by Liane Laskoske

Created on: June 21, 2008   Last Updated: July 02, 2008

Wedding photography is the Olympics of photography. You might have some great photos, but if you've missed getting the one most important image to the bride, you'll suffer the agony of defeat. This is one time there is no "do-over", so you want to be prepared and get it right the first time.

You should have some good equipment, either digital or film, and any filters or supplies all in one bag so you aren't lugging a ton of stuff with you. Let's look at what you'll need:

Camera

Of course, you will need a good camera. Leave the point-and-shoot at home and take something that requires or allows manual focus. You may end up with someone standing just within range that will throw off an auto-focus and you'll get a blurry subject in your photo. My first wedding's photos were taken with a pocket camera. They served the purpose and were affordable. My second wedding's photos were taken with a digital camera. Believe it or not, I prefer the quality of the pocket camera to that of the digital. The digital photos are harsh and stark compared to the softness of the film shots. Let the bride decide which she wants, but be prepared to take some shots with film and some with digital just for comparison. Keep in mind that the couple will want enlargements and unless you have a very good digital, you'll get pixilation on the enlargements. I have over 300 photos of my second wedding and can't enlarge even one over 5"x7" for that reason.

Flash

I'm a fan of available light photography, but my favorite flash is my Sunpac Thyristor. It has a mounting bracket that lets me offset the flash, preventing those harshly lit photos. It also tilts to allow use of bounce-flash and has a filter bracket to soften or color the flash. I can also unclip the mount and hold the flash at any angle I choose to get different lighting effects. A hotshoe mounted flash will cause red-eye, so avoid using one for wedding photos.

Tripod

Even the lightest camera can get heavy when you're positioning people for a group shot. The tripod and a remote shutter are useful if you do use a bracket-mount flash. You can get the flash farther away from the camera to prevent weird shadows behind your subjects.

Film

I keep a variety of films in my stock. As I said before, I love available light, so I keep at least one each 800, 1600, and 3200 ASA in my stock. Push comes to shove, or rather, push comes to pull, I can push or pull the 800 and expose it at 400 or 1600 for different grain effects on the final photos. Experiment with this technique on something less important than a wedding, please.

The Photos

You will need certain photos at a wedding. The bride/groom-wedding party-parents thing is standard, but here is a list of what most couples want:

The Ceremony
1. Coming down the aisle
2. The "handoff" to the Groom
3. The I-do's
4. The Ring
5. The Presentation
6. The Rice-throwing (or rose petals, etc.)
7. Getting in the car (or the buggy, etc.)

The Reception
1. Bride and Groom.
2. Bride, Groom and wedding party.
3. The Wedding party.
4. Best Man and Maid/Matron of Honor
5. Ushers and Bridesmaids
6. Ring Bearer and Flower Girl
7. Brides Parents
8. Grooms Parents
9. Bride with her parents
10. Groom with his parents
11. Bride and Groom with Parents
12. The entire wedding party
13. The Cake
14. The Toast
15. The Cutting of the Cake
16. The Wedding Gown (especially if the back has detail, get a photo of the back as well)
17. Guests (this can be either by couple/family or by table)

The Bride and Groom may have other photos they want, so have a pencil ready to add to the list.

In addition, remember Murphy's Law that says if anything can go wrong, it will. Bring extra batteries, film and preferably a spare camera, just in case.

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