Part 5 Pros Share Their Shooting Secrets

The sign of a true professional is that a difficult job looks easy. It’s another of my all-time favorite expressions.

And the pros featured in this section, including Stephanie Smith of 831 Photography… whose image you see here, do just that. They make the creative process of spectacular photography look easy.

Better yet, they share their secrets with you here, with hopes of helping you expand your creative horizons. Find their web sites at the end of the tip they provided. Check ’em out for more information.

Be Nice

When you first enter a church or a temple, find out what the rules and regulations are for the place. Don’t forget that you are a guest and that you can’t do whatever you want. Talk with the people who are in charge before you start photographing.

When I entered St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, there were so many security guards around that I knew shooting conditions would be strict. In fact, before the shoot, I had learned that use of tripods during the ceremony is prohibited.

In this situation, I could have created this image by increasing the ISO and hand holding the camera, but I knew I’d be enlarging this image for the wedding album. The only way to get the quality I needed was to use a tripod.

So while I waited for the ceremony to begin, I made friends with the security guard near the altar. We started joking around and laughing. Then, when the timing was right, I asked him if I could get one shot with my tripod. For some crazy reason, he let me. I took only one shot and it resulted in this beautiful image. It really pays to be nice to people.

Rocco Chilelli • Photographer/Nice Guy
Camelot Photography Studios, Inc. • www.camelotstudios.com

Go For It

The hurricane was going to hit. We just didn’t know when. It wasn’t raining when we left the wedding, but by the time we got to the reception, it was coming down in buckets. Although I had taken some photographs indoors, I was determined to get an outdoor shot.

Despite the heavy rain, I said to myself, “What the heck; let’s go for it.” So there I was, standing in the pouring rain with my new camera. I got three shots off before I ran for cover.

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to get the shot.

Rocco Chilelli • Photographer/Nice Guy Even in the Rain
Camelot Photography Studios, Inc. • www.camelotstudios.com

It's All About the Light

Everywhere I go—seminars, workshops, informal meetings—conversation inevitably hits the subject of lighting and posing. This is because, aside from the posing element of portraiture, light is the primary concern of most professional photographers. Mastering the use of light …in the studio, outdoors or in homes using window light …is the most important skill for capturing top-class images.

The books I've written include analysis of the work of more than thirty top-class photographers as well many of my own photographs. In reviewing hundreds of images for these books, I learned techniques and styles that opened my eyes to a vast array of available lighting options. Let this inspire you to take the next step in creative capture.

From my perspective, simply creating standard lighting patterns on a subject's face is sterile. Instead, think of the standard patterns as a platform for creating greater dynamics. For instance, unlike most other photographers, I love low-light situations. Thus, in situations that most of my colleagues ignore, I see beautiful opportunities.

So whether you see a photograph as great, good or awful, let it teach you something. Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of images is a valuable part of the learning process. Taking the time to do this type of analysis will make you a much better photographer. See the light!

Norman Phillips • Photographer and author of nine books • www.normanphillipsseminars.com

The Little Things Really Do Matter

I’m often asked, “How do you get couples to look so relaxed and into each other in your photographs?”

It’s easier than you think.

Too often photographers put enormous pressure on themselves to make “magic moments” happen. The funny thing about that is, they happen naturally. You can capture—and enhance—them by paying attention to the little things and applying your photographic experience.

The little things matter so much. The way a couple holds hands with just one or two fingers … how they stand together when they think no one is looking … the expression on her face when he gives her a little kiss … These are the things that matter.

So my best answer to that question is that I let couples be themselves and capture it (as shown in this image).

Remember that wedding images aren't about a photographer; they're about the couple … and the people and things they love. Get to know the bride and groom prior to the wedding day.

Then, when shooting, know when to be quiet and when to give direction. Watching and listening to the couple is often the best thing you can do as a wedding photographer.

Scott Plauché • Photographer, Workshop Leader • www.scottplauche.com

Make Your Vision a Reality

Being a photojournalist, I rarely setup images. However, when a vision strikes me, I make sure to make it happen.

