I did not write it here but between 2013 and 2016, I was a wedding photographer and I shot a thirty wedding. It is a very exciting adventure. I stopped today by pure hedonism. Indeed, in good French I like too much to relax on terraces and to go wandering in another city. I continue to do this more episodically.
I still accumulated during his years a little experience that I would like to share with you.
credit photo : siavach
1. Prepare your day
I always realize before the wedding an appointment with the bride and groom to fully define the schedule of the day and more specifically the schedule of my performance. Everything is obviously not to the minute but it is important to know what will happen at what time. Here is a sample schedule. This allows the bride and groom to know where they are going and especially to you to be able to redirect them if needed. Thanks to this piece of paper that you will keep in your pocket on the day of the wedding you are sure not to miss anything, not to forget anything (attention to the photo of the bride with her mother!) And to have always a shot of On the progress of the marriage. Do not stay limited to this planning because a wedding is alive and it can evolve according to the guests, the bride and groom and the bad weather! Know how you will be able to leave the cocktail if you made the trip in the car of the bride and groom . Can someone take your vehicle? You bring him back in the evening? It is imperative to predict it with the bride and groom. It is also a very good way to reassure yourself during this stressful day.
2. Measure the right mix of stress and self-confidence
You have to find the right mix of insurance and stress.
Too much stress will completely block you. Too much stress offers you to doubt yourself and paralyze you. Too much stress kills your photos.
Too much insurance will make you miss the special moments. Too much assurance will prevent you from improvising, to surpass yourself. Too much insurance will make you not paying attention to your settings. Too much insurance will assure you an average report.
The good mix between a little stress and a little confidence in you will motivate you. Give you the energy and the urge to surpass yourself. The pleasure of going to seek the photo of the wedding, THE photo of which you will be proud, THE photo that will go directly in your book. The report that you will like to show in reference, the report that will give the feathered desire to the bride and groom.
3. Be mobile
Yes, at a wedding, you will walk and even run a lot! I will pass on to sleep well before a marriage and to maintain one's health. But yes, on the day of the wedding, when one is not accustomed (and even when one is) it is tiring. It's like when you say to a model that poses for the naked: if your pose does not hurt, it is because it is not beautiful! So if you do not feel like shit, it's because you do not move enough!
It happens dozens of things per minute at a wedding. We must succeed in shooting the maximum. When you arrive in a church or any place, observe where you can place yourself. Never stay more than a minute in the same place. Think backfield field. Do not be pretending! If you are lucky enough to have a second photographer with you, place yourself so that you have two different points of view of the scene but especially not to bother you!
A wedding can last very long (21h for the longest I've done). So keep a minimum. There are times when you can rest. Do it in order to be 100% operational at very important moments.
4. Maximum Improvising
Each marriage of the same culture is similar in its course, but each marriage is different simply because it is not the same people who get married, the places are also different! You can not merely reproduce what you did last time. You have to improvise, let yourself go by the emotions that live around you. For two reasons: Your photos will only be better and you take away the risk of bothering you during the weddings that you will realize. If you count an average of 15 marriages a year, it can quickly become a boring routine.
To prepare for the couple session, do not hesitate to look at pictures on the internet to inspire you. But especially during the session, do not try to reproduce them to the nearest millimeter. You will ruin the atmosphere, you will not succeed your photo (the copy is never better than the original) and you will miss original and exceptional photos.
credit photo : siavach
5.Keep in mind: emotion above all
Observe the bride and groom, observe the family, observe the guests. Look at them really. Most of the time they do not take care of you. Try to feel their emotions. To see what affects them. Try to photograph the looks filled with this emotion. The looks between the bride and groom. The best example I can give you is when signing. Boring as possible. Especially when the Mayor says: sign here and here then look at the photographer. But no !! kiss my ass !! This moment or the groom signs and the bride in the background looks at him saying "It's good he signed" is often the most moving and you will have a real photo that the bride and groom will enjoy seeing again. And not a picture of the person signing who is watching you. This photo has the same interest as a photo of you in front of the Eiffel Tower just to say "I was there!"
So in all cases, think emotion, work to transcribe what happens in the wedding and to make timeless photos. Let go and stop making pictures that everyone does not care!
credit photo : siavach
