On the wedding day, there are so many images and moments you are responsible to capture, and it can be overwhelming (not to mention, stressful)! Even when you are shooting multiple weddings per month, how do you always know which photos are most valuable to your couple? On top of that, which photos will help you get your work published?
After the ceremony and its memorable shots, the final moment of the wedding day is when the bride and groom leave in their getaway car to enjoy their lives as newlyweds. Before this happens, they want to say goodbye to their family and friends and leave the reception together. A creative and exciting way to spice up this part of the shoot is to have a sparkler exit. During the sparkler exit, the bride’s guests stand outside the reception hall, form a line, light sparklers, and cheer the couple on as they leave the building.
Here at ShootDotEdit, we believe “Fast is Best.” We know that one of the keys to success for you is to find ways to speed up various parts of your business. Whether you trim time from your shoots, regular tasks and projects, or post-wedding workflow, you should always think of new ways to become faster at what you do. As well as the tasks you take care of for your business, you spend a lot of time with your camera. During an engagement or wedding shoot, you likely spend hours shooting and adjusting settings on your camera to capture images for the bride and groom.
How well do you know the current camera you use? Have you discovered custom settings on your camera to help you quickly shoot during an engagement shoot or the wedding day? Custom settings for your camera can differ depending on the model, but all achieve the same goal: to eliminate time. Here are 3 custom camera settings you should use to speed up your shoots.
1. Use Back Button Focus
Does this sound familiar? During a shoot, you take multiple images in a row of the bride and groom, and in between each shot you pressed the shutter button halfway down to properly focus the image. You are confident you captured the best photos; however, when you take time to review, you realize that half of the photos are out of focus. Not only is this frustrating, but you risk on missing some of the best moments during the day.
When you shoot an engagement session or wedding, there are elements you look for to ensure you can create the best photos for your clients. From lighting to posing, to location, you make sure that you and your clients are set up for a successful shoot. In addition to the elements you look for, how much attention do you pay to select the perfect background?
The background can help you make a stunning photo, or can turn your shoot into a nightmare if you don’t use it to your advantage! So you can always find a background to suit your shoot, here are 7 tips for selecting the perfect background for your couples.
1. Look for Something New
As a photographer, you may spend time shooting the same locations over and over. While this is fine, don’t be afraid to mix it up. Look for backgrounds that you have not shot before. Perhaps you have always wanted to shoot your couple in front of a busy city or in front of a legendary monument. Find ways to incorporate backgrounds that differentiate your images from past ones. This creates stunning photos for your couple and also keeps you motivated to take dynamic photos.
Whether you are a new photographer or have been shooting for years, how often are you using the rule of thirds for your images? Chances are you mightknow a bit about the rule of thirds, as it was likely one of the first lessons you learned about photography. But, are you using it to the best of your ability to create memorable and interesting images from every shoot?
For some, the rule of thirds revolves around how images are composed, and others use it as a starting point and then develop different framing techniques. The great thingabout the rule of thirds is it allows you to look at your images differently. It is also helpful because it takes you away from shooting the same images every time. Instead of shooting your couple straight on, the rule of thirds allows you to move them away from the center of the photo. So you can discover if you are using the rule of thirds to its fullest, and to help in creating dynamic photos, here are a few tips you can use for your next shoot.
Understand the Concept
The rule of thirds is based on a 3×3 grid where you place your subjects on the imaginary points where the lines intersect. Within the grid, use the rule of thirds to place the couple (or subject) in the top, bottom, left, or right portion of the frame. This splits the image differently than it would when you place the subject directly in the center of the image.
Out of the images you shoot during the wedding day, the bride’s dress is one of the most important to capture. Whether there is an emotional story behind it, or there is a unique reason she chose it, this is the dress she wanted to wear and have photographed on her big day. That’s why mastering the wedding dress photography is a must.
Ever have trouble organizing and shooting a large bridal party? Today, Amy and Jordan Demos are sharing 4 secrets for how to photograph a large bridal party on the wedding day in the fastest, most effective, and organized way possible. They will help you have a plan for a part of the wedding day that a lot of photographers dread, and will show you how to have fun with it, get great images, and get time back if the timeline’s fallen behind.
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1. Shoot with Chairs
One of our goals for large bridal party shots is to be able to see everyone as clearly as possible. If we string out twenty people in a line or single row, their faces are going to be so tiny! So we (almost) always, whenever possible, use chairs for bridal parties with more than four bridesmaids and four groomsmen when we’re photographing the entire group. Ten (in total) is the absolute most we’ll ever photograph without chairs. Again, that’s a general rule. You have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis, but that’s our basic idea heading into bridal party photos.
The history of photography shapes the way a photographer uses cameras and shooting styles in today’s advanced industry. Before digital, photographers used film to capture moments from couples and special events. Because many cameras did not have advanced features, there were some limitations and inevitable results from film. One example of this is when shooting in film, certain cameras created a vignette on the edges of the image. Most of the time, this was an unintentional addition on the photos, but could enhance images if done correctly.
