Wedding/Engagement podcasts

[kiley9806]

Hey Marko (or anyone else who knows the answer...)
i've booked a wedding for next summer, and im going to be doing her engagement photos in the next few weeks. i was wondering if you could point me in the direction of any pertinent podcasts? and anyone else can feel free to give me some basic & easy tips/pointers! thanks all!

[tegan]

Hey Marko (or anyone else who knows the answer...)
i've booked a wedding for next summer, and im going to be doing her engagement photos in the next few weeks. i was wondering if you could point me in the direction of any pertinent podcasts? and anyone else can feel free to give me some basic & easy tips/pointers! thanks all!

The basics are often forgotten in engagement photos. Looking at the couple very carefully, what visual problems will you need to work around in order to create flattering shots such as height differences, weight, thining hair, bags under the eyes, teeth problems, skin blemishes, hair styles etc. Clothes and distracting jewellry may also need to be changed. A lot of pros have a pre-meeting with the couple to solve some visual problems and prevent surprises for the photographer when he/she comes to shoot.

The next thing to do is to think about and plan poses that take into account the visual good points and weaknesses and create a flattering shot. A camera angle that emphasizes a pointed chin or high forehead would not work very well in this regard. Look at engagement poses carefully on this and other web sites and see what was done right and what was done wrong.
(I have seen some very unflattering ones.)

Pick a good location and think about lighting. Available light also means shadows often around the eyes. Shooting in the shade might produce a slightly cool colour temperature. Flash can be harsh and unflattering to skin.
Even slightly different exposures or lighting can change the skin colour of some people. Using a reflector may require an assistant. The important part is to plan the solution to problems before you encounter them.

Post processing is always done of these kinds of shots by experienced pros so you should look at the tutorials that are around the web on retouching or perhaps Scott Kelby's books if they are available to you. Even some magazines have issues dealing with portraits and postprocessing.

There is one heck of a lot to learn, in order to really do it well. Good luck.

Tegan

[kiley9806]

thank you very much tegan - that is all very relevant & valuable info!
this engagement shoot is sort of our pre-meeting, in prep for the wedding.
ive been all over the web getting ideas for poses etc.
all the help i can get from you guys is appreciated!

[tirediron]

thank you very much tegan - that is all very relevant & valuable info!
this engagement shoot is sort of our pre-meeting, in prep for the wedding.
ive been all over the web getting ideas for poses etc.
all the help i can get from you guys is appreciated!

To expand a little on one of Tegan's points, time of day is critical. I've seen a number of posts recently (on another board) where the photographers are bemoaning their less than stellar results caused by shooting in an open field at 1.00pm. Take care to explain to them that the time of day can have a huge impact (assuming at least some shots will be out of doors) on the final product.

[Marko]

Another tip - take pictures of the details. The bride's ring, shoes, hair, the table settings at the reception etc.

[mindforge]

I prefer to shoot engagements outside, in the early morning. I like to have about two hours in the shoot. Here are tips that I use:

1. Scout areas out. I have about a half dozen places I use for mornings. Here is a list of ideas;

restaurant with a fountain or a fountain (I have a great one at an applebee's restaurant that has a white brick wall on three sides, great for bouncing a flash off of.

Large flight of steps: I have two of these.. the courthouse and a metal one in an alley with a red brick wall and a stucco wall on the other side.

A park with shade: my final location because I have solid shade at around 9am

Flower garden: luckily we have several open flower gardens... one is at the park that I use for my shade. Flower gardens, many times, have gazebos or benches. Get a good angle and fire with a moderate DOF to catch some flowers behind them.

Scouting out many locations is important, I don't know how many times one of my favorite locations was not available for some reason. Just move to the next location and come back.

2. When I first meet people for a shoot I have to sit down with them. I do this at their home many times because I don't have my own studio and I find that they are a lot more open in their own home. You gotta look at things like their noses, weight, skin color and more. In one case, I didn't meet them and it was done all over email... one of them was in a wheel chair, that changes the ball game. Meet them in a free consultation, it will pay off in the picture.

3. I don't treat engagement shoots like normal pictures, I like to think of them as a fashion shoot. I have this internal mode that I have to turn on, I am a very active shooter... no tripod, fast moving.

4. Get some ideas from other engagement shots... go online and take screenshots of your favorite poses and make a cheat sheet with it. One thing I like to do is have what I call "her time" "his time" "eye contact" "1000 meter stare" .... basically, make him look at her while she looks at the camera in every pose, reverse so she looks at him... look at each other... look off into the distance and then the camera.

5. Right when the shoot begins I like to explain some things... number 4 is one of them. I explain that in each one I want to get these shots. After the second pose or so, they just get into it and do it themselves. Talk to them, the whole time... unless... they are getting a little intimate, I have seen this several times and talking will break the mood.

