Wedding Photography

10 thoughts on “Wedding Photography”

• Some of the best photographers I know, who shoot regularly for the biggest magazines, newspapers and companies around the world, supplement their practice with shooting weddings. It’s often maligned I think because there’s such a wide range of wedding photographers out there. But wedding photography is without doubt a really really hard thing to do well. But it shouldn’t stop you being creative with it.
  Shooting weddings can also be a good way to learn how to shoot under extreme pressure. Which can benefit anyone, even those with little interest in having a commercial aspect to their work. I know several photographers who use them to ‘stay in shape’ as it were. You aren’t always going to be at your creative peak. So even if you primarily work on long term personal projects, using weddings to keep your ‘eye in’ and stay focused can be really useful. Plus little bits of commercial work here and there can be used to fund the personal work.
  Having said that, I think there are some caveats that need to be said. If you’re a guest at a wedding and have a camera with you, there should be no problem with takings photos. But do it with respect to the person paid to be there. There’s nothing worse than trying to do a group shot when there’s six cameras over your shoulder and all of the subjects are looking at a different lens.You’ll probably be kindly asked to stand to one side until the paid photographer has their shot, then you can have at it.
  The other advice I have is don’t start out shooting weddings without having done some assisting first. A wedding is a once in a lifetime event (well…maybe!) so you don’t want to mess up because you’ve taken on more than you can chew. You may well find yourself on the wrong end of some legal action (I’ve had to photoshop a few inexperienced wedding photographers out of trouble before and it’s never fun).
  So assisting is a really good way of learning the ropes without all of the pressure on your shoulders. That applies not just to wedding photography but to working commercially in general. I know several photographers (including World Press award winners) who when starting out used assisting to develop their skills and have gone on to use commercial work to support their more personal projects.
  A few of the photographers at Statement Images (the collective I’m part of) shoot weddings occasionally. You can read their thoughts on our blog here: http://statementimages.co.uk/blog/on-wedding-photography/#.UWbOUMu9KSM
  PS – I should add I don’t do wedding commissions anymore though. Unless you want to fly me somewhere nice, then I’m interested!

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  • If ever I get married again I’ll call on you Mark. I think wedding photographers are very brave because there are so many pitfalls.

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• As the song goes … “Love and Marriage, go together like a horse and carriage!”
  There is a new market in funeral photography it seems (I have done a couple) – a more interesting but perhaps not such a lucrative business!?

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• I’d echo Mark’s words. I’m happy to do them (mostly for the money, I have to say) but yes, they do keep you fit and every now and again some interesting imagery comes up.
  I quite often get asked by friends of friends who are getting married to do it for them, precisely because I am not a professional wedding photographer, and they want a slightly different take on the usual dross. But when it come to it, the old cliches are what they still pick out to be printed up!
  I think Magnum photographer Chien Chi Chang did a series on weddings some years back. But, like all commercial jobs (including any favours and freebies) the trick is to not avoid taking the shots that you feel are more interesting but the client probably won’t want: Make the job work for you.
  Amano’s right, funeral photography presents some more challenging questions, and as I understand it, it’s really important to migrant families to extend the funeral rites back home. In recent years, my own experience is that funerals are the only time that families are really drawn together in one place, so really, they are just as, if not more appropriate family photo opportunities!
  My advice is to not try to photograph your own wedding, because that’s quite challenging.

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  • changing attitudes towards death now make funeral photography more acceptable! People are likely to be more themselves perhaps rather than weddings where people are often “tanked” up and there is an air of uncertainty since so many marriages do not work out.

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• Wedding photography dose not appeal to me,and it would scare me enough not to want to try.
  My advice would be! keep photographing those things that you enjoy,and stay away from the things that you do not,it is much safer and far more enjoyable.

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• Apart from family weddings I have only photographed one other wedding and I did that for free as a favour to the Groom’s mother who had been let down at the last moment. It was a day I shall never forget although the scars are beginning to fade! Everyone tells you have to have a shoot list so that there is a natural sequence from bride and groom to everyone. I arranged to speak to the Groom’s mother and the bride. The latter turned up late, announced that she only wanted one photograph and left.
  I found the easiest way to work with the family and friend photographers was to announce in a loud voice that I would set up my shots and take them but then ask those being photographed to stay for a couple of minutes for everyone else to take the shot. It worked well and the clue here is to remain in charge whenever you are taking the photographs. I would recommend a minder who can politely ask those who do not wish to work with you to cooperate. I used my wife because she scares me.
  Wedding photography offers every difficult lighting situation imaginable particularly if you take a number of shoots throughout the day. The venue can offer a number of challenges and it is well worth paying a visit. I have found that most proprietors, Vicars or Registrars are only too pleased to help and can often offer suggestions about where best to set up. In the wedding I did I had everything from bright sunlight coming through a patio door immediately behind the bride and groom to a darkened hall with flashing multi-coloured disco lights. For the latter flash suitably metered provided an answer to most of the problems.
  Sometimes there is the opportunity to take photographs of the bride prior to the wedding and away from the pressure of the big day. It is a golden opportunity to find the best locations (visit beforehand) and has similarities to working with a model. The best advice I have been given for this sort of work is keep talking as you set up the shot in the viewfinder. When you stop talking or worst of all have never started the subject will freeze and strike some unnatural pose that will look and be awful.
  Personally I prefer the more informal shots which requires a constantly roving eye and an awareness of what is likely to happen particularly with young children whose photographs are usually very popular. The experience here is being aware of everything that is going on a round you even whilst you are shooting.
  There are techniques that are unique to weddings but they are very few and can only be discovered by experience – one of which is knowing when not to shoot. Overall they are an invaluable experience and I would echo the comment about being an ‘assist’ as this provides an opportunity to practice your skills without the pressure of getting it right. The people who bang on about either the ‘bread and butter’ nature of wedding photography seeing it as demeaning and not something that a true professional would touch or how difficult it is and the many pitfalls that surround it usually have a personal axe to grind. Go and enjoy!! Your photography will benefit enormously from the experience.
  I have just read Amano’s comment on the possibility of funeral photography. I should think it is fraught with danger. Apart from the ethical problems of photographing people grieving or enjoying the event you have to ask yourself what is ‘out of bounds’. I attended a funeral on one occasion where the mistress of the deceased jumped into the grave whilst the wife looked on. Great photography but would you really take the shot?

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  • Some very interesting thoughts and a brilliant closing question Cedric, quite an ethical dilemma.

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  • My photojournalism lecturer told me the story of a job he did while working for a tabloid newspaper where he spent the night in an as yet unfilled grave, then next morning he leapt out of said grave to snap the funeral of a gangster. He then legged it with gangsters friends in hot pursuit. The newspaper very kindly printed his byline when they published the photo.
    Maybe wedding photography isn’t so hard after all.

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    • Cedric says ” …funeral photography. I should think it is fraught with danger. Apart from the ethical problems of photographing people grieving or enjoying the event you have to ask yourself what is ‘out of bounds’
      Is not much “people photography” like this !?
      Have never been to a funeral where a grave was dug but if someone jumped in, taking photographs would be a natural response … of course, it depends on the situation, as usual.

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