Wedding Photography Checklist, The Essentials & Must-Have Shots
Wedding photography is the photography of activities related to weddings. It incorporates a mix of genres of photography including portraits, family and group photography, documentary, boudoir, event, and close up shots. According to a survey on WeddingWire, an estimated 90% of couples hire a professional photographer for their weddings. That makes photographers the most in-demand wedding vendor of them all—beating out venues, hair and makeup, and wedding dresses.
| Wedding Vendor Type | Percentage of Couples Who Hire |
|---|---|
| Professional Photographer | 90% |
| Venues | 86% |
| Hair and Makeup | 80% |
| Wedding Dresses | 78% |
Wedding Photography Business and Advice
This is probably one of the most stressful areas of photography. If you accidentally delete a photo or lose the memory card, you are in trouble. But if you take great photos, you are a hero to the clients and are able to get referrals. Experienced wedding photographers can charge a lot for their services and make a lot of money. As a professional wedding photographer, a substantial amount of time is spent meeting, listening, and understanding your clients’ needs and wants before the wedding day.
As a wedding photographer, your clients tend to have high expectations because it’s more than one day for them, it’s about a lifetime of memories. It is about capturing moments, emotions, and letting your client relive the day with beautiful photos. It’s about the smiling moments that your client never knew happened because they were so busy on their day, about seeing the emotions on the faces of their family and friends, and the visual story that they will treasure forever. If you can remember this, you can make it as a wedding photographer.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Most complications usually arise from the business side instead of the photography side. Deciding on a price, what to include in your wedding photography package, and asking the right questions prior to the shoot all play an important part in setting up and running your business. When it comes to common mistakes, there tend to be two kinds—avoidable mistakes and unavoidable mistakes. The avoidable mistakes are the ones that could have been avoided if you had asked a few questions or done some planning.
Planning Your Wedding for Sunset
Sunset is one of my absolute favourite times to capture photographs. The sky is beautiful, the light is dramatic, and there’s a certain awe and joy that couples start to feel when they’re taking wedding photos at sunset. When you start to plan your wedding for sunset, you have to clarify what your vision is. Are you hoping to say your vows as the sun sets behind you – may be at a glorious outdoor wedding venue? Or are you hoping to plan your wedding for enough time to have your couple’s photos taken at sunset?
Tips for Sunset Ceremonies and Photos
- Check The Angles: When you are scouting out your venue location to plan your wedding for sunset, be sure to talk to the venue manager about what it’s like at sunset.
- Start Earlier Than You Think: Give the guests time to mingle before they’re seated, and then, on top of that, plan your ceremony to end 15-20 minutes before the sun is predicted to go down.
- Leave a 40-Minute Bracket Around Sunset: My advice is to leave a twenty-minute bracket of time on either side of the projected sunset time where you don’t have anything on the reception agenda.
- Work With The Photographer: Talk with your wedding photographer ahead of time and plan your wedding for sunset photos together.
6 Tips for Taking Beach Wedding Photos
The all-inclusive resort that you are having your destination wedding at is sure to have countless areas that would be the perfect backdrop to your wedding photos, but there is nothing quite as beautiful as the beach. Whether you are someone who looks for a photo opportunity as often as possible, or the sight of a camera makes you cringe, we have a few tricks to make your wedding photoshoot experience a great one.
- Have Fun: This should be the happiest day of your life, so it is important that each event is zero-stress and super fun.
- Shoot at the Best Time: Golden hour is a personal favorite of ours as it creates a dreamy atmosphere that everyone seems to look like a model in.
- Tell Your Photographer What You Want: In order to get the wedding photos that you have always envisioned it is beneficial to do some research.
- Make a Plan: This will be insanely helpful and will definitely get all of your bases covered.
Must-Have Shot Combinations
Whichever photo combinations you are looking for, list them out. For example:
- Bride (Groom) and Groom (Bride)
- Couple with Groom’s (Bride’s)/Bride’s (Groom’s) Parents
- Just the Groom (Bride) with their parents
- Groom (Bride) with Groomsmen (Bridesmaids)