The Bride and Groom Prepare

Many photographers begin the big day at the bride’s and/or groom’s home. Unlike the disciplined confines of formal portraiture, the pre-ceremony photos taken at the couple’s homes can be more journalistic in nature and are best taken with a creative, artsy sensibility. Fitting the gown; adjusting cufflinks and neckties; applying makeup; styling hair; smiles or embraces caught in the reflections of windows and mirrors—these unstaged moments add a huge measure of personality to the photo mix. One should also seek out shallow focus close-ups of wedding-related boxes, packages, flowers and other items that visually capture the special atmosphere of the day. It’s the details of this part of the day that can make very memorable images and set the tone for a successful wedding album, so be sure to capture these precious little images.

You should plan on arriving at the bride’s house no later than “on time.” In addition to all of the goings-on in and around the house, make sure you photograph the arrival of the limo as well as the bride and her bridal party boarding the limo and heading off to the ceremony and following reception.

The wedding day is often fraught with tensions on all sides, and as such, it’s often incumbent on the photographer to be an understanding, positive, guiding force during the course of the day. This means being courteous, understanding and encouraging to all involved. Most of all, always take the time to offer encouraging words to the bride because this is her day, and she should be treated with all the courtesies you’d extend to a princess.

When shooting in the home, it’s best to leave your larger lights, stands and tripod in the car and rely on your camera, and at most a shoe or handle-mounted flashgun with a light modifier, from companies such as Impact, ExpoImaging, Gary Fong, LumiQuest, Pearstone, Sto-Fen, and Zeikos.It’s also a good idea to have an off-camera TTL flash cord handy when shooting in and around the bride’s home.

As for optics, keep things simple by sticking to two or three faster, fixed focal length lenses,such as a fast 24- or 28mm, a fast 50mm and a fast 85- or 105mm lens. By shooting at wider apertures, you can make good use of selective focusing as well as maintain faster shutter speeds, which translate into sharper exposures when using available light only.

If, however, you prefer zooms, a lens along the lines of a 14-24mm f/2.8 or 16-35mm f/2.8 on a full-frame DSLR should well satisfy your needs. This is also a good opportunity to exercise the higher ISO sensitivity levels of your camera. Rather than popping off a flash—which in these scenarios can be distracting or make your subjects self-conscious—it’s better to rely on window light or the light emanating from the make-up mirror.

Note: There are a number of fine, wide zooms available for APS-C format DSLRs, but unfortunately, with the exception of a handful of f/2.8 zooms, most of the current models open up no wider than f/3.5 to f/4.0, and they often have variable-aperture diaphragms. Although most of the currently available slower, variable-aperture optics capture sharp pictures, because they’re slower you’ll sooner have to goose the ISO numbers a notch or two or use fill flash in dimmer light.

A fast medium-telephoto (85mm f/1.8 or 1.4, or a 100mm or 105mm f/2.0 or 2.8) can also be handy for tighter close-ups and wedding-related details, as will a zoom lens in the 70-200mm f/2.8 range.

 If your camera or lens features image-stabilization technology, now’s a good time to turn it on and take advantage of this invaluable low-light shooting mode.

Another tool you might want to have handy is a small or mid-size folding reflector for bounce lighting, which an assistant can maneuver about to open up deeper shadows.

The arrival and departure of friends and family should be captured, as well as informal portraits of the groom with the best man, his parents if they are present; the bride with her maid of honor, her parents and friends, which reflect the nature of the relationships between these individuals. Do take photos of the limo coming up the street or driveway, the wedding party boarding the limo, or the newlywed’s car being dressed up with wedding-related decorations, such as a “Just Married” sign on the rear windshield or a string of cans attached to the back bumper.

Notes: Before everybody heads off to the chapel, make sure the bride understands that she should remain in the limo when it reaches its destination until you are there to photograph the event. On the same note, the limo driver should agree to not  run any yellow traffic lights if you’re following them  to the next locale, leaving you to sit waiting for the light to turn green.

On the rare occasion that the contract calls for taking photographs at the groom’s home as well as the bride’s and you need to photograph at both locations, the same rules and thought processes apply. Just make sure you budget in the extra time and added costs of hiring crew and additional equipment costs when preparing a quote for shooting the assignment.

What's your personal approach to pre-ceremony portaiture and still-life photography? If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to share them in the Comments section below!