High-quality photographs are made, not shot. The quality of your shots is determined by your preparation and most significantly the polishing you do to each picture. You may have muted the music or sound in your shots, but your images can tell the subject’s words. Welcome to the photography of the century!
1. Have a chat with your clients
The newlyweds have an idea about the kind of photographs they want for their big day. Have a meeting with them and take them through your previous work. Allow them to give the ideas they need capture for their wedding. During the meeting, you’ll also learn other details such as the rehearsal, venue and must-take shots for family and friends.
2. Fine-tune bounce flash
Hone your skill to diffuse or bounce a flash in your photographs. Most churches have limited lighting for great photographs. You also need to appreciate that most churches don’t allow camera flash. Therefore, you need to fine-tune your ability to bounce the flash. And while at it, remember bouncing flash off a colored background adds color cast to the end product. You can also consider using a flash diffuser to soften the light.
3. Shoot in RAW
A wedding is a once in a lifetime moment for your client. It pays to do an exemplary job for the newlyweds. Take the time you need to process your pictures. Shooting in RAW allows you the flexibility to manipulate the shots to balance all elements for the perfect photograph.
Shooting in RAW is ideally critical because it allows you to work on the exposure and white balance to obtain quality photos.
4. Display your shots
Guests are anxious to see their best shots for the day. Everyone is dressed their best and also try to outdo each other in their looks. Satisfy their curiosity by providing them with the pictures in the evening. You’ll need to carry your laptop to allow you to process the photos. Then, display them on a screen as a slideshow as the evening party continues. Displaying your shots gives you leverage in a cut-throat competition in the photography business.
5. Consider the background surface
You are likely not to have the best background on the wedding day. Guests move around meeting friends, running errands crowding your background. Remember to scope out an area for all formal shots to help you capture the best shots. Your favorite spots should be free from distractors and free from direct sunlight and shades.
6. Resist the deleting temptation
Digital cameras allow you to scan throughout shots and delete your mistakes. However, it would help to keep all the shots to choose the best when you have time. Additionally, the bad shots offer an opportunity to learn. While you delete, you may discard some of the most interesting shots and ruin the fun. You can decide to crop the pictures and manipulate them to your standards. Think of having the abstract pictures at the end of the wedding album.
Photography is an art that gets better with practice. Take time to read and practice the lessons learnt. Never shy from learning from your errors. Have a fantastic photo session!
