PHOTOGRAPHY

Wedding Photography Gallery

Wedding Photography Gallery

• you should never run out of "film" at crucial times.
• The ability to switch ISO in an instant is a God send after years of changing film or camera mid shoot to cope with changing light.

Happy days!

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 24mm

Canon EOS 5D - 80th/sec - F5.6 - ISO 250 - Manual - Natural

I always like to shoot the entertainment. I keep an eye on them through the viewfinder until I can "see" a good shot and I fire away.

In this shot, the guitarist looked straight at me and smiled...it just added to the shot.

The couple are normally dancing, eating or chatting at this point so again, get as much detail in your shots as possible.

Olé

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 70mm

Canon EOS 1D Mk ii - 80th/sec - F6.3 - ISO 125 - Manual - Natural

I love a good "bun fight" and this is one reason to stick around once the "official" cake cutting photos have been taken.

Once the official stuff is out of the way, the couple generally relax with their friends and family, and occasionally you will get a good set of shots like this that really do tell a story. If you walk away to "chimp" or grab a coffee you could miss some of the best action.

Just make sure that your camera and speedlight are set to enable you to get some rapid fire shots. A power pack attachment to your speedlight might be an idea for this as it charges for the next shot super quick.

Lens 16-35 2.8 L at 30mm

Canon EOS 5D - 80th/sec - F6.3 - ISO 250 - Manual - Natural

Here is a very similar shot to the last one to show a bit of continuity in what I am doing. My point being that once you learn and create our own style, things become much easier as you know exactly what settings to switch to in an instant and for any situation.

It all makes the wedding day run more smoothly and efficiently if you can speed things up with this in-built knowledge.

I am not saying that the settings I use are the "be all and end all", it is just what works for me and my technique.

I have kept the groom's face in this image to incorporate the bride's hands as well as the grooms in the shot. It keeps a nice symmetry and I used the same flash technique here as for the previous photo.

Black and white conversion is just my preference here as I think it allows the viewer to concentrate on what is happening in the photo.

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 70mm

Canon EOS 5D - 80th/sec - F5 - ISO 250 - Manual - Natural

By using a mid range zoom and hanging around once the first dance is over, you are able to catch so many more "real" moments as they happen.

I try to keep my eye to the viewfinder and finger on the shutter release all the while something interesting is happening.

Knowing that the settings are correct and that I have enough power in my speedlight usually means I can get the best shots as they happen.

This shot was vignetted slightly to add emphasis on the couple embracing.

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 70mm

Canon EOS 5D - 80th/sec - F5 - ISO 250 - Manual - Natural

This shot was one I had in my head all night. The band was excellent with lovely shiny instruments and a really lively, upbeat tempo.

I noticed the bride take to the floor as one of her favourite songs was played so I got into position and waited for her to dance into view.

The final result was better than I had hoped for. The bride is obviously enjoying herself, the lead singer is belting out a note and the musician just happened to be in the perfect spot at the right time.

For me, the depth of field being shallow and making the bride and singer blurred adds to the effect. The focus is on the shiny trumpet but you can clearly make out what is happening in the background.

I was chuffed with this shot. Oh, and black and white suited the tones, lines and textures for me so I converted it. In fact I really like black and white for all wedding shots come to think of it!

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 52mm

Canon EOS 5D - 250th/sec - F4.5 - ISO 250 - Manual - Natural

I wanted a complete silhouette effect for this shot so whilst still in manual mode after shooting with flash, I just increased the shutter speed and turned the flash off to prevent more light coming in.

If shooting RAW and going for this effect, you can be a little more relaxed with regards to getting the exact exposure as you are able to "push and pull" the light during post-processing to get the desired effect.

I only shoot these kinds of shots once I have the main, well lit and "shots that I know the bride will want" out of the way. If time allows, I like to play a little. It is the only way to really learn and create your own style.

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 24mm

Canon EOS 5D - 200th/sec - F4.5 - ISO 250 - Manual - Natural

If I was to look at this image objectively, I could come up with a bunch of things that are wrong with it...

• Background blown out with detail lost in the dress
• Bride "scrunching" her head down and dangerously close to her chest with a dark face
• A stance that makes her back look quite muscular

All in all not too flattering but at the end of the day, the bride liked it. Strange thing wedding photography...you do everything textbook and it comes out mediocre...do it "on the fly" and they love it!

This image proves that you need to diversify when shooting any stage of a wedding.

Take a bunch of images from different angles and with differing techniques and you are sure to please all onlookers...I hope...

By the way, there was no flash in this image, it was a silhouette like the previous shot. I just pulled it right back in Photoshop...I have the silhouette shot too.

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 50mm

Canon EOS 5D - 60th/sec - F4 - ISO 500 - Manual - Posed

This was yet another wedding where time just seemed to vanish. No matter how well the couple plan their big day, time always creeps away leaving you with the bare minimum to get the shots they want.

We were hoping for a sunset here but it never materialised plus we were late getting round to the bride and groom shots so I was running out of natural daylight.

I was getting concerned here as it was 9pm and the sun had all but gone and for the shot I had in mind I didn't want any flash or unnatural lighting.

I hand held at 60th/sec at ISO 500 and luckily the shot came out as I had planned just about. The moon being in view was a nice coincidence and not put there in Photoshop.

If the wedding is in a place of natural beauty or has features that it has become well known for, I try and incorporate these into the shots...it is normally why the couple chose that venue in the first place.

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 40mm

Canon EOS 5D - 1/4th/sec - F9 - ISO 320 - Manual - Natural

The reception and dance photos are probably the most difficult to shoot with regards to lighting the people and keeping it looking natural...well, I find it difficult anyway!

You need to try and capture the moments as they looked and not as they were recorded. What I mean is, if you use direct flash and an automatic setting for everything, you will get white and boring, although well exposed, lighting on your subjects with a generally dark background.

The background will look quite lacklustre and dull and not really give the onlooker an idea of how it was.

At most wedding receptions, there are normally colourful lights all around which you need to try and capture to create the ambience that existed on the night.

For this image, I was tying a new technique whereby I would set the camera to manual, set a long shutter speed of around ¼ to ½ a second, an aperture of f8 or f9 and the speedlight to E-TTL or auto.

By doing this, the slow shutter speed is allowing the colours of the lights to "burn in" to the image, albeit blurry (which gives a feeling of movement), and the speedlight or flash will capture and freeze the subjects nicely.

It is worth taking quite a few as it can be a bit of a "lottery" as to what you get but I though this one, taken on the dance floor, looked like the couple were dancing in the street at night.

Lens 24-70 2.8 L at 24mm

in Dept Reviews

Graphic designer, web designer and business man with really strong passion that specializes in marketing strategy.