Wedding Photography Tips

[Kelly]

but did you at least hire someone to chisel illustrations into a stone tablet?

The great thing is that the tablets can double as our headstones.

[Brenda]

You are so clever, Kelly!

[Kelly]

You are so clever, Kelly!

I don't know about that, but after an incredibly shitty week, it was a nice diversion to dig out the old tablets and amuse myself.

[Matt]

Recently, I have seen "photographers" (people with cameras that take great pics of their pets who decide to charge money to [strike]shoot weddings[/strike] disappoint newlyweds) lug those wide angles to wedding and shoot away with it. Although I can write on and on about how bringing a wide angle to a portrait session (and despite large wedding parties often requiring group/family sized photos, the purpose of the wedding, and primary photos of the photographer should be around the number 2) there is one particular habit that drives me nuts. Not only am I seeing people shoot the bride and groom with a wide angle lens, I'm seeing these "photographers" get creative or sloppy with angles and they are doing the one thing you NEVER should do to a bride: put her in the corner of a wide angle lens.

Trained photographers know that wide angle lenses are great for fitting an expansive scene, through optical distortion, into the fringe of an impossibly tight frame. Distortion in the center is generally mild, often barreling slightly, while the edges.... expand, stretch... and MAKE BRIDES LOOK FAT AND UGLY. No bride wants to look this way, or see the printed memories of this day with her skull stretched out like martian. Essentially, wedding photographers being paid to flatter the bride. Although there are some exceptions, 99.9% of wedding jobs don't need that wacky creativity and are not times to experiment. They are times to use the right tool for the job-- the paid job. The bride didn't dress in the traditional way, the groom did not wear that traditional tux, and the wedding isn't following a tradition of centuries old western weddings, so the photographer can take out that near-fisheye he/she has been itching to use and try some new things.

The bottom line is: for capturing those "most important day moments" the photographer's job is the make the memory as wonderful as possible. Know your most flattering lenses and focal lengths. Of those, wide angles should be far away.

[Kelly]

Don't ask a bride to dip her toes into rushing water.....

RAWDON, Que. - A recently married bride wanted to be photographed one more time in her wedding dress.

The photo shoot on Friday wound up killing her.

A Montreal-area woman, married just under three months ago, dipped her toes into a river northeast of the city near the town of Rawdon.

The water wasn't particularly deep or turbulent. But it began to seep into the dress, making it heavy.

Eventually, the 30-year-old woman slipped from the rocks and was carried away by the Ouareau River.

"The photographer put down his equipment and tried to save her. He grabbed her with his hands," said provincial police spokesman, Sgt. Ronald McInnis. "(One witness) tried to help, but they couldn't save her.

More....New Bride In Rawdon, Quebec Plunges To Her Death

[Des219]

I recommend only going with photographers, not a single photographer. And if you are taking "making" photos for a couple then you should have someone to assist you. There are too many events and moments that it is best to have multiple angles and views. Make sure to sync your times between cameras so you can more easily group them. Most likely 24 - 200 mm not one lens though.

[Kelly]

How to Save Big Money by Not Hiring a Professional Wedding Photographer

Why Wedding Photographers’ Prices are “Wack”


[spoiler] [/spoiler]

[Matt]

I shot my own wedding. Saved a lot of money.
Would have saved a lot more by not marrying to total bitch.