Wedding photography: tips, settings, and equipment

How often, when you start getting seriously interested in photography and have decent enough gear to show nice pictures to friends and family, do you hear things like: “Don’t forget your camera for the youngest one’s birthday / Auntie Jacqueline’s party / Uncle Bernard’s funeral”? Okay, maybe not the last one, fortunately. And then one day, horror: someone asks you to photograph a wedding, simply because “a professional photographer is expensive, you have the gear, and you know how to photograph your dog on the sofa, so you’ll manage.”

If you were the bride or groom, who would you choose to capture and preserve this emotional, romantic and deeply personal moment? A professional? A friend? Wedding photos do not happen every day, and capturing that happiness properly is not as simple as it may seem. If you want more general advice, we have also written an article with our best tips for portrait photography.

For a wedding, it is obviously difficult to say “no” when the request comes from relatives or close friends, even if, in reality, that may be exactly what you should do. The point is not to defend professional photographers at all costs, but if some people specialize in weddings, there is a reason. Will they necessarily take better pictures than you? Not always. You may be just as talented, or even more. But they are used to it. They know what moments to capture, where to place the bride and groom, what equipment and settings to use, how to work throughout the day and, icing on the cake — or rather on the wedding cake — they are not guests. You probably will be, especially if the bride and groom are close to you.

That means you will either enjoy the day as a guest and inevitably miss a lot of photos, or fully take on the role of photographer and spend a demanding day constantly interrupted by other guests. In the best-case scenario, they will ask what you did last weekend. In the worst-case scenario, they will completely ignore your role as photographer and refuse to cooperate when you need them to. And let’s be honest, photographing a wedding in a suit or a dress is not the most comfortable thing in the world.

But if you are reading this, chances are you have already accepted the job. If there is still time, do not hesitate to step back and explain that a professional will be more… professional. Otherwise, let’s see how to approach this very particular day so you can prepare as calmly as possible. Of course, the following advice will also be useful if you actually want to take on this role more seriously, or even make wedding photography part of your work one day.

Wedding photography brings together several photographic disciplines: portraits, reportage, architecture, low-light photography and even macro. Equipment does matter. However, what will make the biggest difference will not only be your gear, so you can relax a little: you do not need a top-of-the-range camera costing several thousand euros to succeed.

Here are, in my opinion, the three main things you will need to do a good job.

I am not talking about equipment here either, as that will have its own section at the end of this article. I am talking about location and organization. Even though spontaneity is essential in wedding reportage, if you can, go and scout the different locations beforehand: the ceremony venue, the reception hall, the outdoor spaces… This will help you assess the light, the layout, and where you should stand to get the best shots.

Most weddings follow a fairly predictable structure, so there are “must-have” photos that usually come in a logical order: preparations, the drinks reception, the wedding dress, the arrival of the bride and groom, the witnesses signing during the ceremony, the exchange of rings, the kiss, the couple leaving the ceremony, the bouquet toss, the cocktail, the wedding decoration… Every moment counts if you want to create beautiful visual memories of the day.

As for the bride and groom, talk to them before the wedding about their expectations and any ideas they already have in mind: group photos, couple photos, family photos, and so on. If you have already scouted the location, you may also be able to suggest a few good spots they may not have thought of, including places for more original shots.

It can be very useful to plan a short shoot in advance, with a few more or less classic photos in a location you have already chosen.

After preparation comes anticipation. Once you are at the venue, there will be the essential shots… and the spontaneous ones. Pay attention, especially to the people who matter most to the bride and groom, such as parents, witnesses and close friends. It would be a shame to miss the little tear in the bride’s mother’s eye, the laughter of the guests, or the groom’s ex-girlfriend pulling a sharp knife from her handbag. In that last case, once the photo is taken: call the police.

Anticipation is also largely about positioning. Stay close to the action, be creative, take bold shots, and photograph small details whenever there is no major moment unfolding. However, be careful not to become too intrusive or disturb the ceremony. That brings us to the next point.

Natural, candid photos are just as important as classic posed wedding shots.

There is nothing worse than a photographer who plants himself right in the middle of the scene, except perhaps one who actually bumps into the bride and groom. Remember that, unlike many guests who will pull out their smartphones, usually with wide-angle lenses, you will probably have equipment that allows you to stand back. Make good use of it.

The preparation and anticipation mentioned above will also help you remain discreet, because you will know where to stand and which equipment to use without getting in the way. Also remember that owning the latest completely silent mirrorless camera is not enough to be discreet. Discretion is above all a matter of attitude.

