Wedding Photography Checklist – What All Should You Include?

Wedding is a lifetime event and you just can’t afford to go wrong when it comes to capturing this auspicious event. Apart from great skills, wedding photography calls for lot of readiness and preparedness. Whether you are the person who has been assigned, willy-nilly, the task of unofficial wedding photographer by a friend or family member or whether you want to know what you should be telling the professional photographer at upcoming wedding, here is a wedding photography checklist for you.

Make a list of the must-have pictures

The input of the bride, groom and other key persons is essential here. What are the shots that have to be included? Make lists under separate headings:

  1. wedding-photographyBefore the wedding (bride’s dress before she puts it on, bride hugging dad before the ceremony, groom straightening his tie, etc.)
  2. Arriving at the location (gate, floral arrangement, altar and priest, favorite aunt being seated, bridesmaid chatting with best man, etc.)
  3. The actual ceremony (the vows looking into one another’s eyes, the exchanging of the rings, the first kiss, teary eyes among the guests)
  4. Group photos after the ceremony (pictures with all important friends and relatives, the bridesmaid, best man, flower girl, etc.)
  5. At the reception (arriving as husband and wife, greeting the guests, cake, cake cutting, important dances, DJ or the band, etc.)

Survey the location

Visit the place where the wedding and the reception are to be held before hand. Figure out in advance the angles that will work, where you can stand so as to be unobtrusive but get the best shots at the same time. This will also give you an idea of the sort of light present and what sort of flash you will need for the situation. Do the same with a professional photographer by visiting the venue along with them.

Do you need two Cameras?

Whether it’s a family member or a professional who is going to be taking the wedding pictures, consider whether two heads are better than one. To make sure that nothing of import is missed as well as to get two perspectives of the same event from two different angles can be useful. So consider two cameras and two photographers.

Take unusual pictures, use unusual angles

Remember to shoot the unusual little details that make the day special – the color of the sky that day, a close up of the antique broach grandma wore specially for the occasion, both rings right before the ceremony and so on. And why take only posed pictures? Take candid shots, photos from a height – a balcony or a ladder, take the bride and groom in silhouette against the sky when they are engrossed in each other. Keep an open mind and be creative. The wedding couple will thank you for the memories!