Guests of the Wedding Can Take Precious Photos for the Newlyweds
It doesn’t matter if you have nothing but a disposable camera – in fact, these make great gifts to the newlyweds, and many weddings often include disposable cameras placed on each table for the guests to use. What the newlyweds are hoping for is at least a couple of really great photos that the professional photographer wouldn’t have been able to take. So, armed with a simple camera (or a fancy one if you’ve got it), and the following tips, you’re ready to capture a beautiful moment or two.
One: Visibility
When you arrive, have your camera plainly visible. You might want to double-check that photographs are allowed during the ceremony (some traditions will not allow it), but the biggest reason for having your camera out in the open is so that everyone become accustomed to seeing it there. The best shots are ones that aren’t forced – candid photos. You’re going to have much more luck grabbing great candid shots when people aren’t suddenly aware that you have a camera in your hands.
Along the lines of visibility, try to be seated closest to the action. During the ceremony, see if you can’t get a seat in the aisle and close to the bride and groom. Or, something that the professional photographer won’t have time to think of, see if you can’t place yourself conveniently in view of the bride and groom’s parents. Capturing shots of their heartfelt reactions during the ceremony is something that the newlyweds will thank you for, if they’re taken well.
At the reception, the professional photographer will have things like cake cutting and the first dance well in hand. Instead of grabbing duplicate shots, why not put yourself into the action of the other guests? This helps them get more involved in the reception, and can be a lot of fun. Look for the members of the wedding party – bridesmaids, best man, and flower girl. How are they celebrating the wedding after their duties have been performed? Because they are usually dressed in the wedding’s theme, these can become truly priceless and beautiful photos.
Two: Manners
We’ve touched on the idea of what a professional photographer will be doing already. There’s a very good chance that the wedded couple has spent a lot of money hiring a reputable photographer, and they have a big job to do. The amount of responsibility that’s on a wedding photographer’s shoulders is overwhelming, and they have a very limited amount of time to make the newlywed’s money worth it. You do not want to get in their way, or hamper their activities.
This might seem like a common-sense tip, but you might not believe how many people try to take advantage of poses a professional photographer has set up. If s/he has arranged the bride and groom into a posed portrait, let him or her do their job and don’t try to worm in on that action. After all, the pro wants to sell a print of these poses to the couple, and if you’ve based your shot on the lighting and pose that a pro has set up, they might lose a sale – based on their work, experience, and knowledge. It’s not fair, and completely without manners.
If you keep in mind that the professional is focused on the bride and groom, and likely doesn’t know the guests and family the way you do, you’ll have a huge field of opportunity for great pictures that the pro probably won’t be able to get. Stay out of the pro’s way, and they’ll stay out of yours – which makes for a huge happy day for everyone.
Three: Framing
When you look through the viewfinder of your camera, you are “framing” the picture before you even take it. A big pointer of wedding photography comes in here –
Always fill the frame.
If you’re seated way in the back during the wedding ceremony, you won’t want to even try getting the ceremonial moments like the first kiss. Chances are, the bride and groom will look unidentifiable from this distance. Your goal is to always fill the frame with action. During the first kiss, you would want to fill the frame with the bride and groom – not the bride and groom, the altar, several of the flowers off to the side, and the tops of several heads in front of you.
Another pointer when filling the frame is to look for something unexpected. Don’t snap the shot right away. Instead, move your camera a little and see if there’s something that you wouldn’t see normally. While the professional takes a shot of the bride feeding the groom a piece of cake, what if you noticed that they were holding hands? Since most people are right-handed, this becomes a great shot – shining new wedding rings clasped hand-in hand against the backdrop of wedding gown and tuxedo.
Four: Opportunity
I mentioned disposable cameras at the beginning of this article, but I want to take a second to mention them again. The fastest selling cameras in the country, more than 75 million disposable cameras were sold last year in the U.S. Because they are easy to use and relatively inexpensive to buy, many weddings include digital cameras at every table of the reception. This popular idea focuses on the idea that the guests at a table will use up the film to take photos in and around their table. Then, when the bride and groom develop the film, they will have even more photos to enjoy and possibly place in their wedding album.
It all seems like a great idea, but the problem is that many people at weddings are bashful about picking that little camera up. Even worse is the overzealous guest who takes the camera and starts shooting at � well, who knows what they meant to photograph but what comes out after the developing makes the bride and groom cringe.
Take advantage of this opportunity. Show the other guests at your table, if they’re interested, how to use the camera and what to look for. Explain the idea of filling the frame. Take a few pictures yourself, and pass the camera on to someone else.
If you have children at your table, you have a secret weapon. Seriously, who can turn a child down when they come up to take a picture? Encourage children to get close and use your hands in the shape of a square to show them how to fill the frame with the subject. Kids can create some of the most amazing photographs, if only because adults don’t often expect them to be able to.
Five: Reaction
In the end, a wedding is a party. The reception might be massive and luxurious, or intimate and simple, but there will be plenty of food and music and dancing regardless of the type of wedding being given. Concentrate on portraits – shots of people’s faces, or hands, or other obviously human attributes (I say this because I recently saw a gorgeous wedding photograph that was nothing more than the bride’s feet peeking out of her gown, surrounded by the rose petals tossed after the wedding).
Scripted moments like the Best Man’s toast or the cake cutting are full of action, but you have to remember the ever-present professional photographer. Without a doubt, they will photograph the bride as she tosses her bouquet. What if you turn the other direction completely, and capture the faces of friends and family members?
People tend to get very emotional at weddings, and the candid portraits of people enjoying their loved ones’ important event are priceless. The pro won’t see these shots – they are concentrating on the major point of action, which will be mostly the bride and groom. If you look at the wedding from the view of an insider (which you are, as a guest!), you will capture some great shots the pro can’t even touch.