Do not forget that you have been “appointed” as the official wedding photographer, but also make sure the guests know it. If you manage to stay discreet, people may forget you are there, take out their phones and step right in front of you. The best option is to warn everyone before the ceremony, not during it, so they understand that you are on a mission and that you will not be especially indulgent that day.

In my opinion, this is already a solid starting point to help you arrive on the big day with enough confidence to give the bride and groom serious work and beautiful wedding photographs. Add the right equipment and settings, which we will now look at in the next sections, and you will be much better prepared.

As mentioned at the beginning of the previous section, wedding photography includes several disciplines and will require you to adapt your settings throughout the day. Overall, however, you will often act like the day’s portrait photographer. In general, A mode (Aperture Priority, or Av on Canon cameras) is a good choice because it lets you control the aperture and therefore the depth of field. You can open the aperture to reduce depth of field and isolate your subjects, or close it down to keep several people sharp, although shutter speed will also be important. You will also need to make sure your shutter speed is fast enough to freeze the action, from around 1/90th of a second for slower subjects to 1/250th of a second for faster ones. For dancing during the evening, you may sometimes need to go even faster.

In aperture priority mode, once the aperture is set, the camera automatically chooses the shutter speed. You will therefore need to manage ISO yourself if you are using manual ISO, or use the minimum shutter speed option, usually found in the menu, if you are using auto ISO. This way, the camera will raise the ISO instead of letting the shutter speed fall below the limit you have set. Another simple option is to use M mode with automatic ISO. You set the aperture and shutter speed, and the camera adjusts ISO to achieve the correct exposure.

For autofocus, many photographers rely on single or one-shot AF: once focus is acquired, it stays locked until the shutter is released. However, you will often need to follow action, and in portrait photography we are photographing living subjects who inevitably move. I would therefore be more inclined to recommend continuous AF, to reduce the risk of missing shots because your subjects moved slightly.

If you shoot in JPEG, your images will have the processing applied directly by the camera, which gives you less flexibility than RAW. If you really do not want to spend time developing images on a computer, or if you feel you do not yet have enough experience to do so, you can shoot JPEG. But if you do, pay close attention to your picture style, white balance and optical correction settings. Since you will mainly be shooting portraits, you can start with the portrait style and adjust it if necessary according to your preferences by tweaking a few sliders. Check your manual if you do not know how to customize the picture styles built into your camera. When photographing details or architecture, you can switch to a more contrasted, sharper style, starting from the standard style for example. For white balance, automatic white balance will rarely be a problem outdoors during the day. At night or indoors, however, you may need to test the preset options or set your own color temperature if none of them works well.

Finally, unless the bride and groom have asked you to deliver the photos the same evening or the next day, you will have time to select the best images and refine them. RAW format gives you more flexibility for processing and editing, although it requires additional software to convert your photos into a shareable image format. But keep in mind that RAW is the format used by most wedding photographers. Whether you are photographing a wedding for friends or hoping to make it part of your business, you will probably need to use it at some point if you want to get the most out of your camera.

So give it a try now, especially as you do not necessarily need to buy software such as Lightroom, Capture One or Photoshop. There are excellent free options to start with, including RawTherapee, Darktable and GIMP.

In summary:

• Mode: A (Av) or M
• Autofocus: AF-C or AI Servo
• Aperture: depending on the subject, but large apertures are often useful (f/1.2 to f/2.8)
• Shutter speed: also depends on the subject; 1/125th is a good starting point in my opinion
• ISO: as low as possible while maintaining correct exposure, depending on aperture and shutter speed
• Picture style: usually portrait or standard, adjusted if needed
• White balance: automatic or adapted to the lighting

Although you will often be photographing moving subjects, unless it is Flash and Supergirl’s wedding, they will not move fast enough to defeat most autofocus systems. And ceremonies rarely take place in the middle of the Amazon, so a top-of-the-line or fully professional camera body, such as a Canon 1Dx or Nikon D5, will not be essential. Since you will often face low-light situations, you should generally favor cameras with large sensors and lenses with fairly wide apertures. This brings us to the following list, neither exhaustive nor absolute, of the equipment I would recommend for wedding photography. In natural light, outdoors for example, things will be easier.

From Micro 4/3 cameras (Panasonic/Olympus) to full-frame bodies, across all ranges, some photographers use two cameras for weddings. It is not essential, but it is practical: you gain responsiveness and can keep working if one camera fails.

