Wedding Photographer's Handbook Read online

  Copyright © 2007 by Bill Hurter.

  All rights reserved.

  Front cover photograph by Frank Cava.

  Back cover photograph by Cal Landau.

  Published by:

  Amherst Media, Inc.

  P.O. Box 586

  Buffalo, N.Y. 14226

  Fax: 716-874-4508

  www.AmherstMedia.com

  Publisher: Craig Alesse

  Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

  Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt

  ISBN-13: 978-1-58428-192-4

  Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2006925660

  Printed in Korea.

  10 987654321

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

  Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the author’s experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. INTRODUCTION

  Wedding Photography Evolution

  Digital Takeover

  2. The Wedding Photographer’s Mindset

  Dressing for Success

  Idealization

  Proactive vs. Reactive

  Powers of Observation

  Vision

  Storytellers

  Assistants

  Preparation

  Uniqueness

  Style

  People Skills

  The Emotion of the Day

  3. WHY IS WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALISM SO POPULAR?

  Traditional Wedding Images Lack Variety

  Traditional Wedding Images Are More Time Consuming to Make

  Emerging Styles

  4. EQUIPMENT

  Cameras

  Removable Storage Media

  Image Sensors

  Things to Consider When Purchasing a DSLR System

  Lenses

  Zoom Lenses

  Prime Lenses

  Telephotos

  AF Technology

  Incident Flashmeters

  Lighting

  On-Camera Flash

  Barebulb Flash

  Studio Flash Systems

  Remote Triggering Devices

  Two-Way Radios

  WiFi Technology

  5. DIGITAL WORKING TECHNIQUES

  Metering

  Evaluating Exposure

  Histograms

  Evaluating an LCD Image

  White Balance

  Other Camera Settings

  Sharpening

  Contrast

  Noise

  Metadata

  Reformat Your Cards

  Color Space

  RAW File Format

  What is RAW Mode?

  RAW File Converters

  How JPEG Differs from RAW

  Working in Adobe Camera RAW

  6. WORKFLOW

  Basic JPEG Workflow

  Uploading

  File Backup

  Edit and Adjust

  Image Manipulation

  Rename

  Copy Again

  Proof Setup and Printing

  FlipAlbum

  Uploading to the Internet

  Consolidate Orders

  Thumbnails

  Album Layout

  Retouching

  Ordering

  Album Ordering

  Print Sorting

  Folders and Mounting

  Shipping

  Archiving

  Basic RAW + JPEG File Workflow

  Workflow Stages

  7. THE WEDDING DAY: PREPARATION AND KEY MOMENTS

  Meeting with the Bride and Groom

  Engagement Portrait

  Pre-Ceremony Coverage

  Photographing the Ceremony

  Photographing the Reception

  Lighting

  Rings

  The Cake-Cutting

  The First Dance

  The Bouquet Toss

  Table Shots

  Little Ones

  8. GROUPS AND FAMILIES

  Posing

  The Head-and-Shoulders Axis

  Weight on the Back Foot

  Head Angles

  The Gaze

  Hands

  Camera Height

  Portrait Lengths

  Three-Quarter- and Full-Length Poses

  Head-and-Shoulder Portraits

  Formal Portraits of the Couple

  Scheduling

  Formal Bridal Portrait

  Formal Portrait of the Groom

  Formal Portrait of the Bride and Groom

  Group Portraits

  Variety

  Compositional Elements

  Number of Subjects

  Panoramic Groups

  David Williams’ Casual Brand of Formals

  Technical Considerations

  Hands in Groups

  9. WEDDING ALBUMS: TYPES AND DESIGNS

  Design Principles

  Guiding the Eye

  Variety

  Visual Weight

  Album Types

  Traditional Albums

  Bound Albums

  Magazine-Style Albums

  Software for Album Design

  Martin Schembri’s Design Templates

  Yervant’s Page Gallery

  TDA-2

  The Design Factor

  David Williams’

  Award-Winning Album Designs

  Album Features

  Title Page

  Double-Trucks and Panoramic Pages

  Gatefolds

  Border Treatments

  Collages

  Mini Albums

  THE PHOTOGRAPHERS

  GLOSSARY

  INDEX

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bill Hurter started out in photography in 1972 in Washington, DC, where he was a news photographer. He even covered the political scene—including the Watergate hearings. After graduating with a BA in literature from American University in 1972, he completed training at the Brooks Institute of Photography in 1975. Going on to work at Petersen’s PhotoGraphic magazine, he held practically every job except art director. He has been the owner of his own creative agency, shot stock, and worked assignments (including a year or so with the L.A. Dodgers). He has been directly involved in photography for the last thirty years and has seen the revolution in technology. In 1988, Bill was awarded an honorary Masters of Science degree from the Brooks Institute. He has written more than a dozen instructional books for professional photographers and is currently the editor of Rangefinder magazine.

