This document provides tips for amateur photographers taking photos at a wedding for the first time. It emphasizes that extensive preparation is required, including practicing lighting techniques indoors and outdoors. The photographer should understand how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together to control exposure and produce good lighting. Taking practice photos of people in various settings is also recommended to prepare. While the photographer's inexperience means expectations should be managed, working hard to learn techniques means they can potentially take nice wedding photos.

1. WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
So – you love photography and have been asked by a friend to take pictures at their wedding.
Why is it that it seems like every professional photographer will recommend you don’t do it?
Are they a bit biased? Maybe they don’t want to be blamed for encouraging you to take the
photos if you make mistakes and ruin the wedding photos. I’m a wedding photographer who
realizes every professional started out by photographing a “first wedding” at some point. While
I will still recommend you give the couple a monetary gift so they can hire a professional
photographer, if you are going to go ahead and do the photography yourself, I want to help you
do the best job possible!
I remember spending more than a hundred hours working HARD to prepare for my first
wedding. Learning as much as I could online. Buying wedding photography books. Taking
practice photos (indoors and outdoors). Visiting the church and reception site. Taking more
practice photos. Begging people (family members, relatives, friends) to pose for me so I could
practice arranging…
It is possible for an amateur to successfully photograph a wedding – but you have to be willing
to work really, really hard. And be willing to dedicate a lot of time to preparing for the wedding.
And make sure the couple knows it is your first wedding so that they have low expectations.
Then you can blow them away with your good results!

2. LEARN ABOUT LIGHTING
Do you know how to take well-lit photos in a variety of settings? Can you take nicely-lit photos
that primarily use natural light while indoors? Or do you use “blast-flash” on all your subjects?
There are three basic settings on the camera that control exposure. Do you know what those
three are? If you are a student of photography you should immediately know the three I am
referring and you should know how they interact.
1. ISO
Do you know what ISO refers to and what settings work best for various lighting conditions? If
you stepped outside for some photos at a wedding, what would you move your ISO to? If you
are indoors, what ISO setting will give you a good mixture of quality and light capture? At what
ISO setting does your camera begin to take grainy photos? On my Nikon DSLR I will shoot
indoors at ISO 400 all day and end up with beautiful, grain-free results. If needed, I can go up to
ISO 520 or 640. I try to avoid moving up to ISO 800 or higher – but will do it if needed (there are
tons of Photoshop plug-ins, free and paid, that can be used to lessen the grain).
Photo captured by Joe D'Alessandro

3. Photo captured by Joe D’Alessandro (Click Image to Find Photographer)
2. SHUTTER SPEED
Do you know what shutter speed you can comfortably shoot at without taking blurred photos?
The first bit of advice is to hold the camera as still as possible while taking photos. Sounds
simple, but it’s important! Don’t jam the button down; press it gently.
The second bit of advice is to use a tripod whenever possible. I almost always use a tripod
during wedding ceremonies that are indoors. Most of the time it is the only way I am able to get
natural-lit shots of the wedding ceremony (due to the slow shutter speeds and dim lighting).
The third bit of advice is that, if you can’t use a tripod, try to brace yourself on whatever is
handy. Lean against a wall. Set the camera on the back of a pew as a stabilizer.
The fourth bit of advice is the industry-wide rule of thumb regarding shutter speeds: you
generally shouldn’t shoot at a shutter speed “faster” than the zoom of your lens. If you have a
50mm lens (don’t forget about digital magnification factors) you would want to shoot at 1/50 or
faster. A 200mm zoom would be best shot with 1/200 of a second or faster. But this is why
PRACTICE is so important: over the years I have found I can shoot with a slower shutter speed if
I am using flash (to find out about my flash lighting techniques, visit my web site which I link to
below). I’ve successfully taken non-blurred images while indoors with extremely dim lighting
using ISO 520, f2.8, 1/30 of a second exposure with a 70mm lens and some bounce flash.
3. APERTURE
Do you know what aperture setting is best for indoor photos? For outdoor photos? For
achieving a blurred-background effect (yes, shooting “wide open” – which means a
low-numbered aperture – with a zoom lens is all that is needed)? For having as much of the
photo in focus as possible?

4. This is the first in a series of articles that are designed to help amateurs as they prepare to
photograph their first wedding. I have a significant amount of additional information on my
website, and also link to other web sites that have information to help you out!