When the bride and groom in this photograph told me they were going to do pictures in the courthouse, this image immediately came into my mind. I knew I had to make it happen.

The courthouse has an amazing marble floor, and there’s a balcony that circles the main hall. I envisioned the bride and groom just holding each other while their bridal party danced around them. I had no doubt that this location was the best place to make it happen, because I would be able to position myself almost directly above them.

I set up the camera on a tripod, which has an extending arm that allows the camera to point straight down. Once the camera was in place, I asked my “dancers” to spin on the spot, fairly quickly. The bride and groom held completely still.

I counted down, the dancers started spinning and then … using a remote shutter release… I opened the shutter for 1.3 seconds on my Canon 40D. It was set on a Bogen/ Manfrotto tripod with a ballhead. This was the result!

Stephanie Smith • Photographer • 831 Photography www.831Photography.com • www.831PhotoCouture.com

Work Into the Night

While covering weddings, especially destination weddings, I love to capture the bride and groom in context of the site’s mood.

So I don’t stop when the sun sets. Instead, I go out late at night and capture the after-hours mood. I take my tripod and play with long exposures and painting with light. (See page 36 for information on this technique.) This enables me to unlock the amazing beauty of the scene with my client.

For this image, I set my Canon 1D Mark III for a 30-second exposure to capture the movement of the clouds over the mountain. Of course I used a tripod, my Bogen/ Manfrotto with a ballhead. The full moon illuminated most of the scene for me, but I used a small flashlight to paint light onto my clients so that they were more than silhouettes.

I simply asked the bride and groom to hold still and then I went to town creating the image I saw in my mind’s eye.

My advice is to take your time and play with night photography. Sometimes the most amazing images happen after dark.

Stephanie Smith
Photographer
831 Photography
www.831Photography.com
www.831PhotoCouture.com

Master Low-LightPhotography

Low light, fast action and no flash allowed—the nightmares of photographers everywhere. Yet not only are these challenges common for weddings, they are often celebrated. Candlelight ceremony, anyone?

While you may have few options as far as the lighting is concerned, you can still capture great images without having to re-stage the scene. Here are some quick tips.

Prime lenses are your friend. A prime lens is your best tool for low-light photography. Ranging anywhere from one to five stops faster than their zoom counterparts, the speed of a prime lens gives you a huge advantage in low-light situations.
Use ISO to the extreme. Digital noise on most SLR cameras is well-controlled, especially compared to what was available just five short years ago. Add in the increased resolution, which results in a finer noise structure, and prints made from ISO1600 images today can easily compete with ISO200 images from cameras just three years ago. If noise becomes too much of an issue, you can always print the image in black and white; the difference is astounding. But it’s better to have a noisy image than no image.
Consider high-speed drive shooting. You may not have thought that shooting higher FPS would help get you sharper images, but this is probably the best-kept secret of wedding photographers. No matter how carefully you squeeze your shutter, there will be some movement of your camera.

Shooting in bursts allows you to capture two or three images in succession, which gives your body a chance to settle down from the movement. Generally, I can shoot at much slower shutter speeds with this method—up to two stops slower than normal! Imagine using a 1/50 second shutter with a 200mm lens…without a tripod or optical stabilization. With high-speed drive mode, it’s truly possible!

Mastering low-light photography is the key to good wedding photography. With practice, the right equipment and a little knowledge, you’ll be able to capture images in practically any situation.

Shannon Smith • co-owner of 831 Photography, workshop leader and lecturer www.831Photography.com • www.831PhotoCouture.com • 831photo-Shannon.blogspot.com

Shoot with Your Heart

I love incorporating shapes and interesting lighting in my photographs. This photograph of Jill and Sean making a heart with flashlights on their wedding day allowed me to do both. Best of all, it turned the creative process into a collaborative experience.

My inspiration came from Life Magazine photographer Gjon Mili’s famous portrait of Picasso drawing a minotaur with a flashlight.

