All wedding photographers are competent users of state-of-the-art equipment, but the great ones are distinguished by their people and posing skills. Wedding photographers work with models that they’ve never met, wearing clothes that they didn’t pick, under lighting conditions established by a whimsical God, all while watching the minutes between the ceremony and the reception tick away. This photography resource guide includes information on how to take the best wedding pictures and photos. It also includes example photography of brides in their wedding dresses, wedding ceremonies, and best men.

To get you started, check out the following articles and forums on professional wedding photography:

Tips and Advice on Wedding Photography at photo.net

• Wedding Equipment Guide
• Wedding Photography Timeline
• Interview with Jeff Ascough on wedding photography (a lot of good technique ideas)
• Photo.net wedding photography forum (50+ messages per day)

Collaborative Articles

Our panel of 9 wedding photography experts discuss the Business of Wedding Photography:

• Business of Wedding Photography: Main Page
• Topic #1: Determining your personal style and breaking into the field
• Topic #2: Marketing and public relations
• Topic #3: Web sites for the professional wedding photographer
• Topic #4: Wedding photography portfolios and making the sale
• Topic #5: Pricing structure
• Topic #6: Contracts
• Topic #7: Organization on the job - before, during and after the wedding
• Topic #8: Working with assistants and second shooters
• Topic #9: Wedding digital workflow
• Topic #10: Wedding albums, shopping carts, and other products
• Topic #11: Further tips and advice

Photo Articles

• Editors’ Picks: Wedding Detail Photographs

Typically, a wedding lasts about 15 minutes. However, some guests do arrive early to the reception. Therefore, be sure all reception to-dos are complete by the start time of the wedding. Also, all wedding vendors should be wearing proper attire for early arriving and late staying guests. All tables should be set-up including cake table, entertainment’s table, sign-in table, food tables, and tables with chairs for all guests. If you have a seating arrangement, all seating lists should be at the reception with everyone’s name with where they are sitting. 

Introduction of wedding party

This step is not mandatory, but it is nice for everyone to know who the wedding party is as many have not met before your wedding. Create a “Reception Planning Guide” and give this to your master of ceremonies prior to your wedding. This details, among other things, the order of entrance into the reception site with their names and titles. The order of entrance is as follows: parents of the bride, parents of the groom, ushers with bridesmaids, flower girl and ring bearer, special guests, best man, maid/matron of honor, bride and groom. In addition, review the pronunciations of the wedding party’s names with the master of ceremonies.

Introduction of bride and groom

This is always the last of the introductions. Everyone should stand before the bride and groom enter. In addition, a special song can be arranged with the music entertainment and a special announcement made to punctuate a true grand entrance. Also, inform the master of ceremonies how you would like to be introduced: Mr. and Mrs. Smith or John and Jane Doe.

Blessing

This is another step that is not mandatory, but for the religious couples makes a nice setting. If you invite the person who performed the marriage ceremony to the reception, I would recommend having them conduct the blessing. If they are not able to attend, a parent or family friend is a good idea. Lastly, the master of ceremonies could give the meal blessing. Be sure to communicate with whomever is giving the blessing in advance so they are prepared to give a personal touch.

Meal

It’s time to eat! Bride and Groom, be sure to stop and take a moment to eat. This may be your only chance in the day. In addition, it is customary for the bride and groom to start the food line. Most guests know to wait until the bride and groom start the food line. So don’t be late!

Cake Cutting

This is the traditional bride and groom making the first cut on their wedding cake. Then, the bride feeds half of the piece of cake to the groom and the groom feeds the remaining half to the bride. The cutting of the cake is a ceremony intended to symbolize the caring and sharing for one another. Forks may be used as they make the image very attractive for the photographer. Forks may also minimize the possibility of someone being hurt with the more playful squashing that sometimes happens.

Toasts

The toast is when the bride and groom toast each other then interlock arms and drink. Immediately following, the best man and maid/matron of honor make toasts to the bridal couple. Be prepared for other family and friends to follow with their toasts too.

