Traditional formal wedding photography is losing touch with today’s brides and their grooms. Today the fashion is for much more informal unstaged pictures – candid photography. Many couples like it because it captures more realistically the emotions of the day and what everyone is really feeling, and that’s what they want to remember about their special day.
There is still a place for lining up groups of guests with the bride and groom in posed shots, but in today’s market the reportage and candid style is likely to be more commercially beneficial to your business. Naturally, take the lead from your clients and take the shots they want. Pick a good spot outside your Wedding Venue in Gloucestershire location where the light is clear but not glaring down and do your main shots here but then just let the photos flow through the day. To check out the different areas your venue has to offer head to sites like hatton-court.co.uk
More Than Luck
Some think that candid photography is all about pointing your camera at people constantly, clicking away and hoping for the best. The law of averages suggests you’ll get lucky at some point. As a professional photographer, though, you will be all too aware that there is a lot of skill in making shots look lucky
Be Ready
Keep your eye out for ‘moments’. Experience will help you see them coming, and practice does make perfect. Anticipate what will happen next, and you will never miss a candid opportunity again. It goes without saying that you will need to be holding your camera so you are physically ready, and have it set up to suit the light conditions.
Knowing the venue can help. Planning ahead to know where the guests will be at what time and where you might stand to take your shots will help ensure ‘luck’ is on your side.
Use the Right Equipment
Practice, practice, practice. Know your equipment inside out, back to front and upside down. You cannot afford, figuratively or literally, to be changing the settings while you should be capturing the moment in front of you. Have a back-up camera, just in case, and consider a smaller option as it will be less bulky.
However, some of the best candid photos are taken from some distance away using a long telephoto lens. They key is that people don’t know that they’re having their picture taken, so they act completely naturally. It’s the intimacy of the moment that is so important in wedding photography, and being unobtrusive will help you capture that.
No Flash
There are several reasons why using a flash is not a good idea for this style of shot, either external or on-board. Your cover is blown instantly if a flashgun fires. Flash light can be very flat, which takes any excitement from an image, and it can be very unflattering. It’s much better to read the light and be ready for it.
Digital Camera World has some more tips on taking great candid shots that could be transferred to your wedding photography, and the Photo Argus has some beautiful examples.
Mastering this very popular wedding photography style will help your business go from strength to strength.
