Unique Wedding Photography Tips & Techniques

It goes without saying that you should use an SLR (or a DSLR), with at least one each of a standard 50 mm/f 2.8, a wide angle lens (around 18mm) and a medium range (upto 200mm) telephoto lens. Add to that an external flash for getting bounce flash images and a sturdy tripod, and you're all set to go.

This may not be such a unique wedding photography tip, none-the-less, its a very important one. Spend some time playing around with the camera, lens and flash that you'll use for the wedding. If its a new or borrowed piece of equipment, this point becomes all the more critical. Equipment does have an uncanny knack of acting up during the most crucial moments, so be sure you know its functions inside out. No point fumbling around for the right buttons while the garlands have already been exchanged!

In continuation with the preceding point, always have a backup camera (or two) ready. Have spare batteries, memory cards (or film) and spare lenses ready. Pack in your charger and card reader too, just to be safe. A good starting point is to bring double the amount of spare batteries and memory cards than you feel would be necessary. You may also consider a USB hard drive if you plan to carry your laptop to the wedding.

Make sure your camera as well as the backups are in proper working condition. The lenses should be cleaned and in good order. The batteries should be fully charged, including all the spare ones. The memory cards should be formatted and checked for any errors. Next do an on-site survey and check for proper vantage points. Check out if you need any special gear, mounts, stool/tables, etc. for your work.

A unique wedding photography skill most photographers ignore is to have their workflow organized. It really makes a huge difference. Keep charged batteries in a separate compartment in your camera bag/photo-vest, away from the one for discharged ones. Similarly keep your fresh memory cards in a separate pocket, say your right top pocket, and the filled cards in, say, your left bottom one. This helps you switch cards without committing errors and wasting precious time. Ask your assistant to immediately take a backup of the photos as soon as a card is filled, in a portable hard drive. Again at the end of the day, consider burning all photos onto DVDs and post/courier them to your studio/residence, just to ensure the images are safe even if the card gets corrupted/lost/stolen.