  1

  INTRODUCTION

  In the earliest days of photography, weddings were photographed in styles that captured the bride and groom in very formal poses. Even with the emergence of the contemporary wedding album, which included group portraits of statuesque groomsmen and bridesmaids and the bride and groom with family members, posing remained stiff and lifeless. As wedding photography progressed, posing techniques still closely mirrored the posing techniques of the great 18th century English portrait artists, like Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds.

  Many brides want spontaneity and real moments recorded at their wedding; the kind only a gifted wedding photojournalist, skilled at observation and with fast reflexes, could provide. Photograph by Marcus Bell.

  David Worthington is a wedding photographer who has great respect for and knowledge of the posing and lighting principles of the traditional wedding photographer, yet combines his traditional skills with a healthy knowledge of digital and Photoshop skills
to consistently produce the “idealized” wedding image.

  Real emotion, not contrived or scripted emotion, is what is expected by today’s brides. Here, the photographer captured a rare moment while making his formal portraits. Photo by Dennis Orchard.

  It is against this backdrop or formality that wedding photography evolved—or rather, rebelled. In this early style, each individual photo was a check mark on a long list of posed and often pre-arranged images from a “shot list” stuffed in the vest pocket of the wedding photographer’s tuxedo. Even spontaneous events like the bouquet toss and cake cutting were orchestrated to reflect the classical posing techniques. Spontaneity had all but disappeared from this most joyous of ceremonies. Amidst such a regimented creative environment, it is not at all difficult to see why there was an active rebellion among brides and wedding photographers. In short, this rebellion turned the world of wedding photography upside down.

  A class of wedding photographers known as wedding photojournalists, spurred on by their unbending leader, the articulate and provocative Denis Reggie, rebelled against the lifelessness of the art form. These wedding photojournalists believe that capturing the emotion of the moment is paramount to good wedding imagery. The record of the naturally unfolding story of the day’s events would be the end result of such a mindset.

  Everything about the methods and techniques of the wedding photojournalist was different than those of the traditional wedding photographer. The new breed shot unobserved with fast film using available light. They used 35mm SLRs with motor drives, as opposed to Hasselblads, and on-camera flash became a last resort for the wedding photojournalist.

  As you might have guessed, traditionalists recoiled in horror at this new breed of wedding photographer. They denounced the grainy and often out-of-focus “grab shots” created by the photojournalists, and they predicted that the final days of wedding photography as a profitable and predictable livelihood were at hand, noting that every photographer with a 35mm SLR would soon take over the niche of the professional wedding photographer.

  Instead, for the first time, brides were now able to make real choices about how they wanted their once-in-a-lifetime day recorded. In addition to pristine color and a wealth of storytelling black & white imagery, brides were now able to choose from a diverse range of styles, imagery, and presentation. Add to the mix the incredible and explosive creativity introduced by the advent of digital imaging and we now find ourselves in the midst of a true Renaissance.

  Once viewed as a near-deplorable way to make a living, wedding photography now draws the best and brightest photographers into its ranks. It is an art form that is virtually exploding with creativity—and with wedding budgets seemingly knowing no bounds, the horizons of wedding photography seem limitless.

  WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY EVOLUTION

  Since the late 1980s, when wedding photojournalism really took hold, the trend away from traditional wedding photography has continued unabated, but with some surprising twists. The new breed of wedding photographer has no problem directing or choreographing an image, as long as the results are spontaneous and emotion-filled. They don’t particularly care if they are purists, in the photojournalistic sense.

  The “hot” wedding photographers now are those who favor a fine-art approach to wedding photography. Each image is carefully crafted by the photographer (not the lab) in Photoshop and the effects they produce are just what the contemporary bride has always dreamed of—a unique and one-of-a-kind wedding album.

  The modern-day wedding photographer is among the upper echelon of the photographic elite, both in terms of professional status and financial rewards. This book then is a continuing celebration of this great and evolving art form and its fabled artists.

  DIGITAL TAKEOVER

  The move away from film and towards 100-percent digital capture also continues unabated. Today, digital and wedding photojournalism go hand in hand as the speed and flexibility of digital capture supports this on-the-fly, unobserved shooting style. While today’s digital photographers are aware of the increased time and effort involved in being purely digital, new methods of workflow and image editing continue to evolve, and new software is helping to aid in the transition.

  Digital technology is virtually exploding. New digital camera systems are appearing overnight, as are peripheral products that support digital imaging. Almost without exception, manufacturers’ entire research-and-development budgets are going into new digital products. New cameras with higher resolution, improved imaging chips with added functionality, and better software for handling RAW files are being introduced with ever-greater frequency.

