A Picture Perfect Wedding

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Weddings are definitely one of the happiest moments in a person’s life. But, this momentous occasion does not always come as blissful as the event itself. Days and even months before the big day, couples usually cram up with the littlest details.

The process of listing down and cutting down everything into specific details—the wedding date, the venue, the reception, the caterer, the designer of the gown and suit, all the way down to the wedding coverage—are the areas where stress usually ushers in.

Due to hectic schedules, most couples usually do not pay much attention to one of the crucial things in any wedding—the wedding coverage. Despite the overwhelming tension and excitement, couples do not have to be nonchalant when choosing their wedding photographers if they want their fun times and precious memories recorded very well.

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PREFERENCES

To avoid making this slight neglect that usually leads disastrous results, couples have to decide first what kind of wedding photography they would want to have.

Most wedding photographers today categorize the types of wedding photography into two: the traditional or classic style and the wedding photojournalistic style.

The most common style used by wedding photographers today, the traditional or classic wedding photography is considered as a “timeless” and the “safest” style because you normally see in countless wedding albums. Characterized by classic poses of subjects aware of the camera, this style involves so much control from the photographer because he is in-charge in arranging individual and group shots before, during, and even after the wedding.

Having excellent portraiture skills, expect the photographer to focus more on the quality of the photograph by making the subject look great from the littlest details. Expect typical wedding photos like pre-ceremony pictures, formal shots of the bride and groom posing with brides maids and ushers, cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss, and the like when you choose a classic wedding photography. This style is ideal if the couple would want to keep portraits of family members for their wedding album.

If the couple is adventurous and unconventional, then you might want to consider the wedding photojournalistic style of photography on your big day. An increasingly popular style today, wedding photojournalism offers fresh and new style of taking photos in the occasion. Characterized by candid shots of the subjects unaware of the moving camera, the photojournalism style lets the attendees act freely to capture their pure and true emotion.

Sourcing style from his experience in journalism, the “photojournalist” pays more attention to minute details and candid shots rather than arranged ones. He’s more into eyeing interesting moments and capturing those in his lens to produce a narrative collection of images that tell a story.

Although some traditional poses will be present, expect photos that show actual emotions of the bride and groom and of other participants throughout the duration of the wedding when you choose the photojournalism style.

In order to avoid ruining the documentation of your wedding, here are some tips in making your wedding a picture perfect one:

1. Weddings are one of the most exciting chapters of one’s life. Make sure that you choose a wedding photographer that can meet all your standards. Meet with the photographer before hand the so you could discuss the details you want.

2. Inform the important participants about the schedule of photo sessions and make sure everyone attends the rehearsal to cut down the stress.

3. Have a reception area so guests can be informed about the itinerary. This will set the occasion in order.

Get the perfect exposure… every time!

Did you ever get back a fresh batch of film, only to be disappointed in finding out that you got back wash-out boring images.

The problem is that you didn’t expose your film properly.

Whether we use a digital or film camera, we need to be able to calculate exposure properly. But first, we need to understand how the aperture and the shutter work together. We also need to know how film handles light, and the relationship between film light sensitivity and f/stops.

Lets take a quick look at the main elements.

Aperture and f/stops: the aperture is an opening in the centre of the lens through which light passes. The amount of light which passes through an aperture is indicated by f/stops. The lower the f/stop the more light that passes through the aperture. Opening up one full f/stop doubles the amount of light entering the camera. F/4 admits twice the light of f5.6.

Shutter: the shutter is a mechanical device that controls the length of time that light is allowed to act on the film. Each time you open the shutter by one, we double the light, when we close down the light by one we half the light. Opening the shutter at 1 second allows twice the light as that of a ½ second.

ISO (ASA): stands for International Standards Organisation. The initials are used for film speed which rates light sensitivity. A film with an ISO number 100 is twice as light sensitive as a film with an ISO of 50. The faster the film, the more sensitive it is to light.

Most digital SLR have ISO settings built in to them. If you are taking a low light image with a digital camera use a slow ISO rating of 200 or upwards.

Getting the perfect exposure isn’t easy, but there are several different ways of making it easier.


Using a light meter: there are two types of light meters,

1. Reflected-light meter (the same that is built into your camera) works by pointing the meter at your subject.

2. Incident-light meter: instead of pointing the meter at your subject, you stand beside the subject and point the meter at the camera. The light that falls on your subject will also fall on your meter.

The most common way is to use the meter built into your camera. All modern day cameras have a reflected-light meter built in to them. But don’t point the camera directly at your subject from 10 meters. This will more than likely underexpose your image. Take the exposure reading up-close, then return to the starting position and take your image.

It doesn’t matter which metering system we use, if we don’t point them in the right direction our images will return too dark or too bright. The key is to know where to point the meter.

When I take a landscape image I normally take five or six different readings. I take an incident-light reading with my light meter to record the foreground and a reflected-light reading of the sky.

If you are unsure take three or four images at different exposure settings. Don’t let a perfect picture moment pass by without recording it flawlessly.