I have a wedding coming up to photograph. I need some tips. I am using the Nikon D40.?

Answer 1

See these tutorials on wedding photography: http://www.net-art.it/photomonitor/html/teoria_tecnica/ripresa-tecniche/matrimonio-cerimonia-e.shtml
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Answer 2

First tip - do some serious expectation management. Even professional photographers can forget get some 'must have' shots in all the activity unless they are experienced wedding photographers. And unless you're a fantastic photographer to begin with, make it clear that you will be providing snapshots, not art.
If you are family or a friend of the bride/ groom, understand that you will be there as the photographer. You will not (have time to) enjoy the day as a guest.
If you are NOT a friend/ relative, get someone to point out all the important people for portraits with the bride & groom.
If you've been using the pop-up flash until now, get a flash gun and learn how to use it for fill flash.
Take your outdoor shots in the shade with fill flash.
The only lens that's really suited for wedding photography that will work on the D40, is the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8. This is a $1200 lens. Maybe you can rent one. Third party f/2.8 zooms and even Nikon's prime lenses like the 50mm f/1.8 won't auto-focus. Consumer grade zooms are really too slow for church ceremonies if the flash isn't permitted. They also don't provide stellar image quality wide open. It's nice to shoot wide open in crowded surroundings for depth of field isolation.
Stock up on memory cards and spare batteries for both the camera and flash.
Learn how to use the histogram and the spot meter. A white gown together with a black tux makes for horrible exposure dilemmas.
Expect to take 1000+ shots at best quality jpg. If you know how to post process, shoot in RAW. You want 300 of those shots to be good enough to show to the bride & groom.
Tag along for the rehearsal.
Scout for a location for the formals.
Be friendly. Put people at ease. Direct people as needed.
And good luck... you'll need it ;-)

Answer 3

Honestly...have them get a Pro. I wouldn't want the responibility of photgraphing someones wedding...and I have been shooting for a while. Thats a big deal!

But if you must. I would suggets getting a fast lens. So you can shoot in low light. A cheap fast Nikon lens you could get that would be OK would be the 50mm 1.8D. I would prefer a fast lens with a bit of a zoom though so you don't have to move back and forth to frame the shots. Also get a SB-800, or SB-600 and use an omni bounce. The on camera flash is pretty harsh and you want a soft flash in wedding photos. The SB-800 (What I use) Has a bounce card built in, the 600 does not.

Other than the equipment....Don't shoot dead on shoot at angles. Don't shoot into the sun if you are outside. If it is in a church you are definatly going to need a fast lens. Hope this helps. I am no pro by any stretch....but Good Luck!

Answer 4

Okay, if someone is paying you to take control of their wedding pics for pete's sake you do not use a disposable camera, even for a birthday party-anything can happen to those silly things. Use the Nikon. There is nothing criminal about taking a photo from straight-on, just don't stand them straight facing you and side by side. Stack people nicely for groups of more than 4. Make sure you can see everyones whole faces, and if the alter has steps this will help greatly. Make sure that you have lots of cards and plenty of battery life. I personally shoot 300 pics for a wedding, and there are always 2 photographers for our bookings. Whenn the battery gets low it will save slow which make make you miss an important shot, or some batteries just die-which is very inconvienient too! As for lighting, make sure you have a flash, the room is not too dark, but they do not have giant spotlights on them either. A blown-out bride is just as bad as a dark bride. I agree-go see the church-take someone and take a few random shots prior so you know what you are getting into. I always advise people to hire a professional photorapher because I've seen non-pro work go bad-but if they want you to do it just look around the internet for some posing ideas, and most importantly... stay calm!

Answer 5

Wow! These answers deserve to be archived somewhere where they can be found easily, so I put a star on the question. I'll just add a couple of thoughts that I missed above.

I will add a vote for that 17-55 lens mentioned by OMG and the SB-800 (with diffuser lens) mentioned by st)l1. Practice with them both for an hour (if they are new to you) so you won't be fumbling during the wedding.

I didn't see anyone mention getting pictures at the home of the bride or groom beforehand, but think about that. Think about getting a helper, too, especially a helper with a decent camera who might go to the groom's house for you.

Don't be shy about taking pictures. If you need to keep the bridal party in the church after everyone has gone outside to do a few posed shots, it's what you have to do. Everyone expects to wait for this, but if you do it, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING and be quick about it.

