Wedding Photography

A wedding is one of the biggest expenses a couple will generate, and parents can't always be counted on to help defray the cost. Many times, expenses will need to be cut and some aspects of a wedding lend themselves to budget cuts more than others.

For the budget-conscious wedding, the photography is frequently one of the things to suffer. As there is no shortage of people taking pictures at a wedding, often the couple will just figure on using the pictures taken by their guests. One practice I’ve seen is to place disposable cameras on each table at the reception.

PREPARING YOUR EQUIPMENT

I myself have been approached on several occasions to photograph weddings, but have always been smart enough to decline no matter how much compensation was involved. I'm just not confident enough in my own skill to take on that momentous task. The way my luck goes, I would be the one thing at the wedding that got screwed up. It would be my fault that the day was ruined and there were no memories of this most important of days.

If you're using a digital camera, make sure to have extra media of whatever kind the camera takes, (i.e., SD card, Memory Stick, CDR, whatever). Again, it's better to have too much than not enough. You never know when one of those cards or CDs is going to be corrupt. You don't want to be stuck without extras. Gary tells me he goes through six CompactFlash cards per wedding. Connected Photographer recommends you have at least 2GB of on-hand media before you even consider wedding coverage.

Take everything you think you might possibly need. None of us like to lug around unnecessary equipment, but when you're in the trenches you don't want to realize you need something you don't have. After you've shot a few weddings, if you choose to continue doing them, you'll know what you need and what you don't.

Believe it or not, an inexpensive tripod will go a long way to improving the shots that don't have to be hand held. I know I can't hold a camera steady even if my life depended on it. I rely on my tripod as a necessary extension of the camera.