All the time, you hear women talk about how they imagined their wedding would be ever since they were little girls. They knew where they wanted to get married, what kind of dress they’d wear, and some even knew who they were going to marry!

But in all of those kiddie conversations, you never heard any other kids say, “I’m going to be the person to take pictures of those magical moments!”

Of course, you never heard kids say they wanted to be a photographer because their career focus at the time was on being a fairy princess or a fireman… but isn’t funny how as you grow older, everything you thought you wanted or liked evolves and grows right along with you? That same evolution process happens within your total being, especially when it comes down to doing what you’re passionate about. 

According to personalgrowthapproach.com, there are three types of people in this world. There are the people who don’t know what they want out of life; there are those who know what they want out of life, but don’t go get it, and then there are those who know what they want out of life and actually go get it. As a photographer, you HAVE to be someone who knows and goes to get it… if you don’t, you’ll never be the excellent wedding photographer you have the potential to be.

For photographers, your eyes are your money-makers. To be a photographer, you have to have a certain kind of eye. Your eyes need to see the beauty in things that most would find ugly; They need to find an elegance in things that would be looked at as tacky, And they need to see peace in a world of chaos. It’s all about perspective and how you look at things… the muscles you use to laugh are the same muscles you use to cough; are you going to laugh or cough?

Beauty Through the Eyes of a Lens

In life, you only get so many life-changing moments that are worthy of a photographer’s skilful eye. Ultimately you can hire a photographer for anything you need, but when it comes to weddings, selfies and camera phones are absolutely unacceptable for capturing moments at a wedding.

So what is it exactly that makes a photographer take beautiful photos? Well, it depends on who you ask. Different photographers have different ideas and theories as to what makes for beautiful wedding photos… but one of the biggest ways to take beautiful wedding photos is first to be comfortable with your camera. That’s your number one best practice… once you’ve become a master to your camera, everything else will fall into place.

Best Practice 1: Get Comfortable With Your Camera

With most jobs, there is always some sort of “tool” or “thing” that’s associated with that particular job, right? Of course. When you think of artists, their tool is a paintbrush. When you think of a chef, the tool that comes to mind is either a spatula or a wooden spoon… Well, that same logic applies to photographers, as well. As a photographer, your camera is your tool, and the sooner you learn it and understand all of its functions, you’ll be on your way to beautiful photos in no time!

There are several parts to a camera, and it’s very important that you know the ins and outs of the camera. Sure, there’s the lens and the flash, but what about the zoom options and the angles? There are so many cameras out there to choose from that it’s important you do ample research on the cameras you’re considering before you buy, especially when buying your first digital camera.

Knowing the parts of your camera and the functions is what’s going to give you the confidence you need to produce beautiful wedding photos for every client that hires you.

Best Practice 2: Get to Know Your Clients and the Wedding Party and Guests

Whether you’re new to photography or a seasoned vet, you know that there’s something about taking photos that takes people out of their comfort zones sometimes. So, in knowing that, take the time out to introduce yourself to the wedding party and the wedding guests. Shake their hands and tell them who you are and what you do. Taking the time out to do this will make the wedding party and guests feel comfortable when you take photos, which will, in turn, make the photos look more natural.

Also, keep in touch with the bride and groom up until the wedding day with friendly reminders of certain things and just to check on them, in general, to get them excited. You will establish a great rapport with them, and in return, they will more than likely refer you to other people needing a great photographer. 

You’re, of course, not going to be able to have personal conversations with every person in attendance, but when people hire wedding photographers, they want a photographer who is truly passionate about photography and specializes in once in a lifetime moments.

Best Practice 3: Being in the Moment (Bring an Assistant)

As a photographer, you’re going to capture many weddings, and in doing that, you’re going to see that no wedding is the same. Because of that, you need to be present and capturing every single moment. The thing about weddings is that they are once in a lifetime moments for lots of people and as a wedding photographer, you only get one shot to capture their moments for them.

The last thing you want is to be asked if you took photos of this and you weren’t able to… You’re only one person, remember. To prevent that from happening, one of the best things you can do is bring an assistant with you for larger sized weddings. Small to mid-sized weddings, you should be able to handle, but for the big ones, you’ll want to have an assistant with you to ensure you don’t miss a single moment.

Best Practice 4: Pre-Plan the Shoot

Pre-planning your shoot is the best way to capture beautiful photos for every single wedding you capture. Before the wedding arrives, you’ll know the wedding venue and the surrounding area. Once you know where the wedding is, it’s your responsibility as the photographer to do your research on the venue. 

Visit the actual venue and take notes and even take photos of certain areas of the venue to help you plan out exactly where you want to take photos and who to take photos of in those particular areas. It will save you so much time. If you plan on bringing an assistant with you to the wedding, you need to bring them to the venue ahead of time, too, so you can let them know what they’re going to be taking photos of and where.

Once you have all the details and responsibilities worked out and delegated, the wedding day photos will be a piece of wedding cake!

Not Your Typical Guide…

Whether you’re a professional photographer or just getting your feet wet in wedding photography, you always see “photographer guides that tell you to capture the wedding rings and to make sure you get photos outdoors and in ample light… those are wedding photography tips and tricks that come standard; those are things a photographer would say “tell me something I don’t know” to.

Serious wedding photographers that genuinely want to perfect their craft are looking for helpful and actionable information that they can actually apply to their business. The best practices listed above are things that lots of photographers either don’t do, forgot about, or never even thought about.