Hewlett - Wedding Photography: Art and Techniques

Art and Techniques

Terry Hewlett ARPS

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2012 by
The Crowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

Terry Hewlett 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 849 3

All photographs are by the author, with the exception of by Andy Cubin

To my supportive and caring wife, Vivienne

I have known the author for a healthy number of years. Our relationship is an odd one in that it would be befitting of many descriptions; master/student, business partners, friendly rivals, confidants and mutual critics would all be or would have been apt at some time. Certainly, we have become fast friends and will doubtlessly remain so whilst both of us are still drawing breath.

I first met him at a photographic convention and, on our first encounter, we barely exchanged ten words. Since then we have exchanged hundreds of thousands of words. So it should have been a simple matter to set down a few more in this foreword it is after all a well-known subject. Only when I started to put finger to keyboard did I begin to realize what a mammoth task writing a book on wedding photography must have been.

Today, wedding photography is saturated with thousands of people (not photographers) who have invested in an SLR and go out without any education or training and offer their services at appealingly low prices to the budget-conscious couple-to-be. And many of these couples fall into the trap only to be disappointed at the final results on what should have been their most important of days this book is not for them.

Being a competent wedding photographer is much more than just having the ability to take impressive pictures that in itself should be an essential skill that, sadly, many photographers fail to achieve. In order to command a respectable level of remuneration for photographing the big day, the image-maker must be creative and efficient within the time allotted to him or her and that takes knowledge and practice.

There is no substitute for practical experience but, in addition, the wedding photographer needs to be a tactician, comedian, diplomat, motivator, suppressor, improviser, sergeant-major, sympathizer, clairvoyant, detective and all round problem-solver. He or she needs not only to possess all these character traits, but also be able to switch from one to another instantly and to keep it up for ten hours or more come (and in) rain or shine.

This book provides a vital part of the aspiring or improving wedding photographers education. It is well-established that knowledge and experience are skills without which the wedding photographer would surely fail. Knowledge is an essential requirement that the wedding photographer needs in order to be ahead of the game and/or to cope with the unexpected and the unexpected always happens.

Within these chapters lie words of wisdom borne from decades of experience of photographing hundreds of weddings and from years of training wedding photographers on how to make a success of this business.

This book is likely to be one of the most comprehensive tomes written on the subject, by one of the most experienced and qualified photographers in the industry. It is specifically aimed at the serious aspiring wedding photographer who wants to successfully negotiate the hurdles of a wedding day, meet and exceed the expectations of the newlyweds, and command a credible income for their work. Enjoy

Andy Cubin MBE, ASIFGP

P hotographmg weddings is one of the most rewarding, inspiring and creative assignments that any photographer can have, producing creative images that the couple will cherish and enjoy for many years to come.

Driven by emotion and anticipation, a wedding is about the excitement that starts when the bride begins to prepare for the thrilling day ahead, with the delivery of the flowers and the fitting of the dress, the anticipation and excitement growing with the arrival at the ceremony and everyones eyes on the bride as she makes her entrance towards the waiting groom. The fairytale builds through the ceremony and on to the reception, with the photographer capturing the couples experiences in a creative and imaginative style.

A wedding photographer requires a significant number of techniques to enable a successful outcome, and it will come as no surprise that being a good photographer is essential, but what kind of photographer do you need to be? Wedding photography calls upon a number of talents to produce quality images that will not only be cherished but will also sell. Your skills will include portraiture, fashion photography, landscape and architectural photography, still life and food photography, and photojournalism.

You will need to produce creative and inspirational photography while exhibiting a wide range of social skills. Are you able to handle the pressure that the day will generate, dealing with timings that run late, shooting the groups in less than half an hour, producing quality images every time? Are you able to handle your camera functions and flash intuitively and instinctively, adjusting for the changing lighting conditions without interrupting the flow of the day? Can you communicate your instructions and directions effectively to the wedding party and all the time keeping an eye on the timings? If not, then wedding photography is not for you.

However if you thrive on challenging situations and enjoy an adrenaline rush and can handle all the above, then there is nothing more rewarding than completing a wedding shoot successfully, taking stunning, creative and quality images and at the same time receiving compliments from the bride, groom and guests on how you have handled the day in a humorous and professional manner. Your role as a wedding photographer is to capture the memories of the day through your images and imagination. After all, in years to come it will be those images that will evoke the couples memories.

A ny wedding will call upon a diverse range of photographic styles. The photographs will inevitably include some formal elements sprinkled with the candid shots. So the best advice is to broaden your skills and make your style eclectic. Your photography should reflect all of the following.

The current trend is towards photojournalistic wedding photography. As a photographer with this style you are more than likely to consider yourself a storyteller as opposed to just recording the day. You could be asked for photography that is natural and candid, less rigid and not intrusive, that is, to take images that capture moments unobtrusively. You will respond as the timeline unfolds with possibly unpredictable results; however, it is that unpredictability that can be so enchanting about this style.