7 Outdated Wedding Photography Techniques to Avoid

Wedding photography is probably one of the best engagements you may have as a photographer. The flurry of activity, excitement, and romance, allows you to tell the couple’s story using what you know best – perfect shots.

The trends in wedding photography are always evolving, and better techniques are still coming up. If you don’t keep up, you could end up sticking to the old ineffective habits and kill your brand. 

What do Brides Want from Their Wedding Photographer?
Your bride wants you to capture the mood of the event – happiness and romance. Be sure to take photos of the smiles in the audience and the little romantic gestures between the couple.

Don’t just focus on the people. It took a lot of effort and planning to get the right details of everything. Capture the cake decorations, flowers, glasses, wedding ring, wedding band, and every little thing that stands out.   

Most importantly, brides want communication. Tell the couple how to pose to get the right shot and cheer them on when they are doing it right. They want to have the perfect photos as much as you do, and collaborating makes it easier. 

What Not to Do as a Wedding Photographer?
Here are seven outdated techniques and habits to avoid:

1. Shying Away from Using Effects

Effects do not just apply in video and audio editing. Add some modern effects to the wedding photos. By using Photoshop or any other photo-editing tool, you can add the wow-factor to your images. Excellent examples are retro, moody, or rustic filters. You can also take backlit or sun flare photos of the couple.

2. Using to Little or Too Much Exposure

Gone are the days when photographers overexposed wedding photos. It takes out the fine details of the gown and turns it into an overly white and plain bore. Using too little exposure will have a similar effect. It will take the brightness off your bride’s gown and give it a grayish look. The bride invested a lot in her dress; give it the justice it deserves with the right exposure. 

3. Being Self-conscious

Your job in the wedding is to take amazing shots, in whichever way you can. And this will mean striking some odd shooting positions to get the right effect. For instance, you can make a puddle look like a lake when capturing your photos, but this will require getting the camera as close to the puddle as possible. 

4. Over-processing Your Photos

Over-processing photos ruins them. For instance, using too much HDR effect will make the image grainy. The same case applies to overusing the clarity slider, especially in pictures of high contrast. It creates some halos on the edges of your dark subjects. It’s necessary to process your photos, but too much of a good thing can turn it bad. 

5. Always Centering Your Subjects

Centering can create a great effect, especially in portrait photography. But capturing the background such as the surrounding landscape will add appeal to the image. When you center the subject, viewers get no reason to look at anything else in the image, and it stagnates the photo. 

6. Sticking to Standard Angles

Explore your creativity by using different angles to take your shots. Find the perfect inviting angle during toasts such that the viewer feels like part of the audience. Use a drone to take high-angle photographs in outdoor settings. It will capture the entire surrounding in one shot.

7. Ignoring the Fine Quality of Black And White Photos

A wedding is a romantic event, and black and white photography creates a classic romantic mood. They also add timelessness to the photos and create a mysterious or moody factor. It makes the images look artistic. You don’t have to get everything in black and white. A few shots will do.    

How to Do a Good Job as a Wedding Photographer?

Here are a few tips to ensure your client is impressed with your work

Get an Assistant

There are some important moments that your bride will want you to capture, but this means you could also miss some other vital shots. For instance, when taking a photo of the first kiss, a shot of the audience’s reaction would be a great addition. But you need an assistant to work with you.

Have a Shot List

As a photographer, you need to be organized. There are so many moments that you may feel you need to capture, and you could end up losing track and missing the essential shots. This is why it’s necessary to create a shot list beforehand and work with it.

Be Familiar with Your Equipment

If you are using new equipment, ensure that you have mastered the position of every button and dial that you will need to adjust your settings. If you pull the camera away from your face constantly, you will miss some split-second memorable moments. 

Conclusion

The trick to having an amazing and fulfilling wedding photography contract is to collaborate with the couple to get the perfect shot. 

Combine your creativity with modern wedding photography techniques, and be adequately prepared for the task. Be sure to capture the mood, reactions from the audience, and the little details of the wedding.

Guest Post by : David Freudenberg