Great Wedding Photography

By Beth Campbell

Some feel that taking wedding photos is only a casual affair, just do it and get it over with as they are only doing it for a family or friend. Others view it as a serious matter as it is their professional. Wedding photos can sometimes be difficult to take as there is a flurry of activity as well as varying lighting conditions, not to mention dealing with a nervous bride that wants everything to be perfect. Here are some strategies you can use for taking great wedding photos.

If you are going to take wedding photos, preparing ahead of time is vital. Many recommend that you prepare two months ahead. To start preparation, you must get to know the bride and groom taking, careful note of their needs and wants. Ways this can be done is by asking them the following questions:

1. How many photographers will there be at the wedding.

2. Do the guests consist of mostly family or, is there going to be a mixture of family and friends?

3. Which locations will be used? Will the wedding be at a church or in a backyard? Will there be a reception?

4. What types of photos would you like? Would you like formal group portraits or do you want romantic and candid couple pictures? This is an extremely important question. Be sure that you understand what type of photos the bride and groom want. Ask them to describe some of the favorite wedding photos they have seen. This will give you an idea of what they have in mind.

It is questions such as these that will help you understand the requirements of the wedding which will, in turn, enable you to take better shots.

After you have learned of the wedding locations, it is a good idea to go and scout them out. You will want to take note of the types of lighting as well as other features of the environment. If the wedding is going to be in a church, go there and check out the decor. It will also be beneficial to figure out where you will position yourself. Some churches do not allow flash photography so, it is a good idea to get a fast lens. If there will be a reception, check out the dance floor and ask for the seating arrangement.

Organizing the gear that you’ll need for taking the photos is another critical step. It is usually a good idea to do this a month ahead of time as it will leave you enough time to check and double check to see if you are missing any equipment. Here is a list that may help you keep in check;

1. Digital camera. You should also have a camera for backup.

2. Camera lenses and filters.
3. Tripod. This is critical for taking pictures indoors under low lighting conditions.

4. Memory cards. Bring ones that have a lot of space as you’ll be taking a great number of photos and always have an extra.

5. Portable drive. This is critical to bring along just in case you should run out of space on your memory cards.

6. Make sure the battery is charged and that you have a backup battery.

7. Assistant. It would be helpful to bring one along as he or she could help you set up and position the group. The assistant can be a family, friend, or whoever you decide to bring along.

Now, the wedding day has come, and there is a great deal of excitement. To help you keep in check, here is a sequence of events that will occur;

1. If you are taking pictures at the house, be one of the earliest to arrive so you will have time to set up your equipment as well as your positions.

2. When taking pictures at the church, take note of where the priest and couple will be standing and position yourself where you can get the shots you need but will be as unobtrusive as possible.

3. When it is time for the reception, get there faster than everyone else. This will give you time to set up your equipment as well as your position. This is the time where you can take all of the fun shots!

4. When taking formal photos, have your assistant there to help you. Start out with the large groups and then go smaller removing family members so you can get a variety.

5. It is common now to upload all the photos to an online gallery so that the couple can choose which and how many photos they wish to have edited and printed. You will need to know this information so that you know how much to charge them for the number of photos they have chosen unless an agreement was reached before hand. Even if an agreement was reached before hand, once they see the photos, they may want more than was originally agreed upon and you may have to charge a per photo price for photos in addition to the number that was originally agreed upon.

6. Once the couple chooses the photos they want, cleaning up and editing the photos is important as you want them to be as perfect as possible and be pleasing to the couple.

As taking wedding photos can be a challenge, it can also be rewarding as you have played a crucial part in helping the couple capture those precious memories.

To learn more about digital photography, visit mastering digital SLR photography. Want to improve your photography techniques? See digital photography technique. Find out more about how to take great wedding photos at digital wedding photography

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beth_Campbell

Photography Tip- Stock Photography - How To Counter Image Thievery

By Eric Imboden

Most photographers who come to me raise this issue at the beginning: "How can I make sure no one will steal my photographs?". There is no way to be a 100% sure that your images won't be stolen but there are a few things you can do.

On the technical side, some photographers point out that if the right-click "Save image as..." option is disabled, their images are safe. No, there are not. First, on the Mac and on Linux, this doesn't work. Second, on Windows, if you turn off Javascript, this right-click option will work. Third, any image on displayed on your web browser (FireFox, Internet Explorer) can be saved if you look at the source of the page: it doesn't take a Computer Science degree to do that.
Also, some software vendors try to sell you plugins that should solve this problem. Usually these "solutions" are quite expensive and truth is that even those most complicated software that require server-side and client-side implementations cannot prevent a screen capture. It's as simple as that. Not matter how much money/time you spend, there is no technical solution.

