The bride and groom have circled the date on the calendar and decided on a wedding venue. After interviewing countless vendors, you have been selected as their wedding photographer. This is an exciting time for everyone. Typically you will meet with the couple or the bride several times prior to the wedding. At your first meeting, it is important to discuss the venue for the wedding ceremony and reception.
When working an outdoor wedding, you’ll need to do some extra planning. Scout the location in advance. Begin scouting two weeks in advance. This will allow you to witness the location in various climatic circumstances. Shooting outdoors can be tricky, but planning ahead will prepare you for the big day. Make sure to take notes about how the sun and clouds affect shadows in the area. You can decide what angles will work best for you on the wedding day by shooting practice shots on your scout session.
Using backdrops can make all the difference in the world when it comes to wedding photographs. Architecture makes for a great backdrop, especially if you shoot in black and white. Take shots of the bride and groom in front of a building; either candid or formal. The rich textures that come through on these shots will be stunning and will certainly be favorites of the bride and groom. This type of shot seems to have become very popular recently.
Natural backdrops are very useful, but only if they flow well. If this wedding in particular is very formal and serious, don’t have the bride sitting in the grass in her grandmother’s Victorian wedding gown. Take a lot of candid shots. These are perfect at outdoor weddings.
While weather conditions can make it difficult to shoot an outdoor wedding, if you remain flexible, you’re guaranteed to have eye pleasing proofs. If conditions change, nothing is wrong with using a little humor in your pictures. If it starts raining, take a picture of the bride standing just out of the rain, looking up at the sky, shrugging her shoulders and laughing. Have a good time with what you’re doing. You’ll be amazed at how much the bridal party appreciates the work you have provided them with.
Make sure to use your flash to negate shadows caused by side lighting and adjust shutter speeds when necessary. Using a lower white balance than normal can help with shadowing, as well. Outdoor wedding shoots are beautiful. Just remember to take more shots than you would during an indoor wedding. The bride will surely blink a lot more outside due to the wind and sun, so you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of open eyed shots to offer her.
