Wedding Photography: 7 Tips for Photographing your First Wedding

So recently someone got in touch with you to photograph their wedding and now you're freaking out!! Let's talk about my person 7 tips for shooting your first wedding. Wedding photography can be intimidating but with practice and understanding the most important parts to pull off the day you'll be running smooth wedding days before you know it!

Here are links to all of the things I mentioned in this video:

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Video Index:
0:00 - Introduction
0:34 - Prerequisites for shooting your first wedding
3:17 - Pre-Wedding Communication
4:58 - Write Your own Timeline
6:20 - Have a Family Portrait List
8:52 - Use a Higher f/stop for Group Photos
10:15 - Don’t Use Continuous Autofocus
12:05 - Pay Attention to your Background
13:40 - Stay in Control of the Wedding
16:46 - Final Thoughts

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DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission.

#weddingphotography #photography #fujifilm

[jbivphotography]

Which tip do you think will have the largest impact on you as a wedding photographer?

[uploads]

Exposure triangle, understand your camera setting, shoot raw, backup of your gear, 1) communicate before wedding, meet couple and talk to know what they want 2) plan your timeline and photos (zooms, wide, closeup etc ) 3) list for family portrait (names, people combinations) 4) f stop down for group photos (f3.2) 5) use single point auto focus and move it around 6) pay attention to background, remove distractions eg: water bottles etc 7) be in control, decide by yourself dont take extra suggestions.

[oliverlane]

Some great tips! One huge one for us is making sure we visit the venues prior to the wedding, and if possible with the couple so you can talk things through there. The best plan is to attend the rehearsal if you can. This also means you can work out lighting, rain contingencies etc prior to the actual event.

[jeffp]

I haven't done any weddings in YEARS, but enjoyed hearing your suggesting. One thing that I used to request of my couples is that they ask a family member to assist me; maybe even one from each side of the family (bride's & groom's). Their role was to round up all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, etc. and have them available for the family portraits. That family member would definitely know much better than I would, who was who, and could wrangle them for me according to the time schedule that I provided them, allowing me and my assistant to keep the photos moving as quickly as possible. It always worked like a charm.

[MrShuaiGuy]

Photographing my first wedding for a friend in a couple weeks. I’ve been binging your channel lol. Thanks for all of these tips!

[fatenashd]

I'm 16, and I'm excited to be the photographer and videographer in a weeding next week, I'm supper excited.

[TroyShields]

Great video John. Only one thing though pertaining to continuous AF 100% of the time. As a wedding photographer who shoots Sony, I do shoot in continuous AF 90% or more of the time because the Sony bodies do have the face registration feature where you are able to register the face of the bride and the groom so the camera does place AF priority on them if they are in the frame. This is especially handy for any shots that are not stationary like ceremony entry & exit, couples walking from or away from the camera, you moving, first dances, and other fast moving reception and final exit shots.

[wanneske]

Great video. Some thoughts : 1) it took me nearly 10 years before I dared to do a wedding. I did amateur models and concerts before. 2) depth of field doesn't only depend on the f-number but also on the distance to the subject, the focal length etc. I'd say f 5.6 is the best on a 50 mm lens for outdoor group shots 3) if you choose manual for shutter speed, aperture, iso ... about 90% of your shots will be over/underexposed. there is nothing wrong in using Av or Tv and over/underexpose when needed

[NicConstitution]

This video is GOLD. Packed with great tips, and not a bunch of empty fluff like most YT content. Thank you for getting right to your points, and giving really helpful explanations, and examples. I'm probably at least six months from even considering jumping into photography for pay, as I still need to really master the basics, but seeing this video helps me to understand at least some of what I don't yet understand. The largest impact tip for me is probably the 80% customer service tip. I totally get how important that will be.

[jacobharter]

Excellent tips, love the 80% customer service comment. I feel like a lot of times people/videos focus so much on the technical aspect, and forget the human factor.

[mykCNMT]

I got my first wedding today!! And you can already guess what I’m studying...thanks for the awesome vids john!!wish me luck!

[Imnobody-ur]

Totally right!! Love it! Ive done 52 weddings in 2022 and this is the BEST ADVICE! following!

[ivanm.]

I was a wedding photographer for 17 years and got out of the business. Now that I’m fully retired I am revisiting going back into the business. Great advice to beginners and it even reminded me on a few dos and don’ts. The only thing I like to add is not to take pictures at the reception while people are eating.

[MichelleRenee-uith]

Thank you SO MUCH for all of this!! I was hired to do my first professional photography gig, which of course is a wedding. So definitely feeling pressure, and I'm so thankful for your content and all the other amazing content I'm able to find to help me 🙏 Truly, THANK YOU.

[kwizmon]

On focus/recompose, becoming familiar with back button focus changed my game considerably. Makes everything so much easier and once you master it, you'll never know how you lived without it.

[PhotogenicFilm_z]

I love your honesty, “wedding photography isn’t for everybody “. Great Content! 👍🏾

[ShaunieMcNeil]

This is great, my friend asked me if I could be her wedding photographer, im a little overwhelmed. I have never done portraits or anything really with people. I'm more of a landscape and astrophotography kind of gal. So this video helps so much. The wedding is in 3 weeks so I best get to practicing street/portrait photography.

[Mhappymendy]

Love this video. Not only learnt to be a organized photographer, but also learnt how to be a boss of your business while still being professional!

[julieallen]

I'm going to be shooting my cousin's wedding this weekend so excited and nervous I've been doing family get togethers and doing photography using different camera filters with my daughter and they always come out great. A wedding is on another level thank you so much for the tips! Love your videos

[Artshreddersoon]

Totally agree! 80% of wedding photography is customer service! Love the content bro!