So, you’ve decided to dive into the world of wedding photography? Welcome to a rollercoaster of emotions, caffeine overloads, and the occasional bridezilla (or groomzilla, let’s be fair). Having photographed over a hundred weddings, I can tell you this: I’m still no expert. But I’ve learned a thing or two – or twelve – that I wish I could go back and tell my eager, naive, inexperienced self. So, without further ado, here are the lessons that took me a hundred weddings to learn, which you can now absorb in the next few minutes. Lucky you 🙂
Note:
This post isn’t going to discuss camera gear, everyone talks about that. This post is about the day itself and what you can do to improve your wedding photography when you’re starting out.
1. Your Photography Style Comes Later, Just Roll With It
Oh, the early days. There I was, frantically purchasing every preset I could find, convinced that they would magically transform my photos into award-winning masterpieces. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. Those presets were designed for someone else’s shooting style, not mine.
The truth is, your unique style will evolve naturally as you gain experience. Don’t stress about it. Experiment, have fun, and let your style develop organically. One day, you’ll look back and realise you’ve created your own perfect preset, fine-tuned to your unique eye and style of shooting.
2. Learn Lighting Quicker
I can’t stress this enough: dive into lighting from day one. Understanding lighting was a game-changer for me. I used to think cheap speedlights would do the trick, but they often produce harsh, unpleasant light. Investing in better quality lighting equipment like Godox can make a world of difference.
My knowledge came from watching endless YouTube videos, reading websites, and practising on friends, models (TFP photoshoots) and family. I’m not claiming I’m an expert, but I absorbed knowledge from those that are. My lighting techniques suit my style. It is subjective but either way, it is important to understand it if you want your photos to stand out from everyone else at the wedding.
3. A Camera Harness is SO useful!
Imagine this: it’s the middle of a wedding, you’re juggling two cameras, and suddenly, you have an epiphany—you need a camera harness. I got mine from a European company for just £120, and it was worth every penny. It’s not about the brand or the price; it’s about the functionality. Also, grab a couple of spare camera loops. These small investments can save you from potential disasters, and your body will thank you.
4. Buy a Coolbox
Here’s a tip I wish I had known: pack a cool box. Fill it with RedBull, Coke, water, and snacks. Wedding days are long, and you’ll need all the sustenance you can get to stay on top of your game. I tend to have moments in the day where I go back to the car to switch batteries. I’ll take these few minutes to have a drink, and/or something to snack on.
Don’t think you’ll be fed, or have time to eat a meal, even when the couple have paid for it!
Around 20% of venues will not feed you, even when it’s been paid for by the couple. Or they will serve you your meal just as the speeches start, so you have to leave it uneaten. These venues do enough weddings to know what they’re doing is wrong, they just don’t care.
You can ask to be fed, you can even ask to be one of the first fed, but do not trust the venue to actually honour it! That Cool Box full of drinks and snacks is a lifesaver, trust me!
5. Trust Your Gut
This might sound like generic life advice, but it’s crucial in wedding photography. If you get an uneasy feeling about a couple, don’t book them. If you ignore your gut you will regret it!
6. About 90% of Your Business is Admin
When I started, I thought my job was all about taking beautiful photos on the big day. How naive! The reality is, about 90% of your business is admin. Emails, phone calls, video calls, meetings, editing, search engine optimising, blog writing, social media posting, accounting – it’s endless.
The actual photography is just a small part of what you do. Be prepared to spend countless hours on these tasks. It’s not glamorous, but it’s essential. This was posted on my Birthday. See my point? 😉
7. Embrace the camera Noise
Coming from a landscape photography background, I was terrified of using high ISO. Anything above 1,600 felt like heresy. But wedding photography is a different beast. To capture the ambient light, especially in dim venues, you’ll need to crank up that ISO.
Don’t be afraid of noise and grain!
Mix in some flash as a soft fill light, and you’ll get beautifully lit photos. Nowadays, I shoot comfortably up to 12,800 ISO, and I’ve even gone as high as 60,000 for those pitch-black venues where the only light is from the emergency exit sign.
8. Use the Programme Mode to Set Up Both Your Cameras
Here’s a nifty trick I wish I had known earlier: use the programme mode to set up your cameras. I use the ‘1’ mode on all my cameras for weddings. Before each event, I flip all the cameras to ‘M’ and then back to ‘1’. This resets all four cameras to my pre-programmed wedding set-up – my two Sony A7 IVs and my son’s A9 and A7 III – all set for the exact same wedding settings.
No more accidentally leaving the face tracking on animal or bird mode. It’s a small step that ensures consistency and saves a lot of headaches.