  In addition, whether a photographer shoots weddings digitally or with film, the impact of Adobe Photoshop has permanently changed the style and scope of wedding imagery. In the comfort of their home or studio, photographers can now routinely accomplish creative effects that previously could only be achieved by an expert darkroom technician or retoucher. Photoshop has made wedding photography the most creative venue in all of photography—and brides love it. Digital albums, assembled in Photoshop, have become the preferred album type, and the style and uniqueness these albums bring to the wedding experience make every bride and groom a celebrity.

  The digital wedding album has been responsible for changing both the economics and the expectations of contemporary wedding photography. Photography and album design by Stuart Bebb.

  Digital albums represent a new level of creativity. Notice how David Williams has combined unusually effective images and design elements in a single album page. Note the horizon line that intersects with the black and white for a playful, interesting effect.

  Digital capture also provides the ability to instantly preview images, meaning that if you missed the shot for whatever reason, you can redo it right then and there. That kind of insurance is priceless. The ability to review an image on the camera’s LCD monitor is one of the tremendous benefits of digital capture. Sometimes, it may take a few test shots to adjust the camera perfectly, but that’s infinitely better than shooting several rolls and then waiting until after the wedding to see what happened.

  Also, the flexibility of digital capture is unsurpassed. You can change film speeds from ISO 100 to ISO 1600 or higher from frame to frame. You can alter the white balance at any time to correct the color balance of the lighting. With certain cameras you can even change from color to black & white at the touch of a button. The creative freedom afforded by digital capture is unprecedented.

  However, one of the biggest complaints of wedding photographers who have gone digital is the tedious post-shoot workflow. Some wedding photographers find that they are paying the same amount for prints from digital labs, yet they have to take on many of the tasks that were previously done by the lab. So more personnel are needed to “work” the files and the money saved in film and processing charges goes right back into expensive digital equipment, more computers, and ever-changing technology. More than the cost, the time spent in front of a computer monitor has drastically increased.

  What is often not discussed is the ultimate control of each and every image shot digitally. The photographers featured in this book are digital artists, and while they are not above using time-saving shortcuts in the image-processing side of things, they still spend a great deal of time perfecting each photograph that goes out to a client. Perhaps this aspect of contemporary wedding photography, more than any other, has accounted for the profound increase in artistic wedding images.

  Simultaneously, this fine-art approach has raised the bar financially for wedding photographers, allowing them to charge mind-boggling prices for their wedding coverage. Says photographer David Beckstead, “I treat each and every image as an art piece. If you pay this much attention to the details of the final image, brides will pick up on this and often replace the word ‘photographer’ with the word ‘artist.’” That simple shift in emphasis has made fortunes for many of today’s wedding photographers. Albeit a select group, the contemporary we
dding photographer could represent the highest paid segment of photographers anywhere—a far cry from the “weekend warriors” of 40 years ago.

  David Beckstead has worked hard to develop his fine-art approach to wedding photography. This strategy has paid off—both financially and artistically.

  The Internet also plays a huge role in the life of every digital wedding photographer. Online proofing and sales have become a big part of every wedding package. Couples can check out “the take” of images while on their honeymoon by going to the photographer’s password-protected web site—all from the comfort of their hotel room or a digital café. And there is scarcely a single successful wedding photographer who does not have a first-rate web site that attracts new clients and out-of-town bookings.

  Other recent developments include the use of FTP (file transfer protocol) sites for transferring files to the lab for proofing. Also popular is printing or album-design software that relies on the use of small, manageable files, called proxies, which allow the photographer to quickly and fluidly design the album and upload it for proofing or printing.

  As you will see from the photographs throughout this book, the range of creativity and uniqueness displayed by today’s top digital wedding photographers is incomparable. I wish to thank the many photographers who have contributed to this book—not only for their images, but also for their expertise.

  I also wish to thank the many photographers who shared trade secrets with me for the purposes of illuminating others. Some of their tips and tidbits, which appear throughout the book, are as ingenious as they are invaluable. While no book can equal years of wedding photography experience, it is my hope that you will learn from these masters how the best wedding photography is created—with style, artistry, technical excellence, and professionalism.

  David Beckstead creates and refines every image to produce a unique work of art. As a result, his clients think of him as an artist, not just a wedding photographer.

  2

  THE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER’S MINDSET

  To be successful as a wedding photographer, you have to master a variety of different types of coverage, perform under pressure, and work in a very limited time frame. No other photographic specialty is more demanding. The couple and their families have made a considerable financial investment in the (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime event. Should anything go wrong photographically, the event cannot be re-shot.