A vignette occurs when the outside of an image is faded or darker than the center of the image. Vignetting can be beneficial, because it allows the eye to focus directly on the center of the image, helping the center become the most important aspect of the image. There are several ways to include a vignette in your photos, and here are 3 tips to help you master the art of vignetting.
1. Understand the Types
There are various ways for you to create vignettes on your photos, even while you are shooting. Two of the types of vignetting you can work with are mechanical and natural. You may not always want to add a vignette to your photos, but understanding the differences between each of the types of vignettes can help you easily create the desired effect for your photos.
Mechanical vignetting occurs due to extreme angles that light is entering your lens. An example of this is on a wide angle lens, such as a 16-35mm lens. Because it is so wide, it can sometimes add a slight vignette, especially when shooting at 16mm. And then, if you add a lens hood and filters on top of the lens, you have a chance to get even more of a vignette on your images.
Natural vignetting is more gradual (and less noticeable) than mechanical, even though it can also be caused by wide angle lenses. When the light reaches your camera sensor at certain angles, it can cause a subtle vignette around your images.
When you know the differences between the types of vignetting, you can make the decision during your shoot to avoid certain looks (or to intentionally shoot that way).
With the advancements of technology, many digital cameras do not automatically create vignetting as some of the older film cameras did. If you still desire to include vignetting on your images, you can make this part of your Signature Style! To maintain a fast workflow, incorporate vignetting into your favorite presets that you use in combination with a wedding post production company for your images.
Both Lightroom and Photoshop allow you to add vignetting to your desired photos. Depending on which program is best for you to add your Signature Style to images, you can quickly adjust the darkness of a vignette to match the vision you had for the photo.[ninja-inline id=14011]
For example, in Lightroom, access the Develop module and look for the section labeled “Lens Correction.” From there, you can control how dark you desire the vignette and even where you want the center of the vignette to be. Remember, unless you desire a dramatic look for your photos, vignetting can be very subtle and almost nonexistent to the untrained eye.
Because the various types of vignetting cause you to fade the periphery of the image, ensure you position your subjects away from the edges. If your subjects are placed near the edges of the photo, you risk part of them becoming a different shade. Or, if the vignette you create is darker, you risk covering your subjects by the vignette.
Part of knowing how to combat this issue is to decide what moments during the wedding day shoot you would prefer to have vignetting, such as the bridal or couple portraits. As you shoot your subjects, you can have an idea of what photos you would like to create a vignette in-camera (if your camera has the settings), and which you may add vignetting to with your artistic edits. Though subtle, vignetting places focus on the center of the frame where you should place your subjects to gain the most impact.
Creating images that represent you and your style as a photographer is important to standing out fromothers in the industry. Having the knowledge behind photography techniques, such as vignetting, can help you grow as a photographer. When used correctly, vignetting is a stylistic choice you can make to enhance your photos and contribute to telling a story of the wedding day. Learn more about creating stunning photos every time with our Pro Photographer Lighting and Posing Guide!
During an engagement session or wedding shoot, how often do you incorporate landscapes into your photos? If you shoot most of your weddings outdoors, chances are you work with stunning landscapes during many of your shoots. If you primarily shoot indoors, do you suggest to your clients to step outside and capture some of nature’s beauty?
Spicing up your portfolio is key to remaining current and inspired in the photography industry. Although shooting with remarkable landscapes may seem simple, it can also become a bit of a challenge. When you choose a location to shoot in, there are still plenty of decisions to make in regard to capturing perfect shots, from the perfect angles, lighting conditions, and compositional elements. Here are 7 ideas for including the landscape in your portraits to create interesting and compelling photos for your couple.
1. Scout Stunning Locations
Is there a certain place the bride and groom mentioned they would love to visit to have their photos taken? This is an opportunity to find a unique location to shoot your couple during their engagement session or wedding portraits. If your couple is unsure where they want to go, but know they want to take their photos outside, make sure you have a few ideas for locations which would make for perfect landscape shoots in your area.
Often times, the bride and groom are initially nervous around you and in front of the camera. If your clients are stiff and uncomfortable, your images may not be as powerful as they could be. The more relaxed your couple is, the easier it will be for you to pose them and capture their genuine emotion. One of the best ways to lighten the mood is to get your couple laughing.
Virginia wedding photographer, Katelyn James, knows how to get your couples to laugh and enjoy themselves during the shoot. Today, we’re excited to have her share 3 tricks to easily make your couples laugh.
I was once asked, “How do you get your clients to LAUGH?!” This is a great question because I often forget this does not come naturally to everyone. Some newer photographers are nervous when they shoot and so being “funny” and “engaging” with their clients is uncomfortable at first. I think there are several variants which come into play when it comes to photographers photographing GENUINE laughs. There is not a magic formula or an “easy button” for this and every couple is different.
However, I do think that EVERY photographer HAS to be personable. This is non-negotiable. If you are a wedding and/or portrait photographer and you don’t really love being around PEOPLE, then you need to purchase an epic zoom lens and start photographing sports and landscapes. (Not that sports or landscape photographers aren’t personable… but they don’t HAVE to be in order to do their job well:)
