Wedding photography is an important day for a photographer because it has a lot of unique moments. This is a true challenge and it requires to anticipate any possible failure (if you don’t anticipate a memory card failure all your pictures might be lost as well as batteries, chargers, cameras, flashes…).

Follow our practical guide on how to capture these important moments and for the tips from professional wedding photographer Brett Florens check our article.

1. Photo of the wedding rings

• Shot like this you can easily make with macro lens (e.g. 100mm f/2.8). These lenses are designed to capture small details up close like wedding rings, bouquets, decorations of wedding dress, etc.

2. Bride putting on the wedding dress

• You can capture bride putting on the wedding dress or just a wedding dress, it depends on what you will agree. Be aware that camera might darken white spots (e.g. bridal’s dress), so before shooting check your camera’s settings.

3. Bride entering the church

• Be aware, that some churches are strict about photographing, so it’s better to find out what is allowed, what is not before ceremony.

4. Exchange of rings

• If you want to capture a close-up remember to take a telephoto zoom lens (Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II are very common).

5. First kiss

• Capturing the first kiss is a must! Make sure that no one else is in the frame, and ask the couple to make the moment last to get a few nice shots. A telephoto zoom lens will allow you to capture this moment from a distance.

6. The wedding recessional

• The end of wedding ceremony is the moment when guests congratulate newly married, they throw things (rose petals) in the air. You can capture full length shots of the bride and groom or just head shots. Use standard zoom lenses.

7. Couple portrait

• For portrait pictures you need portrait lens. These lenses are very helpful in low-light conditions and can make sharper image.

Two examples of a portrait lens are:

• 50mm f/1.2 (Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L)
• 85mm f/1.2 (Canon EF 85mm f1.2L, Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G)

8. Portrait with guests

• For this shot you will likely need wide-angle lens which are used for shooting outside as well inside (ballroom).

Examples of wide-angle lenses are:

• 24mm f/1.4
• 35mm f/1.4 (Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L, Nikon AF FX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.4G are good options)
• 14–24mm f/2.8 (an ultra wide zoom lens)

9. First dance

• Photographers says, that the easiest way to capture dancing couple is to move with them as they dance.

10. Cake cutting moment

• For these shots might be used standard zoom lens (Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E are good options) which allows to go from a wide angle to a short telephoto range and so many different kinds of photos without changing a lens can be taken.

11. The bouquet toss

• To capture this exciting moment might be a really challenge. For this shot we advice to use wide-angle lens. It allows to capture lots of action in one frame.

12. “Just married”

• With telephoto zoom lens you will easily capture a leaving car or a carriage and your work as a wedding photographer will be successfully done!

So as you see to capture these beautiful, well composed, well lighted images (inside and/or outside) is needed right equipment. Our advice - take 2 camera bodies with you for the wedding day to have backup in case one camera fails (Nikon D850, Nikon D750, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon EOS 5D Mark II are good options), lenses mentioned above also don’t forget these things: flashes (one as a backup) (check Canon Speedlite 580EX II), tripod and/or monopod for slow speed shots, shots in nature (check Manfrotto MKBFRA4-BH Tripod, Manfrotto Xpro Monopod), memory cards (SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC UHS-I Memory Card , SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDHC UHS-I Memory Card), spare batteries for flash and camera.

More good ideas and useful advices you can find in these wedding photography books:

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