When ever a photographer says they have a style – are they talking about their limitations ?

When ever a photographer says they have a style – are they talking about their limitations ?

Wedding photography is about filling a social and emotional needs but photography forums of the worlds tend to discuss things photographic which are of course obvious to the photographer but all but invisible to a bride.

We propose that this blog will discuss Nikon in terms candid wedding photography.

Most blogs and  forums make the assumption that all photographers use Canon although this is very much changing.

This blog is dedicated to the discussion of techniques, but technique not just for itself but as technique in service to the client’s emotional and social needs. At Serendipity Image photography is Nikon photography, where the characteristics of the Nikon product line allow faster and more accurate focus, to catch more animated moments; better flash metering including TTL-BL (not just TTL) which gives better balancing between flash and ambient light, and other features that enhance sharpness such as better spread of the focus points and better auto-focus ergonomics and controls. All of this translates to more wedding photography on the day, more animated and easier shooting, and hence a more accurate and truthful portrayal of the emotions and moments of the couple and family on the wedding day. This blog will discuss these and other areas from the perspective of the Nikon wedding photographer with a desire for an contemporary emotional and animated fashion look.

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Wedding photography starting points at Serendipity

“With good techniques there will be no complaints”

Good photography requires an examination of the overall graphic, consideration of the background, the lighting on the body, the lighting on the face, and the animation of the subject.

When shooting rapidly in a wedding it is useful to have a hierarchy of decision making points, as good wedding photography occurs when the photographer is able to integrate a large number of variables, some controlled and some not, within a very short time frame, often parts of a second.

Good wedding photography is not just an art, it is a process of optimisation, firstly attending to what is most possible and what is most important, and then loading on the next and the next variable to drive the shot as far as possible. All of this is done while capturing truthful and beautiful moments, or while encouraging more truth and beauty in those times where they may be in short supply!

The usual complaints from a wedding day come from the shoot being over stylized. However just as many complaints come from not organizing a session of styled family pictures – known as the family formals. It is a wedding photographers job to be flexible enough to organize formal shots while at the same time be ready to capture the candid and natural shots which are often the favorites in wedding albums.

The subject must be placed and modeled.

Then, lens length and shooting distance should be selected, for best shape of face and body.

When photographing with a mix of ambient andflash light, the light on the body is the first consideration since this is often the largest light – this is to create or minimise body shape – then the light on the face must be attended to. This last line itself needs a chapter or two for a studio portrait but in the wedding situation attending to light on the face more often then not it is simply  asking that their face is positioned/pointed such that it has nice light.  Finally other sources of light may be introduced such as fill or bounce flash.

If the subject is to be lit primarily with flash then again the firstly main lighting must be chosen to flatter the figure or face shape, and then secondary light sources added or allowed to into the shot, such as off camera back light or a window light, or fill, when the off camera flash is the main light.

The next stage is the area of photographic technique, where we want the appropriate depth of field, aperture, and exposure. A lens is chosen to produce the desired effect in terms of focal length and depth of field. In general, for wedding photography, good exposure is taken from the face, with  face in zone five.

Animation of the subject is next, either through discussion, walking, playing, depending on what the subject is able to do within the limitations of the context. In the end, it is the emotional content of the image, established through the use of light, tones, background and animation (emotion in face and body) that gives the image the quality that we want. the emotion might come from the facial expression, or the background, but it is in between these elements that good wedding photography comes about.

This is the overall and general technique we follow at Serendipity for photography. Be it indoors or outdoors, regardless of whether it is in a bedroom or on a seaside, there will be this same hierarchy of concerns.