The art of digital wedding photography (part 2)--Before the event

 As a continuation of my last hub--I'm going to cover the oh so awesome aspects of the "Before the Event", which will be broken down into 3 major categories. For most, this will probably be really really boring, but for those who do photography or are just learning, I am hoping that this will be of some use to you--especially since I love sharing my brain with the world..

Here we go..

A truly great photographer knows that the one key ingredient in an outstanding image has nothing to do with equipment or even creativity. A photographer must see and capture the intangible. It's really about freezing the excitement of the moment and the enthusiasm of the subject--in short, the emotion.

Getting to know your client:

As a wedding photorapher, the key to your success is the respect you have for your client. More than that, your success depends on your ability to become your client. Your clients don't hire you just to make an album. They hire you to be their eyes on one of the most importat days of their lives and to see the world the way they do. Cool huh?

You'll develop the ability to know your client in the work yo do before the wedding. We spend our careers as photographers learnin about technique and too often wind up with a preconceived notion of how to get a shot. In wedding photography, it's all about understanding how your clients perceive themselves. You have to spend time with your cliients and larn to read between the lines. Listen, oserve, ask questions, and communicate. Here's where you make the switch from profession photographer to psychologist, determined to understand the human spirit. In order to succeed you have to learn everything you an about your clients in just a few short meetings and phone conversations. Do it right and on that big day you;ll be able to walk in and see the world through their eyes.

Don't be afraid to bend the rules in order to capture the bride's and groom's distinctive personalities. With a little experimentation you'll create memorable images.

 Two weddings, Two personalities

Let's look at examples of two totally different clients. Bride A comes in to meet with you, she stepped right out of a Nordstrom's catalog. Everything about her is color coordinated. Her handbag matches her shoes. Her nails are perfectly manicured, her hair and makeup are just right. What does that tell you about the client?

Right off the bat you know she's into detail. She understands fine fabrics. She has an eye for quality. Whether she has money or not is irrelevant. She has very specific tastes.

Now let's move on to bride B. SHe walks into your studio twenty minutes late for her appointment and is wearing jeans with a few holes in them. She bites her nails. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her makeup is pretty basic. She's wearing a Cornell University sweatshirt.

Bride A is a piece of cake to figure out. Her wedding is going to be orgainze. She's going to leave no room for inadequate planning. She's going to be efficient and detail oriented thorughout the planning process and at the event itself. She's a bridal machine and you;ve got to understand exactly what she wants if you're going to get into her mind-set.

She knows what kind of photos she wants. Most likely, these will be a balance of formal images and those that provide exquisite storytelling.  She's a traditionalist and she probably won't want an overly contemporary album design. She's also going to be directive and want some ver specific shots. The approach to her phtoography is likely to be formal and traditional.

Bride B is a bigger challenge and for many of us she is the typical client. We can't draw any preconcieved notions about her. We have to draw her out to undersand who she is. We'll start with a simple question like, "Who designed the gown you'll be wearing?" Getting that answer is your first key in understanding what your client wants. If she doesn't know, then ask her to describe the dress.

If she's wearing a big puffy ball gown, she'll probably want an appoach that stresses romance and a traditional look. If she's wearing a tight, slinky, contemporary slip-look dress, she's probably into high fashion. The photography for her wedding will probably be more sophisticated. I might exaggerate her posing a little more. I might shoot with a more illustrative style.

Obviously I'm taking the liberty of drawings some broad generalities. But I can do that to make our point: GET TO KNOW YOUR CLIENT

 Gearing Up

Working with digital, you need to master some technical disciplines before you shoot a wedding--or, for that matter, before you take your very first shot. The first step is to become familiar with the gear and to develop a sense of what equipment you need to have on hand so you can comfortably capture all the aspects of a wedding. Digital photography also requires organization and a good work flow. That is, you need to become familiar with the best ways to capture, download, store, and view images.

In the next few paragraphs or however many, I will discuss some of the techniques I've developed since I put my film cameras away and made the move to digital. The first question many photographers ask me is what camera to use. That's a big issue, since the market is flooded with options when it comes to choosing professionoal digital cameras and gear.  My camera manufacturer of choise is Nikon, and Nikon is always introducing new equipment for the professional.

A day or two before the event, lay out all of your equipment and do an inventory check. No piece of equpment is too small or insignificant that it shouldn't be included in this exercise. Of course, you'll also have a few of your own favorite items that you want to bring along. I'm not necessarily talking about sophisitcated equipment. How about a small note pad, in case you want to jot down some notes about locations or subjects? An energy bar, in case no one remembers to arange to have a plate of food for you at the reception? You get the point: If there's and item that you always like to bring along to shoots, lay it out with the rest of your equipment so you don't leave it behind.

 Tips and Techniques

Okay, you have the gear. Now let's see how to make the best use of it. Unfortunately, too many photographers thing that just because they bought great equipment, they're ready to create great images. Digital imaging gives you the ability to easily defy all he rulse of photography, but you have to know the rules before you can break them. Every photographer who buys a digital camera should first be forced to master shooting transparency film. (Actually, the properties for that chip in your digital camera are very similar to the properties of a roll of Kodak Ektachrome!) Whether you're working with film or the latest digital technology, if you don't understand the basics of depth of field, exposure, lighting, composition, and other basics of photography, your images won't necessarily be any better than those Uncle Harry takes with his $99 point and shoot!

Lenses

You need to understand how each lens performs in order to maximize creativity. With every image or series of images there are several basic questions you need to ask yourself:

-What's the subject?

-How soft do I want the background to go?

-How much room do I have?

-How much time do I have to get the shot?

-How much exisitng light is in the room?

Over time, asking yourself these questions becomes as instinctual as the thought process it takes to lift your foot when going up a flight of stairs. You'll find you can look at a situation and almost instantly know which lens will give you the most flexibility. Learn to anticipate your needs. As a good photojournalist, you have to be able to determine what's needed before you start to shoot. Prepare for the unexpected, and remember Murphy's Law--If anything can go wrong it will. Then remember that Murphy was an optimist!

As the day progresses and scense chane, so do the opportunities to use different lenses. Remember, there are two reasons to switch lenses. First, you make a switch because different lenses give you more to work with and help you ansewr those five questions we started with. Second, and this is even more important, every wedding is unique. You've got to make yor work look different every time and give the bride and groom what they deserve: a unique album that captures the emotion and tells the story of the day in a way no one else could.