Wedding Photography Careers And What You Need To Know

May 08
2010
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Wedding Photography Careers And What

You Need To Know


Part Four

In my final part of the four part series, I will round off the final steps of advice for starting your wedding photography career.

1. If you have shaky hands, you may want to consider using a tripod. Other reasons to use a tripod include, but are not limited to: you’re using a very large, as well as slow, telephoto lenses, if you’re attempting to shoot photos in low light, if you have the need to take several consecutive identical shots (such as with HDR photography), in the event you are taking panoramic shots, then using a tripod is highly suggested. For real long exposures (usually lasting more than a second or more), I would recommend a cable release (especially for older film cameras) or a remote control. This would be a great use of the self-timer feature.

Of course there are disadvantages to the use of a tripod. A tripod prohibits your ability to move around and therefore not allowing for a quick change framing your shot. In addition, the additional weight you would have to carry around. As a general guideline, a tripod is only needed if your shutter speed is either equal to or is slower than the reciprocal in your focal length. If you are able to avoid the use of a tripod, usually by using faster ISO speeds and faster shutter speeds, or using image stabilization features on your camera, or just moving to a location that has better lighting, I would suggest doing that.

2. Remain calm and relaxed when you go to push the shutter button. Also, try not holding your camera up for too long of a time. This may cause your arms and hands to become heavier, thus causing them to be prone to shaking. A good idea is to practice bringing your camera up towards your eye, while focusing and metering, then taking the shot in one smooth and swift motion.

3. Be aware of the “red-eye” effect. Red-eye is caused when the eyes dilate in lower level lighting. When your pupils are enlarged, the flash actually will light up the blood vessels on the back wall of your eyeballs, which cause it to look red. If you feel that you need to use a flash in poor lighting, try getting the person you are photographing to not look directly towards the camera or maybe consider using a “bounce flash”. If you aim your flash above your subject’s heads, especially if the surrounding walls are light, allows the avoidance of the red-eye effect. If you don’t have the use of a separate flash gun, which can be adjustable, use the red-eye reduction feature on your camera (if available). It may flash a couple of times prior to opening the shutter, which usually is the cause of your subject’s pupils to contract, therefore minimizing the red-eye.

4. Use your flash only when you have to. A flash in poor lighting can quite often create ugly reflections or give the photo the appearance of your subject with a “washed out” look. However, a flash can be very useful for filling in the shadows and eliminating the “raccoon eye” or the “bags under the eyes” effect you may get in bright midday light. Of course, that will depend on whether or not your flash sync speed is fast enough.

5. Go through your photographs and decide on which ones are your the best ones. Decide on what makes the best photos. Then continue to use that method that gave you your best shots. Don’t be afraid to delete or throw away photos. You need to be brutally honest with yourself to move forward; be critical, as it will only make you better. If you’re shooting with a digital camera, then it won’t cost you anything other than your time. However, before you delete your photos, what can you take away from looking at your worst pictures.

6. Practice, practice and practice some more. Take as many photos as you can. The more photos you take the more comfortable and better you will become. Not to mention, the more you (and everyone) will enjoy looking at your photos. Shoot from various angles, as well as new or different subjects and keep working at it. You can even take the most boring of subjects and turn into something amazing. Get to know the ins and outs of your camera and its limitations. Also, how well it performs with different forms of lighting, how well the auto-focus performs at a variety of distances, as well as how it shoots moving subjects, and so on.

So as you can see, there’s much more in becoming a successful wedding photographer than just getting a new camera. I hope you enjoyed and learned from this Four Part Series. If you become an expert in all these above steps, along with staying focused and determined, and soon you will reap the benefits of this exciting career field.

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Wedding Photography Careers

Apr 27
2010
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Wedding Photography Careers And What

You Need To Know


Part Two

As mentioned in part one of wedding photography careers, I receive e-mails or phone calls from aspiring or beginning wedding photographers asking me for advice on how to become successful in the wedding photo field. In Part One, I listed 13 of the very basics of what a wedding photographer will need to be successful.

Although those 13 steps will get you started, below you will read 7 additional steps to really get you to the top of your game, if you are willing to put in the additional work. With that being said, below you will find these steps for fulfilling your career in wedding photography.

1. Read the camera’s manual. Learn what every control function, switch, button and menu item does or does not do. At minimum, you should learn how to zoom in and out, how to turn the on the flash, as well as the off and auto, how to zoom in and out and how to properly use the shutter button.

2. Be familiar with setting the resolution on the camera so that you can take high quality photos at the highest resolution available, as low-resolution images are generally more difficult to digitally alter. In addition, you will not be able to crop as much as you could using a higher-resolution version and still have something printable. If you are using a small memory card, replace it with a bigger one. If you do not want to or can not afford to buy a new one, then use the “fine” quality setting, with a smaller resolution, if your camera includes one.

3. Start by setting your camera to one of the automatic modes, if your camera gives you a choice. The most useful is “Program” or “P” mode on digital SLRs. Ignore advice which suggests that you operate your camera fully manual. In the last 50 years, advances in automatic focusing and metering have happened for a reason. If your photos come out poorly focused or exposed, you should then start operating these certain functions manually.

