooting a wedding in the future! These tips can also be applied to other photoshoots too.

 

1) Don’t be afraid to be assertive

Most people are not focused on the pictures that need to be taken. That’s why they hired you! I promise you, they won’t remember that you were “bossy” or “demanding” because they will be so thrilled at the photos that you were able to capture on their very special day! These are priceless moments and they won’t kill you if you ask them to smile just one more time 🙂

 

2) Capture the candid moments

This is one reason I cannot recommend a second photographer more! There are so many moments to capture and it can get really overwhelming to capture the “must-have” moments on top of trying to get candid and creative shots. But take advantage of “slow” moments, like during the ceremony after you’ve already gotten the shots you need. There has to be a balance of both kinds of shots but a well-shot wedding needs a little bit of creativity, too!

 

3) Don’t forget the details

Brides and grooms put so much energy and planning into the details. Flowers, place cards, center pieces, cake decoration… don’t forget to capture those! They might not be the photos they frame in their home, but they’re the photos that will bring back such great memories.

 

4) Keep an open mind

Every couple is different. Every wedding will be different. If you’ve attended any amount of weddings in your life, you’re going to go into photographing a wedding with expectations. But when you’re the photographer, it’s just your job to roll with the punches and make the best of any situation.

5) Move those feet!

Especially when it comes to the candid and creative shots, those only come from moving your feet. Not only that, but the wedding day moves so quickly. Be ready to sprint from the front of the ceremony location to the back to capture that moment. Run into a field to get a photo with that perfect backdrop. Sometimes the photo won’t come out the way it did in your head, but you’ll never know unless you try.

I’d love to hear your tips for photography, too! Comment below 🙂

For more of my photography, you can check out my website or subscribe to my photo blog!

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Thanks so much for having me today, Teresa!