Here's a shocker: shooting weddings is easy. I've learned that it is the posed "pre-nuptials", the pre-wedding shoots, that are tough. I asked our mentor how to shoot, and the principles are simply the same general rules for portraiture:
- Use a long focal length, the perspective is more flattering.
- Watch how the light falls on the subjects, compensate for unflattering light with speedlights or reflectors.
- Watch your depth of field, it needs to be deep enough to have both the bride-to-be and groom-to-be to be in focus yet allow good bokeh (roughly go with f/5.6 to f/8). Or not, if that's your style.
In a wedding, there is a "script". Though inevitably the script has its interesting, sometimes funny twists, the point is things unfold in front of you. If you are in the right spot, you "merely" need to press the shutter at the decisive moment.
Couple At Fort Santiago
[ Nikon D50 and Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 ]
[ 1/1250s f/4.5 ISO200 18mm ]
At a pre-nup shoot, it feels like the "script" is your own and the actors are your subjects. You ask them to stand in the ideal spot, suggest they lean closer, and smile. And then you shoot.
Motorheads
[ Nikon D50 and Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 with Vivitar V2000 ]
[ 1/60s f/5.6 ISO200 50mm ]
But shoot again, because it is the moment after your first shot that is often the decisive moment, where your actors relax, or laugh at themselves, or do something you did not expect.
Starting Orders
[ Nikon D50 and Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 ]
[ 1/250s f/5.6 ISO200 50mm ]
Sometimes you think you are writing the script, but the truth is, you just place your actors in their spots, and they improvise for you.