Here’s the recipe for photographers wishing to explore this technique:

Select a dark location with minimal ambient light.
Place your camera on a tripod and attach a cable release.
Set the shutter speed to B (bulb).
Choose an aperture that will provide sufficient depth-of-field for the subject.
Trip the shutter and fire the flash.
Immediately begin flashlight movement. Upon completion, close the shutter.
Check result and modify any of the following: ISO, speed of flashlight movement, f/stop, etc.
Allow your subjects to view the progress, and involve them in the process. Be sure to use your digital camera zoom-in function to check sharpness.

If you’re happy with the shot and it feels right, it probably is. That’s shooting with your heart.

Dan Wagner • Photographer, teacher, artist
www.danwagner.com • www.danwagnerphotography.com • www.worldofwagner.com

Think Unconventionally

While it is, conventionally, easier to use a light background for shots like this—to remain in the same key as the subject’s dress—I chose to take the opposite approach and match the background to the bride’s exotic looks. Yet I wanted to avoid the stark contrast of a front-lit gown against a dark background.

This unconventional path led me to create illumination angles that would keep most of the gown in shadow, thereby rendering the white as gray, but still tonally well-modulated.

All of the light sources were placed between the subject and background. There were no lights in front of the subject, which is quite unconventional—and it resulted in one of my most popular images.

Claude Jodoin
Photographer, Consultant and Educator
www.claudejodin.com

Scout the Location

Great shots don’t just happen. You make them.

For a wedding in Arizona, the bride and groom had already selected a park for their environmental portraits site. The morning before the wedding, my assistant and I scouted the park and found several key locations. At the same time of day as the wedding shoot, we walked the selected path and stopped at each location, as if we were taking the pictures. This allowed me to see how the light would look the following day (or at least give me a really good idea).

Scouting the area of your upcoming shoot is essential for getting the best possible images, especially if you are shooting at a location you have never visited.

For this shot, I used a Westcott Spiderlite TD5 with strobes and a Lithium Ion battery pack. The TD5 had a 24x32” soft box that was located just over my camera and slightly off to the right. The light was about eight feet off the ground. I used a Canon 5D with a 16-35mm f/2.8L lens set at f/7.2 at 1/125 ISO 100.

I first set my exposure for the sunset and then added the TD5 for the subject. I had to vary the distance to get the amount of fall off that I wanted. I used all four strobes in the Spiderlite TD5, which gave me 200 W/S.

Nevertheless, it was the cooperation of the bride and groom that made this shot possible. Not every couple will hike into the dessert for two hours before their reception. Make sure you talk to your clients about their expectations for your photography work and know what they are willing to do.

John D. Williamson • www.jfwestcott.com

Got IR?

When shooting weddings, it’s often my goal to bring an added touch of the surreal to an already unbelievable day. Sometimes this means playing with f-stops or looking for interesting angles. Other times it means using an entirely non-traditional tool to create imagery the bride and groom have never seen before. One such tool is a DSLR that’s modified to capture infrared (IR) light.

Because I’m always experimenting with new gear and cameras, I had a Canon Rebel that wasn’t seeing a lot of day-to-day use. I had it modified for IR-only photography. The resulting tool was exactly what I needed to create some of my favorite and most compelling images.

On the technical side of things, I always shoot my IR images in the RAW file format. This gives me the greatest amount of headroom for recovering overexposed highlights in the initial file capture. As well, creating and using a custom white balance for your camera will help you to easily visualize and review your images during a photo session.

I find that one of the joys of photographing in infrared are the unexpected surprises you get after pressing the shutter-release button. While you generally need strong sunlight to produce optimal IR photos, feel free to break the rules now and then. Experiment with your camera settings and shooting conditions to find something special and unique.

Of course, photography is about so much more than technical details. It’s also about emotions, situations and reactions. If you have a love for photography and an eye for the unusual, then you may well find yourself drawn toward an infrared romance.