6. Some of my favorite poses:
One in focus.. one in background
One in focus.. one in foreground
Frame somehow from unfocused to the other in focus. Umm... Okay, lets say he has a cowboy hat. Turn him sideways and have him reach up like he is going to tip is hat to someone out of camera... put her in the background about 30 feet away.. enough to put her whole body in the frame of his arm. Get creative with it. Scout the area and imagine following them, use your camera when you scout the area.

7. Plan to shoot at least 200 images. This isn't so you have lots of pictures. I think they don't really get into it until you have fired off at least 100 shots. They loosen up. I like to start off sitting on a flight of stairs or at the fountain then move to my favorites which are the flower gardens, alleys and parks.

8. Talk a lot. Compliment them from the beginning, all the time, no matter what the pictures look like. They will get better.

9. On the technical side, I only use one flash. I used to keep the flash off camera but I like to keep them moving too and I don't want to carry the flash. Sometimes, I have gone an entire session without the flash. I use two lenses for each site we go to.

Now, I have never done a wedding but I have done engagement shots and couples several times. These are what I do... but they are probably run of the mill and what everyone does. I actually have a cheat sheet of great locations to shoot at that I have developed over the last year or so. You need to find at least a couple close locations, I have three all within walking distance; an alley, a little bridge and park and a flower garden. I like to go to each location for about 20 minutes or so each and then at the end sit down and take a break for a few minutes and ask them where they were the most comfortable and go back there for 20-30 more minutes. I usually get my best images in the last session.

Take pictures of the rings in each location in some creative way... rings in focus on a step with the couple out of focus in the background.

[kiley9806]

To expand a little on one of Tegan's points, time of day is critical. I've seen a number of posts recently (on another board) where the photographers are bemoaning their less than stellar results caused by shooting in an open field at 1.00pm. Take care to explain to them that the time of day can have a huge impact (assuming at least some shots will be out of doors) on the final product.

thanks tirediron, i've planned to meet with the couple at 5pm for the engagement shoot, getting the best outdoor lighting hopefully!

the wedding is scheduled for 3pm, with photos being around 4-6pm. fingers crossed its a nice day out, or im hooped for a good location...

[kiley9806]

thank you mindforge - some really great tips in there!
i have scouted out the area we are using for the engagement photos, which will be a nearby lake & provincial park. we are very very rural, so things like building steps or fountains are out of the question. i'll have to do my best with a picnic table & a dock. :)
ive been all over online, looking at hints & tips, photographs, poses, etc. i think between that and you guys, i should be good to go!
thanks all!

[morgan]

I'm just getting started learning photography. So far, I've done two engagement sessions for friends. I found flickr to be really helpful for getting inspiration for different poses.

also, some of my best pics have come from having the couple dance. this gets them relaxed & connected with each other.

so far, the two guys i worked with were not comfortable in front of the camera. I find the guys look more natural when looking at the girl. it brings out their true smile.

this is what i was able to do in my first 2 engagment sessions. I look forward to learning more & improving on doing these sessions.

http://morgansphotosite.blogspot.com/2008/08/jeanie-chris-sneak-peak.html

http://morgansphotosite.blogspot.com/2008/09/stefanie-vincents-engagement-pics.html

[kiley9806]

thats great - thanks for sharing mogan! always helpful to actually see poses.
i'll hopefully have some good shots to share after this sunday... :)

[morgan]

thats great - thanks for sharing mogan! always helpful to actually see poses.
i'll hopefully have some good shots to share after this sunday... :)

http://flickr.com/photos/morganhenderson/favorites/

you can look through my flickr favorites. i added many engagement pictures that inspired me. most are on page 2. i've been looking for maternity inspiration recently.

[mindforge]

Since this got bumped, I also advise one more thing...

Try to shoot an all out door wedding for your first one. You won't have to deal with indoor lighting and I personally think getting a good, beautiful shot in the sun is so much easier.

Before you shoot a wedding indoors, try and do some parties of friends indoors if you can. The ballgame changes dramatically when dealing with motion indoors and getting shots that can be blown past 8x10's without losing too much on quality. I find indoor shooting the hardest thing to do.

Last, try to find the best angles and map out your route to a schedule if indoors... you might find that you want to be on the other side of the isle in the middle of a wedding with no way to get there because of the isle procession, missing shots of the bride's maids... that would be bad. So, try and get all the details and think about your own actions... who is coming in when and where do you need to be.

[Ben H]

Also another great source for this kind of info - subscribe to www.kelbytraining.com - it's about $20 per month, but you can just pay one month with gives you access to *all* the training videos on their site, and then cancel your subscription.

I'm currently soaking these up like a sponge, but for wedding type situations, watch the David Ziser courses - excellent stuff.

Basically, for the amount of info you can get for a tenner, not just for photography, but other things like Photoshop as well - it's a no-brainer.

You can also sign up for free and watch the first three parts of every tutorial as well, so you can see what you'd be paying for if you subscribe. Recommended - not affiliated with them at all, I've just done it myself and I've been pretty impressed with the content...