5. Get outside and motivate yourself to taking photographs in natural light. I suggest taking several normal ‘point and shoot’ photos so that you get a feel for the lighting; both at day and night and at different times. Go out during different stages of the day, especially during times that most people are not out, as you will get different forms of lighting at these times. Quite often you will get spectacular shots you never thought you would see as you may normally be sleeping at this time of day.

6. Keep your lens clear from obstructions such as caps, your thumbs and straps, as well as any other object. It is a basic rule of thumb, but it can ruin a photograph completely. This problem generally does not happen with modern live-preview digital cameras and you have an even less of a chance it happening with an SLR camera. However, people still have a tendency to make these mistakes every now and then.

7. Setting your white balance is an important aspect to good photography. The human eye automatically will compensate for different types of lighting, since white looks white to us in practically any kind of lighting. When using a digital camera, the camera generally compensates for this as it shifts the colors in a certain way. As an example, under tungsten (incandescent) lighting, the colors will shift towards blue to make up for the redness from this type of lighting.

The white balance is the most underused setting on today’s cameras and yet is perhaps the most critical. Be sure to learn how to set it and what all the various settings indicate. If you’re not under artificial lighting, the “Shade” (or “Cloudy”) setting is a good choice in many circumstances, as it will give you very warm-looking colors. If by chance it comes out too red, that can be very easily corrected later in the software. The “auto” function, which is the default function for most cameras, usually will do a good job, but sometimes may result in colors which are a bit cold and you don’t get the warmth you were looking for.

You are now ready to go to part three of this series. I hope you are able to take all of this in and are realizing that there is more to professional photography than just point and shoot.


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A career as a Wedding Photographer

Apr 23
2010
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Wedding Photography Careers And What

You Need To Know

Part One

I receive e-mails or phone calls from aspiring or beginning wedding photographers asking me for advice on how to become successful in the wedding photo field. My first question to them is always, “what is your motivation to become a wedding photographer?” Some reply that they heard it can be easy money, or they have a great camera that takes incredible photos or simply that they want to make some money on the side, as well as many other reasons.

While it is true that shooting wedding photography can turn into a profitable business, achieving a successful one is more than a matter of getting a camera and start shooting. Over a series of four parts, I have summarized some points that I believe will guide the beginning wedding photographer.

1. Learn photography before anything else. A wedding photographer is expected to be a master of their craft. You will be responsible for capturing one of the most moments in a couple’s life. At the ceremony is not the best place to learn wedding photography.

2. Just because you have a fancy new camera, does not qualify you as an effective or reliable photographer. Photography is much more than gadgets and toys. You also have to know composition and develop into artist with a unique vision. Some of the greatest photos ever taken were with manual cameras.

3. Learn and become an expert with the digital workflow that includes color management, file management, digital image processing and image correction/enhancement.

4. More than anything else, learn to have a passion and love for photography. Don’t come into wedding photography with the high expectations of making large sums of money. It’s true that many successful wedding photographers have been financially successful, but according to the Professional Photographers of America, the average wedding photographer in America makes approximately $24,000 a year.

5. Your focus should be on creating quality photos more than getting quantity. Study others work so that you sense what would be unique and what isn’t. This could be what sets you off from other photographers.

6. Develop your own form of style that is can allow others to recognize your uniqueness. Do not try to copy somebody else. Clients look for photographers that have that unique vision.

7. Be sure to give 100% effort into your wedding photography. You want your photography work to last forever and this is a great way to accomplish that.

8. Be open minded and flexible to the situation and great photos will follow. Focus on the human aspects of the weddings, the emotions, details, and then capture them. Allow for the camera to become an extension of you.

9. Meet and connect with other wedding photographers and share your knowledge and experience with them. You will gain a lot of knowledge by sharing ideas with these other professional photographers.

10. Sign up and get involved in competitions for wedding photography images. You get a chance to have your work evaluated and critiqued, which should allow you the motivation and inspiration to improve your quality of work.

11. Try to learn something new everyday. Take advantage of such professional photography organizations as Professional Photographers of America (PPA), WPPI, etc. Attend their workshops and seminars. Get involved with internet wedding photography forums. Use this tool to learn and share techniques, tips and tools.

12. It’s easy to get caught up in shooting photography, so be careful not to neglect the business aspects of your wedding photography business. Learn how to manage your business effectively by taking business courses and attending seminars.

13. Take your camera everywhere you go. You will begin to see the world with a different perspective when you have your camera. You will be aware of and find more opportunities, to take some great photographs. Of course, you will be taking more photos than you ever have before, but the more you take, the better you will become. In addition, if you are taking photos of your friends and family, they will be used to you carrying your camera with you at all times. That way, they won’t feel so odd or intimidated when you bring out your camera. This will lead to a more natural-looking, less “posed” photos. In addition, remember to bring extra batteries or be sure you have charged them in the event you are using a digital camera.

So as you can see, wedding photography can be complex as it involves not only artistic talent and human sense, but also the mastery of photographic techniques, the business knowledge and a strong desire to succeed and make the session as perfect as can be for the wedding couple. Understand, this is just the beginning of your journey. For the rest of the necessary steps to being a successful wedding photographer, see the next article of Wedding Photography Careers And What You Need To Know, Part Two.


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