Without a commissioned pthtographer at hand weddings are never complete. Every couple wants to have the best photographs to keep and show their families and friends, as well as their future children. However, there have been reports and thousands of photos on the net about wedding photos that have gone wrong due to incompetent or unprepared photographers.
Now you don’t want your photos and your name to end up at the top lists of the worse photographers, if you’re a newbie in this business, right? For any occasion that you’re commissioned in you should be prepared as you can be which is the best thing that you’ll be able to do as a photographer. And make sure that you have a wedding photography checklist at hand, since weddings are quite personal and special, because you’ll need this more than ever.
So what should be included in your wedding photography checklist?
(1) Your camera body
This is the first thing that you should always remember. Camera bodies differ in many different ways which is a known fact. For a professional photographer, you need a full-range digital SLR and it should be your top item on your wedding photography checklist. SLR cameras are expensive, but you can get great deals when you buy them with other necessary items, or you can rent them from a camera shop. Any camera that has buttons and/or dials instead of menus, for that matter would make it ideal to choose an SLR. Especially during fast-paced photo-shoots and when there are great shots that happen instantaneously menus are ideal and kind of a hassle.
(2) Camera lenses
For wedding photography a larger aperture lens of around a maximum of f/2.8 aperture or larger is ideal. The capacity to gather all the light aperture can get is a known trait of large aperture lenses. You have the choice whether to use flash or not. But in order to preserve the romantic ambiance of the ceremony many photographers prefer not to use flash when the lighting permits. Another thing is, most churches do not permit lots of flashing during ceremonies, so you have the advantage of using a larger aperture camera lens.
Also, you should include in your wedding photography checklist this selection of lenses – image-stabilized telephoto, wide-to-telephoto zoom lenses and a wide angle zoom lens.
(3) Camera Flashes
Most professional wedding photographers would advise you to use all possible flashes during weddings. Studio mono-light flashes and speed-light is used by many of them. Especially when you’re taking group shots and outdoor shots, respectively, these flashes will give you the flexibility.
(4) All the necessary gear and tools
Since you’ll never know when you’ll need them, as a professional photographer, you need all the tools and gear you have available. You should include the following items on your wedding photography checklist under ‘gears and tools’ – remote flash triggers; hand-held flash meter; additional battery packs; staging equipment; a carry-all bag; tripods; flash stands and umbrellas; and of course, remote flash triggers.
Have all these items ready and double-checked against your wedding photography checklist the day before the wedding. In every photo-shoot always successful will be a well-prepared photographer; so always remember to have a complete checklist in every event that you cover.
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