Ulysses Ashton • Photographer, Author, Lecturer • Ulysses Photography • www.ulyssesphotography.com

Go Beyond the Clichés

We’ve all been in the position during a wedding shoot when things start winding down and it feels like we’re just waiting for the next big setup event: the bouquet toss, the cake cutting, the dances. These things can feel less like rites of passage and more like hurdles you need to jump to get to the finish line of the night.

Vigilance, however, can pay off in even the most mundane of circumstances. Step back and take a look around you. Look for shapes to play with. Consider opportunities to expose for shadows, as opposed to always exposing for highlights. Be open to changing lighting situations.

You may think the safe shot is always the best option, but brides and situations will surprise you. Newlyweds are eager to have something creative in their albums. So do something interesting that will take your shots beyond the clichés.

Shane Snider • Photographer • Shane Snider Photography • www.shanesnider.com

All Together Now

A successful wedding photograph is the result of many elements coming together well. Those elements include composition, lighting, exposure and the pose.

For this image, I carefully positioned the bride so that the doors in the foreground would add a sense of dimension to the photograph and the tied drapes over the bed could frame her.

The even lighting throughout the photograph is a result of natural lighting with a flash positioned behind the subject.

Notice how both the bride’s face and the scene outside the window are properly exposed. To learn that secret, check out Rick’s tip on fill-in flash photography on page 68.

Before shooting I asked the bride to look down at her bouquet and to touch one of the flowers. The result is a timeless classic.

When you are making a picture, keep the “All Together Now” idea in mind.

Brian Ozegovich
Park Ave Studio
www.parkavestudio.com

Get Cinematic with HDR

This is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) image. To create an image with this effect, take three or more pictures at lighter and darker exposure settings, and then combine them using HDR software, such as Photomatix (www.hdrsoft.com). HDR offers a far greater dynamic range than a single exposure can provide.

When I plan an HDR image, I tell the subject to stand as still as possible, and then I quickly fire off three images using 2EV auto-bracketing. I always use a tripod and generally go with natural light. A cable release also helps because I don’t have to touch the camera to fire the sequence. This keeps things stable.

Once I have the shots, I tweak them in post-production to get the final result. It takes time and it’s not right for every image; but when it’s done right, this technique will really set your photography apart.

For HDR wedding images, compose a broad, sweeping scene to achieve a wide cinematic look. Keep in mind that the closer you get to your subjects, the more exaggerated their movements will appear in the photograph.

To learn more about HDR, check out the HDR section of prophotoshow.net.

Gavin Seim • Photographer • www.seimstudios.com

Follow Your Heart and Have Fun

Like many wedding photographers, my main goal is to make the client couple 100% happy. So when a bride and groom want specific photographs on their wedding day, I ask for a list so I'm sure to capture those special moments. I also ask for a schedule of events, so I'm on the spot and don't miss the shot.

Armed with this information, I know basically what to expect. I know I need to constantly be aware of everything going on around me and anticipate the reactions of people. I follow my heart and go for candid photographs that make me smile. This typically makes my clients happy and results in a sale. This fun-filled photograph is one such example.

Sure, from an aesthetic standpoint, the background in this image is not the greatest. But check out the expressions on the bride and one of her bridesmaids. It's a real fun shot—captured in the blink of an eye (and with the help of daylight fill-in flash) because I followed my heart.

Follow your heart—and don't miss a fun shot because it's technically not perfect.

Kerstin Hecker Photography • www.kerstinhecker.com • kerstin@kerstinhecker.com

Carve Out Time

When photographing weddings, insist that the couple makes time in their day to allow you to take some interesting and creative shots. No doubt, creative images are good for their album, but they are also good for your portfolio... and they help you hone your creative skills.

I always seek creative opportunities. I'm particularly attracted to reflective surfaces as a design component of creative portraits. The grille, mirrors, hubcaps…even the windows… of a limo are all highly reflective and can create interesting and captivating elements in a scene.

So remember, on the wedding day, get the standard shot of the bride and groom “carving” the cake, but also carve out time for creative photographs.

Steven Inglima
Explorers of Light, Canon USA
www.usa.canon.com/dlc