Let's face it - wedding photography is about as stressful a photography gig as you'll find.
That means that when you're just starting out as a wedding photographer, your nerves can run high and doubts about whether you can make it can creep up.
But I'm here to tell you that if you go about it the right way, you'll find success now and in the future. All it takes is a commitment to improving yourself and time to get some practice.
With that in mind, here's a few tips from the pros that will help you get started on the right foot in wedding photography.
Editor’s Tip: If you want to give your clients the ultimate pro experience, do what the pros do and order your photo albums and other photography products from nPhoto. Their products are handcrafted and gorgeously designed, and will leave your clients breathless. Explore nPhoto’s product line here.
Work as a Second Shooter First
If you've never shot a wedding before, one of the best ways to get your feet wet without all the pressure is to work as a second shooter.
Granted, professional photographers aren't going to hire just anyone to help them photograph a wedding, so you'll need some experience before you even apply for second shooting gigs.
But once you have a portfolio of your work put together and some time behind the lens, there are plenty of second shooter jobs out there.
The advantage of being a second shooter is that you work quasi-independently.
That means you have a pro photographer right there leading the way, but there's also opportunities for you to venture out on your own a little bit and be responsible for certain types of photos, like candids at the reception.
Working so closely with a pro will also give you a chance to learn the ins and outs of the industry, get tips from someone that's got a lot of experience, and get feedback on the quality of your images, all at the same time.
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Put Emotions Center Stage
Remember that the photos you take of someone's wedding day will be cherished for generations. That means you need to bring your "A game" when taking each photo.
One way to make each image more impactful is to ensure that you're effectively conveying the emotions of the moment.
The question is, how do you do that?
Believe it or not, you can capture much more emotionality in your photos if you do two things - slow down and relax.
Think about it - the wedding day is stressful and hectic, and your clients will certainly feel rushed, crazy, nervous, and so forth.
But you don't want those feelings and emotions to come through in your photos. Instead, you want something that evokes, love, caring, kindness, and so on.
You can help bring those types of emotions out by slowing things down.
That means slowing down your pace of speech, encouraging your clients to take a deep breath, and focusing their attention on what matters - each other.
And as you do that, ask your clients to relax, to release the tension in their shoulders, to let their face muscles rest, and to just be with one another in the moment.
If you find that your clients are having a tough time relaxing, crack a joke or ask them to say a silly word or recall their favorite memory of one another.
It's an exercise that takes just a few moments, but the result can be images that have much more emotion and meaning.
Editor's Tip: Taking photos with tons of emotion is just the start. If you want to give your clients a way to access the emotions of the day each time they look at their photos, be sure to give them a photo album that's worthy of this most important day. nPhoto is the largest printing lab in Europe and has a worldwide reputation for creating some of the highest-quality photo albums on the market today. Their albums are customizable to suit your clients' individual needs, too. See what nPhoto has to offer.
Framing Can Make or Break the Shot
As noted above, one of the keys to getting a better wedding photo is to help your clients slow down a bit.
But you can benefit from taking a breath and spending a few extra seconds zeroing in on composition and framing, too.
Framing is a skill that takes time to develop, but it's something that's among the most important wedding photography skills to master.
You need to be able to scan the scene, identify any distractions, and work to eliminate those distractions in short order.
Beyond making sure that there aren't any tree branches sticking out of the bride's head or a horizon line cutting the wedding party's torsos in half, you also need to think about framing from a cropping point of view.
For example, you might like how a closely-framed portrait of the bride and groom looks, but when it comes time to print, you might find that there's simply not enough negative space around them to print the photo in the desired size.
What's more, think about how you might need to crop your images for inclusion into a photo album, such that the happy couple remain the focus, but that the image isn't too closely framed (or too loosely framed, for that matter).
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Be Unseen
When you land a wedding photography gig, you're being hired not because the couple wants to see you and hear you throughout their wedding day, but because they want to see the photos you take for many years to come.
That means that on the wedding day, you need to be as unseen as possible.
In fact, the saying goes that the best wedding photographers are the ones that no one remembers being at the wedding.
So, do your best to get the shots you need and do so in a way that's under the radar. This is particularly important during the wedding ceremony itself.
Turn off any audible noises that come from your camera. Turn on silent shutter mode if you've got it. Avoid using card holders or camera bags that have loud zippers, or worse, velcro. Find a position from which you can shoot the wedding while minimizing how much you block people's view.
In other words, just be smart about how you go about your business!
Editor's Tip: Building a photography business takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. What you can do to build a successful business is to foster relationships with vendors that help you create a brand experience that's irresistible to clients. That means offering the best photo albums and photography products on the market, like those from nPhoto. The quality of their photo albums is second-to-none, giving you a gorgeous platform to present your images to your clients. Learn more by visiting nPhoto.com.