Before They
Say, ‘I Do’
Advice for
photographing
weddings
Many things have changed
during my 40 years as a
photographer. Two of the
most significant changes
are the advent of digital
photography and the way
weddings are photographed.
I am not a wedding
photographer. I am a
photojournalist and a
storyteller. However, I still
end up shooting a handful of
weddings every year, always
in candid, storytelling fashion.
With digital photography,
the magic and mystery of film
photography is gone. Today,
everybody can be an “expert”
photographer, even a wedding
photographer. The truth is,
a lot more people have their
family or friends photograph
their wedding these days,
rather than hire a professional
photographer.
Don’t get me wrong, I
believe in spending the
money to hire a seasoned
photographer to document
one of life’s most important
events. Cutting corners here is
Watching for
storytelling
moments—
such as this
one when
the groom
forgot his
lines—can
add humor
and interest
to wedding
photos.
Photo by
David LaBelle
a bad idea. But I also realize
a bad economy has forced
many of us to make tough
decisions about where to
spend our money, and that
may mean spending less on a
wedding.
If that is the case, my
recommendation is to hire
a professional wedding
photographer or a photojournalist who shoots
weddings, or a trusted friend
who is competent with a
camera.
Another option is to
split the difference and see
if you can hire a portrait
photographer to do the
traditional portraits, and
you or your friends can
concentrate on photographing
the storytelling moments.
David LaBelle is an internationally known
photographer, teacher, author and lecturer. He has
worked for newspapers and magazines across the
United States and taught at three universities. He
grew up on a frog farm in rural California, roaming
the creeks and hills with his coon dogs. Many of the
lessons he learned during those magical boyhood
years have been applied to photography and
teaching the essence of this artform. For more information, visit
www.greatpicturehunt.com.
A wedding is one of
those life events you don’t
want messed up. Here are
a few suggestions for the
do-it-yourself wedding
photographer:
• Use a camera that allows
you to change the ISO setting
so you can shoot available
light rather than using a
disruptive flash. A fast lens,
such as a 50mm or 85mm
with an aperture of f1.4, 1.8
or 2, will allow you to shoot
in low light.
• Don’t use flash unless it
is really dark, or you are outside with bright sun and deep
shadows. More often than
not, no flash is better than
bad flash effects.
• Practice shooting pictures in the venue before
the event to identify the best
lighting and angles.
• Back up everything
immediately after the
wedding. I once talked to a
wedding photographer who
was nearly suicidal after the
hard drive where he had
stored photos from several
weddings crashed and he
could not retrieve the data.
He had not burned DVDs
or CDS, nor given any of the
couples their pictures yet.
