Warrior

Advice/ Things I've learnt from shooting weddings...

So you've been asked to photograph a wedding, it may be a friends or a clients, either way its a huge and scary job. It's the happiest day of their life, so you have be sure to capture every moment, and then there is of course the 'posed' photos of the friends, family, in-laws ect.

Now I'm not a famous wedding photographer (unfortunately) but I done a few weddings over my years of freelancing and I want to share some of the things I've learnt over along the way...

• Triple check you have all the right equipment (and that it works). Before I even set out of the house, I take a photo, to check that everything is working right. The things I always make sure I have with me are:

1. Camera (Of course) and batteries, I always bring 2, fully charged. 
2. Flash gun. Super important for weddings, as the venues are often quite dim lit. 
3. Memory cards. 
4. Lens cloth 
5. business cards

• Write a list of poses/ the people you need to get formal shots off. Some of the ones that are usually important: (You can download checklists of 'formal weddings shots' or make your own!)

1. The bride and her mother 
2. The bride and bridesmaids
3. The groom and best man 
4. The couple with both sets of parents. 
5. The bride alone

• Be thick skinned. On weddings days, especially in the morning, people can be quite stressed and you may be ordered around a bit. Keep in mind that usually the bridesmaids and the mother of bride have alot of things to think about so don't take it to heart if they do boss you around a little bit. Just be confident of your job and focus on getting the best photos. 
• Look out for natural smiles. Scan the crowds, looking for natural smiles, focus in and capture that real moment. 
  
• Check before the big day ask how long they want to you to stay. It can be awkward asking whether you are free to go or not, so make sure before hand that they know how many hours you are willing/have been paid to stay. Ask before hand if they want you to stay for the first dance, cutting of the cake or just want snaps of the ceremony. 
• Always get a deposit!
• Check that everyone is okay for your to publish the photos. 
• Bring a snack bar. You could be working up to 12 hours, without any time to stop, so its important to bring a snack that you can eat quickly but will keep you going, maybe a cereal bar or a packet of peanuts. Hopefully the bride and groom will let you eat when they are having their meal. 
• Check with the vicar if and when you can use flash. 
• Capture the little details. These are usually the things that the bride is too busy to really take notice of, so its a good idea to capture these so the couple always has a reminder of every aspect of their wedding day. 
  
• Dress your best. Look professional but be aware of the wearing heels all day :/ I usually go for some comfortable small heels or nice sandals. 

Hope this is useful to anyone shooting a wedding soon. I do love weddings but as a photographer it is one of the most stressful jobs and there is alot of pressure on the photographer to capture everything, so if in doubt, just keep clicking! 

Becky. x

My top ten favourite photographers.

Here is a list of the photographers that have inspired and shaped the way I work. Lets get started!


10. Annie Leibovitz.

Annie Leibovitz, known mostly for her work in the Rolling stone and vanity fair magazines has photographed too many famous faces for me name! My particular favourite series of hers was her disney inspired shoots, which features famous faces as the classic characters in fairy tales such as Cinderella and sleeping beauty.  

9. Horst. P. Horst. 

This photo by Horst. P Horst, entitled 'corset', has always been one of my all time favourite images. The elegance and beauty of it made me want to create similar things when started shooting in film. Horst has shot over 90 covers for vogue in his fashion photography career!

8. Helmut Newton. 

During my foundation diploma I did a series based on Greek mythology. Whitest researching photographers for inspiration I came across this one by Helmut Newton which is based on Greek goddesses.  Looking into more his work, you'll see that he likes to push the boundaries of sexuality within his images, reflecting provocative and erotic scenes.

7. Kirsty Michelle. 

Kirsty Michelle studied 'costume for performance' at the London college of Fashion where she learnt how to create and design these wonderful costumes. She depicts her favourite fairytales in her photos by hand-making or designing everything in them! 

6.  Joel Robison. 

Joel Robison's work is whimsical and plays with reality. I fell in love with his style straight away and he quickly became one of my favourite photographers.  

5. Alex Stoddard 

Just like a few others on here, Alex Stoddard made his name through the photo sharing site, Flickr. I'm extremely envious of his talent and style, its so well edited that you could actually start believing in magic!

4. Nicholas Scarinto 

Fine art photographer, Nicolas Scarinto creates these beautiful surreal images that often have a vintage feel to them.


3. Tim Walker

My number 3 is a super famous fashion photographer who does alot of work for Vogue. It was a difficult decision choosing which photo of his to use as I love all his work! He used alot of influences from fairytales, and plays with perspective and size of props. 

2. Brooke Shaden. 

Brooke Shaden just had to be near the top of this list! Brooke creates these fantasy worlds within her work, creating beautiful scenes that look like they've just come out of a hollywood movie! Each of her pieces are conceptually stunning and shes been a HUGE inspiration in how I work. 

1. Rosie Hardy

And finally my number one is Rosie Hardy! Rosie was the first photographer I came across that did something different. I was at college at the time and was used to looking at classic portrait photographers, until someone told me about Rosie's work on Flickr. I instantly fell in love with the creativity and honesty within her work. She quickly became popular within the Flickr community, so much so that Maroon 5 found her work and hired her to do take their album cover photo for 'Hands all over'. Check out all her work here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rosie_hardy/

So there we have it! Thank you for reading and be sure to keep up-to-date with my blog for more inspiration, advice and photography tips! 

Becky. x 

Here is one of my photos inspired my Rosie Hardy :)