9. More Than Double the Travel Time, and Then Add Another 30 Minutes
If the venue is an hour away, leave at least two and half hours before. This might sound excessive, but trust me, arriving early sets the tone for the day. You can meet the team, take some venue shots, and gradually ease into your work. Rushing leads to stress, and stress leads to mistakes. Give yourself the luxury of time, just in case you breakdown, or the roads are closed.
I’ve taken this to the extreme; I even have a motorbike as a plan B, in case of road issues as I’m about to leave. Always, always check the live traffic as you are about to set off!
10. Don’t Worry About Uncle Bob with His Cameras at the Wedding
Ah, Uncle Bob – the well-meaning relative with a DSLR. Don’t let them intimidate you (and some will try to, they enjoy it!). Remember, you have the professional lighting, the experience, and the know-how to capture the best shots. When you see Uncle Bob chimping at his camera, snap a photo of the back of their camera – you’ll see the difference. Your work will shine, even if Uncle Bob tries to compete.
This is one of the main reasons I use lighting. When I’m going through the formal photos, there are ALWAYS people with phones or cameras snapping my shots beside me, or over my shoulder. They will post their version quicker than me, but my lighting will make sure my group shots pop, compared to everyone else.
Make sure you shout out “Everyone, please look at MY lens, not everyone else’s cameras or phones”!
11. A back-to-back triple, or quadruple wedding is a really bad idea!
It isn’t just the stress of tired limbs and eyes, it’s the editing backlog that it quickly causes. Been there, done that (5 weddings in a week), never again! Any back-to-back wedding is going to take it out of you. Know Thy Limits, and then stick to them!
I’ll do a double if one of them is my two hour package. If it’s two or more full days, nope, not again 😉
12. Try not to help, even when you really want to
Oh boy, here we go…
Be VERY careful offering to help someone with something.
A real life example; I saw a wedding cake maker pull up and watched her struggling to pick up the wedding cake from her car. Every bone in my body wanted me to do the right thing and say “Let me pick that up for you”. But, what happens if you ‘drop’ the wedding cake? You have just potentially ruined a Brides wedding day because you just dropped it. That kind of accident will follow your reputation for years, not to mention the claim against you.
What if the business putting up the decorations asks you to hold the ladder their on for a second, and they fall off?
What if the videographer asks you to move his tripod back and you trip and drop his £7,000 camera and lens?
Don’t get involved in things that are not your job, and don’t ask others to get involved in your jobs either. The risks of ruining a wedding by being helpful are very high!
13. The even more contentious bonus tip – No more “Smile or Cheese”
This one, I know, is going to be very controversial. Let me come right out with it, and then I’ll explain my reasons why:
“I don’t ask groups to say cheese, or ask them to smile“
There, I said it.
When I take group photos I’ll joke around a little and then simply say “Here we go, 3…(take a photo), 2… (take a photo), 1… (take a photo).
Now for the reasons why…
As a good example, I don’t like my teeth and I hate smiling with my teeth showing. In the past when I’ve been a guest at weddings or family events, and I’ve had to say “cheese”, my expression was way more of a grimace than smile, because I didn’t ‘want’ to do it. Sometimes I just ignored it, but then I was smiling awkwardly, because I knew I should be doing a big cheesy smile. Either way, my smile ALWAYS looked fake in every photo that had ever been taken, and I hated all of them.
There are many, many people who do not like ‘saying cheese’. I know this because I’ve had a decent number of people come up to me after the formals and comment on how glad they were that I didn’t force them to make ‘that smile‘.
I very quickly noticed in the early days, with the ‘say cheese’ shots, that a lot of people in group photos had that same ‘fake’ grimacing smile I used to have. It is SO easy to spot. When I switched to a countdown, it let people choose how they want to express themselves, in a way they feel comfortable doing. Suddenly all the group photos looked more ‘natural’.
Look again at the group shot above. Some are closed mouth, some are smiling wide. Have you noticed that the smile for all of them is completely natural? Nothing looks ‘fake’, I haven’t tried to force people to do something they do not want to do.
I know I am in the very small minority here, and I’m going to be lambasted quite heavily by even talking about this. This fits my way of doing things and I’m not saying this is what you must do. All I want you to do is play around with the idea in your head and maybe have it as option should the need arise.
Wrapping Up
Wedding photography is a journey, one filled with continuous learning, occasional missteps, and countless memorable moments. While I’m far from being an expert, I hope these nuggets of wisdom help you navigate the early stages of your career with a bit more confidence and a lot less stress.
So, to my past self and to you, dear rookie wedding photographer: embrace the chaos, trust your instincts, and enjoy every moment. One day, you’ll look back at your journey and be amazed at how far you’ve come.
Now, grab your camera, pack that coolbox, and go capture some beautiful memories. Cheers to your future hundred weddings and beyond!