Bride & Groom’s First Dance

The Bride & Groom’s Dance is the first dance between a bride and groom as a married couple. The dance is also commonly known as the “First Dance”. The timing of the bride groom dance can vary in the evening based on your preferences. The first dance can be done immediately following the grand entrance with the wedding party circling the dance.

Father & Daughter’s Dance

The Father & Daughter’s Dance or the Father Bride Dance is the dance between the father(s) of the bride and the bride. Brides, if you have more than one father in your life, one can tap the other on the shoulder in the middle of the dance so you can dance with both of them. If you do not have a father, a common substitute is a father figure or even your brother would make a very nice gesture.

Mother & Groom’s Dance

The Mother & Groom’s dance is the dance between the mother(s) of the groom and the groom. Grooms, if you have more than one mother in your life, one can tap the other on the shoulder in the middle of the dance so you can dance with both of them. If you do not have a mother, a common substitute is a mother figure or even your sister would make a very nice gesture.

Special Dances

There may be songs in your life that mean dear to your heart. You can ask the music entertainment to play these songs during the night or immediately following the formal dances. An example would be: If someone dear to you passed recently, you may ask the music entertainment to play Angels Among Us by Alabama.

How you manage your relationship with a wedding photojournalist can have just as profound an impact on the photographs as the day unfolding before the camera. Luckily, you and your photographer both want the same outcome: amazing photos that capture the feeling of the wedding day.

“One of the best things about being a wedding photojournalist is that….one can capture life as it happens without restraint,” WPJA award-winner David Crane says. “At a great wedding everyone wants me there, wants me to capture those fleeting moments, and will appreciate them for years to come.” Learn how to be one of those couples. Our award-winning wedding photojournalists offer their best advice on getting the most out of your photographer.

Wedding photographer Dave Cheung recommends focusing less on the business process and more on the creative one when you’re working with a wedding photojournalist. Of course, you’ll both sign a contract, and ultimately there will be details relating to the types of packages purchased, the number and format of proofs, schedule, costs, and possibly album design, but that should all be secondary when it comes to selecting and working with your creative professional.

Cheung advises that when it comes to hiring a wedding photojournalist, one should not get bogged down with comparing the details of various packages. “It doesn’t matter how many pictures you’re going to get if you don’t first understand how he or she is going to capture your wedding day,“ he states. After all, what difference does it make if you’re getting 100 proofs or 500, if you don’t love the photographs?

Once you’ve made your decision, remember to take care of all those pesky business details before the wedding day arrives. Your photographer needs to be truly present, prepared to capture your moments, and not preoccupied with tracking the types of photographs he’s taking or worrying about collecting payment.

Capturing real moments and fleeting, intense emotions is almost always what Kim has been driven to do. And while he has not always been welcome among his subjects on the streets, he is embraced and respected among wedding-day celebrants as he captures those authentic slices of life in churches and reception venues. And that suits him just fine.

FINDING HIS MUSE

Matt first got turned on to good photography at a class he took in high school, but the instruction there wasn’t enough to satisfy his curiosity and desire to learn more. So he did some research on his own, and while still in high school he took some night classes in photography at junior college. “I used to cut classes and walk the streets of San Francisco, dreaming of being Henri Cartier-Bresson or André Kertész in the streets of Paris.”

When you’re 16 you don’t always know exactly what you want to do. “I can’t say that the passion for photography was so strong that I was going to drop everything else,” Matt notes, “It wasn’t so much a lack of drive or confidence, but more a lack of direction, mentors and advisors.”

All he knew is that he was pulled to it and enjoyed it.

BALANCING MONEY AND PASSION

Despite his passion for photography, Matt found himself in the position of having to get a job after high school. “It was the early 1990s. The photography work hadn’t really furthered my career at that point; I didn’t know the right people,” he says.

Matt got into the latest technology thing at the time, which was desktop publishing, publication design, and later, Web design. He pursued some freelancing, and worked at a small web development company in Berkeley, while also doing portraits for friends and still taking pictures while pursuing personal projects. He now feels that his work in graphic design ultimately helped his photo composition.