Taking great wedding photographs for brides and grooms who’re posing for the camera takes a certain kind of finesse and style. It’s different than just shooting the wedding ceremony. You become both the photographer and the artistic director. It’s your job to create incredible moments that can be captured on film for the whole family to enjoy for decades to come.
Here are a few techniques to help you create these kinds of photos.
Get Inspiration from Outside the Wedding Industry
Most wedding photographers are a bit timid about stepping outside conventional lines. If you browse wedding magazines, it’s rare that you’ll come across a photo that’s truly original or truly artistic. If you want to take pictures that your newlyweds will truly love, you need to find inspiration from outside the wedding industry.
Instead of looking at wedding magazines and other people’s wedding photos, look at magazines like GQ or Elle. Look at other industries that are more willing to experiment and take ideas from them. How are they having their models pose? What angle are they shooting from? What unique idea or concept are they putting into action?
Know Your Lighting
Try to shoot an array of photos with different kinds of lighting. Lighting can really change the overall feeling in a picture.
Try shooting some pictures with bright direct sunlight. Then try some with diffused sunlight, perhaps through a window. Get some pictures under the shade, then perhaps get some pictures that are augmented by indoor lighting.
These different kinds of lighting shots will help give your photos a range of different textures.
Practice Your Poses
Before the big wedding day, you and the bride and groom should practice their post important poses. The last thing you want is to try it out for the first time on the wedding day, only to realize that you don’t quite know where to position their feet or their hands.
Practicing beforehand allows you to micro-calibrate the pose and get it just right. The bride and the groom can get a feel for the pose, so on their big day they can snap right into their poses with no hesitation.
Outside the Box and Spontaneous
On the other hand, some of the best photos you’ll take will happen spontaneously. If you suddenly get a flash of inspiration, don’t hesitate to stop your subjects and ask them to pose. Often time’s all you need to do is ask them to freeze so you can get a shot. Sometimes you’ll ask them to pose spontaneously if you intuitively see a shot.
Try taking some unusual and outside the box shots. Take some shots from odd angles, with strange lighting or in poses that are a big unusual. Take shots when your bride and groom do something dramatic. Try to get some photos that stand out.
The majority of these photos will likely be thrown out. But when you take these kinds of unusual photos, usually one or two will come out looking incredible.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Communication is key to a great photoshoot. In order for the photos to come out well, you need to get your subjects to not only pose in the right positions, but to actually feel certain emotions. The only way that happens is through communication.
When you’re going for a shot, explain what kind of shot you’re going for. Explain why you think it’ll be a great shot. Tell them what kind of emotion or vibe you want to capture. If you’re doing something unusual, explain why you think it might be a good idea.
Don’t be afraid to get very, very specific. If you want her to move her fingers up an inch, say so. If you want him to smile a little more genuinely, say so.
Creating Your Unique Style
The best wedding photographer aren’t those that follow convention or someone else’s style, but those who really shoot with a style that’s their own. The best way to develop this style is to give yourself the freedom to take the photos you really want to take. Of course, make sure you take a lot of safe and traditional photos as well; but do make sure you steadily work on growing your own unique style.
As a wedding photographer, your job is to capture the magic between a bride and a groom on their magical day. These tips and techniques will help you capture those incredible moments.
This article has been written by Gary Roebuck, one of the most sought after wedding photographers in Surrey. He recently won the 2011 Mario Acerboni Creative Wedding Photographer of the Year award for his fine art wedding photography.