Castleford Camera Club Talk 2023 - Capturing the Magic of Weddings supporting documents

 My name is Nicholas and I am a professional wedding photographer, in the next hour or so you will learn what’s in my bag, but before that, I would love to give you a few tips on photographing weddings and photography in general.

So why do I love wedding photography?, well I love wedding photography because it covers so many different kinds of photography,  

Wedding photography is a true mixture of all kinds of photography, portrait, landscape product, street/candid when I play the video in the next section hopefully you will see that.

But first here are a few tips, that will help budding wedding photographers and photographers in general 

1, Hands up, who has photographed a wedding before? And hands up, who didn’t have an agreement in place that set out the expectations?

You must have a contract or agreement, or at least an understanding of the couple of what to expect. Some people who may ask you to photograph their wedding may think it is easy, but in reality, it’s easy to mess it up. Getting experience is very important, but make sure you have protected yourself and managed expectations.

2, Where to stand during the ceremony – THIS ONE IS MASSIVE!

Can I have two volunteers just for a quick second? One thing I see most new wedding photographers doing wrong is standing on the groom’s side. Like all good fairy tales, the bride is the princess and the groom is the beast, so we need to focus our attention on the bride by standing on the correct side.

3, Use your lenses wisely – it’s essential to use depth of field to your advantage!

With mobile phones becoming increasingly advanced, it’s important to use your lenses wisely by using the largest aperture you can, especially when shooting portraits. This is the difference between mobile pictures and a photographer that shoots everything at f6; in most cases, the mobile picture could be better. Shallow depth of field is one of the things that makes photography look expensive and is one of the only things mobile phones cannot do naturally and easily. So get your lenses out and start shooting at shallow depths of field!

4, Following on from the last tip, you don’t need to photograph group shots/family formals at f8; it’s honestly a waste of light. Try f5 with a fast shutter speed.

5, Candid shots – they’re a buzzword that brides and grooms often use. It may be one of the only photography terms they will know. But, in my opinion, candid shots are not the be-all and end-all. Most people, when they see a candid shot of themselves, will be offended. Has someone ever taken a candid shot of you, and you felt like that’s not how you look? This is because everyone has an ideal pose. Some people spend lots of time in front of the mirror perfecting how they smile and look in photos. For you to take a picture from the other side of the room of the person mid-belly laugh, everyone else may like that picture, but I can tell you it’s hard to sell that picture to the person in it, especially if it’s the bride. So use candid shots wisely. I usually take candid shots of children playing, babies, and older people; on average, this would be about 20% of what I deliver.

6, Learn flash! It’s really important, and the effort to learn flash is worth it! It can get you out of trouble in dark venues and help you create amazing hero shots like some I will show you later.

7, Wedding photography is repetition. It’s about getting good at all the little things and then doing them at every wedding. In a minute when I show you the video, watch how much of what I do is just repetition!

8, Wedding photography is not perfect. You don’t have much time, so get what you can while you can. You will end up getting really good at thinking on your feet.

9,If you make a mistake, and I mean a big mistake, own up to it right away. For instance, if you miss the first kiss, ask the registrar to ask the couple to do it again. You will feel like an idiot at the time, but I promise you no one will remember that you asked to do that bit again. But if you don’t own up and ask,

10,  Always back yourself up you need to be confident even if you’re shitting it inside.