How to Photograph a Wedding - Getting Started
By Bobby Jonnes
Photographing a wedding is not for the faint hearted, but
it is possible to get started in this business without
formal training.
What I will say in this article does not come from the
pages of photography books but has been learned the hard
way, from experience, including making mistakes.
Photography books, like any other, have their uses, usually
as a reference point upon which to base the groundwork of
practical application.
The purpose of this article is to help you save time and
frustration, by explaining how I got started in this
business, and hopefully how you can too.
When I first started taking photographs, over twenty-five
years ago, I did not then envisage going into business and
earning an income from my compulsive hobby. Over the
succeeding years I refined my photographic skills,
concentrating mainly on black and white printing and colour
transparencies. Digital photography was not an option when
I started.
I joined the local camera club, learning from the
experiences of others, both practically and through a
variety of lectures and presentations; I highly recommend
you seek out your local clubs and consider joining. Soon I
started to enter competitions and exhibitions, initially
without much success. However I persevered, studying the
work of successful photographers and copying their
techniques. After many experiments, and a few hundred rolls
of film later, I won my first competition. I was hooked,
and went on to win numerous competitions and to be
exhibited nationally and internationally.
Many of my friends and relatives started to ask me to take
photographs for them, one of my relatives asked me to take
her wedding photographs, that was over twenty five years
ago. When I look back now I realise just how much I had to
learn.
Shortly after this experience I befriended a local
professional photographer who had been invited to our
camera club. He knew I was interested in becoming a wedding
photographer and very kindly invited me to assist him in
shooting a number of wedding assignments. This proved to be
an invaluable learning experience. If you have the
opportunity to do this, do it!
Now, over twenty five years on, I have accumulated the
knowledge and experience, which enables me to provide a
quality photographic service with confidence.
At this point in your venture you should not be dwelling on
basic photographic technique. I have assumed that as a
competent amateur photographer you will already appreciate
the basic aspects of exposure, depth of field, fill in
flash and other such like basic techniques. If you do not,
then at this point a visit to your local library followed
by some practical trials in the above techniques is
recommended.
Equipment
Also, do not get too hung up on equipment; it is not as
important an issue as many amateurs would argue. Equipment
is just the tool that will assist you to produce quality
photography. The most effective means of improving your
photography is to shoot lots of digital images and
critically analyse the results.
I will however emphasise the importance of familiarity with
your equipment. This will give you greater confidence and
allow you to concentrate totally on the situation at hand.
Nothing looks more unprofessional than fumbling with your
camera controls whilst your subjects look on. So, get these
basics in place first and then you can move on with
confidence to tackling your first wedding.
Bobby Jonnes has been a photographer for over 25 years. He
has an in depth knowledge of the subject, specialising in
wedding photography. You can access his site for more
information to help improve your wedding and group
photography at http://www.photobiz4u.com
