wedding photography

Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 62

So, my brother and his soon to be wife wanted me to take pictures for them at their wedding. They don't want to have to pay a professional, so they're somewhat relying on me. We've talked and they don't expect much, but I don't want to disappoint them. The wedding will take place outside. I've searched online and have some ideas for shots, but I was wondering if there are some key points that I need to hit to make sure my pictures turn out better. By key points, I"m thinking things like, keep the focal length above 55mm to keep from distorting facial features, shallow depth of field, etc. Any information you guys could lend would be gratefully appreciated. I do have one question that goes along with this. For group shots, how do i make sure that several people are in-focus, not just the ones near the center of the frame?

Joined: 25 Aug 2005 Posts: 594 Location: Sydney

Hi...

There's heaps of threads around on what to do at weddings. I'm sure through your research, you'll get answers to your general questions. I generally find its best to ask specific questions....

95whtgst wrote:

I do have one question that goes along with this. For group shots, how do i make sure that several people are in-focus, not just the ones near the center of the frame?

Basically, you need to make sure the depth of field is sufficient to cover all people. If you're shooting at f/2.8, its unlikely you'll get a group shot of people 2 rows deep all sharp. Where should you set the f-stop? It depends on the focal length (wide angle lenses generally have more DOF for the same appeture), the distance to the subjects, and the required DOF.
If you can, do some test shots and experiment with depth. f/5.6 might work, but that'd be cutting it fine. f/8 should work well. (But see my variables below - this is not an absolute!)

Hope this helps

-Andrew