5 Tips from a San Diego Wedding Photographer

Being asked to be the photographer for a wedding is a big responsibility.If you are doing it as a favor, or if you are doing it as your profession, following these 5 tips will help you do the job right.

This tips are coming from first hand experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned pro, or if you are an amateur, by following these tips, you won’t second guess yourself.You will be ready for whatever may happen.

Our first tip is a simple thing you can do and that is to have the couple and the families go and make a shot list.When you know the day will be hectic and chaotic, doing this will help you get the family and group shots later on in the day more smoothly.You will love how you can just go through your list and get all the shots you want without leaving anything out.

The second tip on our list is to not delete any shots.  In this day and age of digital cameras, most photographers use them.  Great as they are, they also are tempting to delete a shot since it is so easy to do.Don’t bother even peeking at the previews.What you think may be a great photo, can differ widely in what the couple considers a great photo.  And who knows, they might appreciate the so called un “professional” shots.

For the the third tip, make sure you get candid shots during and after the wedding.  A good wedding photographer will not just try and get the typical shots, like family group shots, wedding party shots, or your standard bride and groom.  But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there.  And that includes some of the things that could go wrong, like a flower girl not making it all the way to the front, or the ring bearer dropping the rings.Every picture counts.

The fourth piece of advice is make sure you have back up equipment.  Do you even want to imagine having a camera stop working halfway through the day.Plan for the worst that could go wrong.Being prepared with more equipment will ensure that you avoid that awkward moment of not being able to finish the rest of the day because of a broken camera.

Lastly, make sure to practice for your lighting. The difference between the lighting in the church and the outside reception can throw you a curve ball, so just practice for all different lighting situations. Think about seeing if you can go to the locations of the big day and look for the best spots to take pictures as well as study the lighting needs.

Doing these 5 tips will help you immensely.  It will prepare you for whatever might go wrong, it will prepare you for capturing what goes right, and it will prepare you to help contribute to this wonderful day by being the best photographer you can be.  Take it from my years of experience as a San Diego photographer.