Shadowing a Wedding Photographer

One of the aspects of photography I haven’t really gotten into has been that of a wedding photographer. With close friends of ours getting married in less than two weeks, I will be shooting their wedding and to be honest, am I am a bit nervous about it.

So how does someone who has never shot a wedding prepare for such an event? You ask your photog friends if you can tag along with them on a wedding shoot to see what they do and how they do it to hopefully be more confident in providing the best possible photos. Granted at one of Robyn’s friends weddings a few months ago, I did wander around (as a guest) taking photos without being intrusive, it wasn’t bad and not having to make sure I got good photos made the experience a bit easier. Though with the upcoming wedding in Victoria, I looked to veteran Whistler wedding photographer Anastasia and asked if I could tag or shadow her the next time she shot a wedding.

The Evening Before

One thing you need to ensure is that all of your batteries are charged, your memory cards are empty and your gear it clean and ready to go. I charged all of my batteries the evening before as I planned to not only take my Canon 7D but my Canon XSi as a secondary camera too. I do like that fact I have a second camera I could use if my 7D failed (for some ungodly reason) and it relieves a bit of the stress.

The Day Of

Alright, the day of the wedding. I ensured myself I was not shooting on an empty stomach  and had a nice breakfast as well as brought along some extra snacks just in case.  The plan was to meet Anastasia up at Whistler and follow her and her husband to the wedding location.Typically her husband shoots with her at weddings but he was marrying the couple that day.

When we arrived, Anastasia went over some little tidbits of what she would like me do; group shots, be on the opposite side of her to get different perspectives, follow behind the Bride as she entered etc. She did say also to just enjoy myself and have fun shooting, which is what I did. I also got requests from the Groom to get some photos of the guests chatting amongst each other as well. It was probably easier going for me as Anastasia was friends with the wedding couple as opposed to being complete strangers. Either way I was there to do a job.

I had my wide-angle lens on my Canon XSi and my 70-200 lens on my Canon 7D. I walked around the perimeter taking photos of whatever I found to be interesting; people chatting, kids playing, the decoration.

Some Photos

Here is a small selection of photos I took during the wedding. I’m not much into the post-processing as some wedding photographers can be (as I don’t know what sort of settings would look best) so I just tried to clean up the colours, exposures and composition as best I could.

I understand these might not all be someone’s “cup-of-tea”, but I have always had a hard time shooting people. I’m not an “in-your-face” sort of person which to a degree, wedding photographers need to be in order to get various shots. I did watch Anastasia to see how she interacted with the people (granted she was friends with most), got them to pose for various photos etc. The feeling I got most of the time was, who is this guy? A couple girls thought I might be Anastasia’s competitor (though why would you have 2 different photogs at a wedding is beyond me), but Anastasia quickly told them I was with her learning the ropes.

Before and during the ceremony I did find that I enjoyed using my longer telephoto lens. I could hang back and observe people and get shots without getting into people’s way. I tip toed around during the ceremony and tried to stay out of people’s way to get shots I thought might be good. Using my wide-angle lens just didn’t produce the results (composition wise) as much as my telephoto did. Perhaps during our friends wedding later this month, I’ll stick to using the 70-200mm on my 7D and then my 50mm on my XSi, and switch to the wide-angle periodically. I guess when I see the venue, I’ll make a decision then as to using the wide-angle over the 50mm.

After the ceremony and after the various family related photos, which was good to see as Anastasia rounded up various families together with the Bridge and Groom, as well as did a great group photo of everyone from the balcony above, it was time to do the Bride and Groom shots over at Nita Lake Lodge.

Bride and Groom

Typically after the wedding ceremony the recently married couple gallivants off to another location to get their photos taken separately. This was another aspect of wedding photography I wanted to see, as I have always really enjoyed Anastasia’s work. Also at this time Anastasia’s husband (Chad) was able to take up his shooting position, so now the newlyweds had 3 photographers working with them. The weather was trying to cooperate with us and up to this point it was pretty good. We started off in the main hall of Nita Lake Lodge and went from there.

The couple were awesome to photograph; happy, relaxed and smiling! Anastasia and Chad did a great job of doing their thing to capture this awesome moment with the married couple too. It was cool to watch Anastasia direct the couple as we progressed around the Lodge’s property, I just need to be a bit less shy/quiet I think.

My Thoughts

Since this was my first official wedding gig (well shadowing/second shooter) I really did enjoy the experience. Anastasia and Chad did an awesome job, the Bride and Groom were awesome, the guests at the wedding were great too. The weather held out long enough as the wedding was outside (the reception was at Dusty’s in Creekside though I headed back home before that).

The Canon 7D performed well, though my Canon XSi with the wide-angle needs some work. It seems with my wide-angle, was I shooting a slightly slower shutter speeds than I should have, but for some reason it didn’t dawn to me at the time of shooting. Remember to CHECK YOUR CAMERA SETTINGS periodically throughout the wedding.

On a post-processing note, I need to look at various options and techniques. I also have to ensure I keep the colours somewhat unified, well in terms of skin tones. Though I am sure this comes easier with more practice. I love that with photography I am always learning!

With our friends wedding coming up later this month, I’ll be the main shooter and need to ensure I get the appropriate shots throughout the ceremony. I will be talking to the Bride before to ensure I get the photos she wants before, during and after. I might look at renting a 24-70mm lens as the wide-angle might be too wide, and the 70-200mm is too long if I’m right up there with the Bride and Groom, though I could probably just go with the 50mm. Again, I’ll figure that out closer to the time, but always welcome feedback. A full-frame camera would be nice, but beggars can’t be choosers right?

To the photographers out there, have you ever shot a wedding? If so, any tips for me?