If reading this statement makes you anxious, please consider this: How customer-friendly do you want to be? The more protective you are of your work, the harder for your clients it will be to see it. If they have to install a plugin to see your work, they might as well go next door. Besides, I personally dislike to be treated as a thief or a threat when I go shopping: that's bad security because it scares your customers away. In other words, don't "punish" 99% of your clients because 1% of them are thieves. If you don't trust people, don't get into any business at all.

So, what can you do? First thing, be careful to what you display and where you display it. It's never a good idea to make your high-resolution photographs available for download on photo-sharing websites like Flickr. Icelandic photographer Rebekka Guoleifsdottir had a bad experience about this: her work was supposedly taken from Flick, printed and sold by some third party. This is every photographers' nightmare. Of course, you can call your lawyer but it's going to cost a lot and, in this case, the supposedly thief was located in another country making things much more difficult.
First quick fix: if you are using these services, make sure you do not upload photos larger than 500 pixels (largest side). Even if someone would take the 500 pixel wide image, he would not be able to sell it: it's too small. Using Photoshop to make it bigger would only result in a pixelated image.
Second quick fix: apply a watermark. Don't be too aggressive with the watermark because it's visually annoying. If your image is no wider than 500 pixel, there's no point in putting it in the centre: your image is already small enough and remember, you do not want to scare your customers away. On your watermark, you should display the copyright symbol, your name, and optionally a web address where to find your work.

To sum up, there's no ultimate solution about image thievery but you can take some proactive step to fight protect yourself against this. However, scaring away your customers won't do any good. In fact, don't forget that the web works differently than the "offline" world: your competitor is just a few clicks away and if someone steals one of your low-resolution image and put it on a personal website, ask him/her to delete your work or give you credit for it: they usually comply. After all, it's not a physical good: no money was lost.

Eric Imboden is passionate about stock photography. He can be seen at http://www.kumaru.com/ where he helps photographers promote their photos and sell them commission-free. He always welcomes new ideas or comments about his website or articles. Email him at: info@kumaru.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Imboden

Photography Tip- Let's Do The Twist

I'd like to share my model slenderizing photography tip with you, so that you can use it to help slim your subjects and trim their waists. The better your subjects look, the more they will appreciate your photos.

I was recently on a photo shoot with a couple at the lake. During the meet and greet before the shoot, the female subject said to me, "make me look thin and I'll buy a ton of photos", I told her "not-to-worry, I've got a magic lens!" Why was I so confident? I've got some tricks up my sleeve. I work on commission, so my life depends upon making her look good. I knew exactly what I was going do.

My first photographic pose was a standing shot of the couple. I used a technique I call, The Twist! To make the models appear thinner in the standing full length photograph. Here's how I did it:

I posed the subjects for a full length (head to toe) standing image, with the models standing together next to each other and facing me. Both models kept their feet together and parallel. The subjects turned their feet towards each other, not completely facing each other but definitely turned towards each other. They turned to the same degree so the couple was evenly balanced.

I had the models do The TWIST in which they rotate the upper body to the outside while keeping the lower body turned towards each other. In other words, they kept their feet planted and facing in towards each other. Then I had them twist at the waist and brought the subjects-chests around so they were pointing at me. Photography Tip: Men and women alike generally look better when the chest is facing the camera rather than a shoulder.

It was amazing at what The Twist did. It made the hips appear narrower and the tummy look tighter! It also brought attention to the chest so that the viewers eye is drawn away from the mid section. This technique also produced neat, tidy and balanced subjects.

I adjusted a few more subtle details from this basic position to change the look and feel of the pose. I had the models move their outside feet straight ahead, say two inches. Then I had the models turn the toe on the outside foot out slightly. and lastly I had the female subject place the outside foot on it's toe and turn the heel in and then bend the knee in for a zesty twist.

A couple more more last minute adjustments like straightening posture, sucking in the belly, and some silly antics to spark genuine smiles up on the couple and I had the shots I was after. From each variation of the pose, I quickly shot several vertical full length and horizontal full length portraits.

I then zoomed in for some waist-up shots and even more for chest/head close-up portraits of the couple. Photography Tip: If you have a client that is self-conscious about their bodily appearance, shoot extra head shots.

Experiment with these photography tips and add your own variations of The Twist. Implementing these and other posing techniques can eliminate potential objections on the sales floor in the studio. Take control of the portrait from the start, It's your job! Your clients will appreciate your attention to detail.

Brandon is a professional digital photographer from Lake Tahoe, California. Brandon specializes in on-mountain action and portrait photography during the winter months, photographing skiers and snowboarders on the slopes. Brandon also has a digital photography website which is full of excellent tips and techniques.

Photography tips are great, but if your really serious about having fun as a professional photographer, it begins with a photography education. Compare online and campus based photography schools for the program that best fits your field of study.

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