Answer 6

I certainly agree with managing expectations. Photographing a wedding isn't like doing a birthday party, Easter egg hunt, or family vacation. Things at a wedding move at a fast pace, and you have to be ready. You need backup equipment. At least another camera body and flash. Take spare batteries and more film or memory than you think you need. If you can't nail a jpeg out of the camera, then you need to develop a RAW workflow,

Digital images require post processing to look their best, so add a fast computer and at least PS Elements.

The B&G may say whatever pictures you come up with will be fine, but weddings are loaded with expectations and emotions. If your pictures are not good, (or even if they think they're not) then you have a problem. Friendships and future business hopes have been crushed by substandard wedding photography.

Go to www.photo.net and search the wedding and social event forum for beginner and newbie wedding photography. That will give you lots of info to keep you busy reading for a while. Try to visit the venue before the wedding to check out the lighting situation and scout out locations for formals.

Also check out several websites from wedding photogs to see what the pros are doing and to give you some ideas.

It is possible for a skilled amateur to deliver decent wedding photos. For a novice, it is almost impossible to get more than useable snapshots. But good luck!

Answer 7

It really depends on what sort of results the couple are expecting at the end of the day. I did one a few weekends back, on a very similar Canon camera. Best advice i could give, would be to shoot everything in RAW mode (you are able to correct the images more accurately later if needed) - You will require lots of space for these images tho, be sure you have enough. I was running short on battery power at one stage too, so just make sure you have that covered.
Try be interesting, get the little things that other ppl might not have noticed, the place settings, the rings, the cake. Try arrive early to check out the place where you will be shooting. Light light light !! - So important that your shots are as good as you can get them on the day of shooting. I recently read somewhere that wedding photography is flash photography, make sure you have one, if you can get a self contained flash, with a directable head, all the better.
Try bring a little life to your shots, get people on camera unaware, capturing their true unposed essence.
I'm a bit of a novice too, so everything i say might not be totally correct, but if one thing in all I've said helps you take a single better photo, then its all worth it.

Good luck ! :)

Answer 8

I agree with the comment about managing expectations - talk to people beforehand and write down the shots you must take. Check the venue in advance and work out where you're going to get the best formal shots - don't forget that the weather might not be kind to you. Find out in advance who's going to be able to help you get people together for the group shots and identify the various aunts and uncles etc, and tell them what's going on - getting the guests together can be like herding cats! Try and get the formal shots done early before people start wandering off and maybe getting a little "over refreshed". It can be a difficult balancing act between being officious and losing control, but make it clear that you're in charge of this part of the proceedings. Take a spare camera. In fact, take spares of everything you can!

Answer 9

I have photographed weddings, birthdays, etc. You can use cameras of any kind! The trick is make sure you take double or even triple shots of "fixed pictures" ( the bride and groom, the girls in the wedding, the entire party, etc.) but take ALOT of snapshots...moments not expected or posed! They can be arranged later...blown up to size...etc. The best way to do this is print them all out and then scan them to your computer- let the bride and groom go through them as well as anybody with any interest - you can copy all the pictures to a cd. Then you can size them as you wish onto photo print paper right off your computer! You can zoom in on the computer...add borders...etc. Also- at a later time more pictures can be created. For example- I used a dollar store indoor/outdoor camera for a birthday party- ($5.00) got the pictures developed at Rite Aid drugstore ($7.80) Scanned them to my computer ($0) copied them onto cd's I purchased at Big Lots ($4.00) and then created pictures according to what people wanted- I also bought photo paper in different sizes (which cost me $9.65) and I created borders,zoomed,etc. and made the pictures EVERYBODY wanted. My total cost was- $35.45. I charged just $2.00 per picture no matter what sizes or anything! I ended up making $635.00 profit and this was for a 1 yr. old's birthday! I had never done it before- just knew some people that wanted the whole family invoved in the pictures. Amazing!

Answer 10

First, I hope you are only there as a guest. If you have to ask what settings to use you certainly aren't knowledgeable enough to actually be shooting a wedding. For the ceremony, when you never ever use flash, you'll be shooting with an ISO of at least 400 with a short (100mm, 135mm) telephoto with at least f2.8 maximum aperture. You can use a monopod for added stability. For the rest of the festivities you'll be using your flash. I hope you have a flash that is TTL (aka Off-Sensor Flash Metering) compatible with your camera and an off-camera flash bracket. With flash you can easily shoot at ISO 100 or 200. Before using your flash, read and study the Owner's Manual that came with it alongside the Owner's Manual for the camera. Learn how to make them work together. With TTL you should be able to use f5.6 or f8 for most of the reception, etc.