If you bring two cameras, try to use bodies from the same brand and mount so you can swap lenses between them. Ideally, two identical cameras would be even better to keep a consistent workflow and rendering throughout the shoot.

From 24mm (16mm on APS-C, 12mm on Micro 4/3) to 200mm (135mm on APS-C, 100mm on Micro 4/3), there are many useful focal lengths for wedding photography. To start, I would recommend a standard zoom with a good aperture, such as a 24-70mm f/2.8 (17-50mm f/2.8 on APS-C, 12-35mm f/2.8 on Micro 4/3), paired with the prime lens many wedding photographers love: the 50mm f/1.8 (35mm on APS-C, 25mm on Micro 4/3).

For telephoto lenses, you can add a 70-200mm f/2.8 (the 24-70mm + 70-200mm duo is a classic), a 50-140mm f/2.8 on APS-C (especially for Fujifilm), or a 35-100mm f/2.8 on Micro 4/3. If that seems too heavy and too expensive, which is completely understandable, and if you do not need that much reach, you can keep things simpler with a good old 85mm f/1.8 (50mm on APS-C, 42.5mm on Micro 4/3). In that case, it may be wiser to pair it with a 35mm rather than a 50mm (24mm on APS-C or 17mm on Micro 4/3), so that the two focal lengths offer a more useful difference in framing. For close-up details, you can also add a macro lens.

In no particular order, here are some references to consider depending on your camera brand. Make sure to check the mount carefully:

• Tamron: 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 VC, and 90mm f/2.8 VC macro,
• Sigma: 17-50mm f/2.8 OS and 105mm f/2.8 macro,
• Nikon: 24mm f/1.8G, 28mm f/1.8G, 35mm f/1.8G, 50mm f/1.8G, 85mm f/1.8G, and 105mm f/2.8G VR macro,
• Canon: 24mm f/2.8 IS, 28mm f/2.8 IS, 35mm f/2 IS, 50mm f/1.8 STM, and 100mm f/2.8 IS (you will also find similar lenses for Sony APS-C or full-frame mirrorless cameras),
• For APS-C Nikon/Canon DSLRs: Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX, Nikon 40mm f/2.8 DX micro, Canon 24mm f/2.8 EF-S, and Canon 35mm f/2.8 EF-S macro,
• For Fujifilm mirrorless cameras: 16-55mm and 50-140mm f/2.8, 16mm f/2.8, 23mm f/2, 27mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/2, and 80mm f/2.8 macro,
• For Micro 4/3 mirrorless cameras (Panasonic/Olympus):
  • Panasonic: 12-35mm and 35-100mm f/2.8 OIS, 14mm f/2.5, 20mm f/1.7, 25mm f/1.7, and 42.5mm f/1.7,
  • Olympus: 17mm f/1.8, 25mm f/1.8, 45mm f/1.8, and 60mm f/2.8 macro.

Of course, you will find many other references in these focal lengths, including some exceptional lenses such as Nikon’s 105mm f/1.4E, Canon’s 135mm f/2L, Fujifilm’s 90mm f/2, or Olympus’s 75mm f/1.8.

For APS-C DSLRs from Nikon, Canon and Pentax, you will even find two must-have Sigma Art lenses: the 18-35mm and 50-100mm f/1.8. They are certainly quite heavy and bulky, but they replace an entire range of primes with very high image quality. They are also among the rare zooms with an f/1.8 aperture.

But I am not here to make you buy gear. It will be up to you to decide which focal lengths, apertures and, above all, budget make the most sense for your format.

With sensors of this size and lenses with fairly wide apertures, you generally will not need much else, but a few accessories can still be useful:

• A flash: the one built into your camera is… well, let’s just say it, not great. A good speedlight can help in very low-light situations, especially if your budget does not allow you to buy wide-aperture lenses. But be aware that using flash properly requires specific training and a lot of practice. You can find affordable compatible flashes from third-party brands, as manufacturer models are often expensive, such as Neewer or Yongnuo,
• A harness: holding your camera in your hand all day will be tiring, even more so if you use two bodies. A solid harness that keeps them quickly accessible can be very efficient. Models from Blackrapid and Cotton Carrier have proven their worth,
• A grip: as mentioned several times, you will often shoot portraits, which means using your camera vertically. A grip will make handling much easier. As with flashes, you can find grips from third-party brands such as Neewer and Meike, which are less expensive than manufacturer versions. Note that not all cameras are compatible with a grip. As a small bonus, you can often add an extra battery, which doubles, or even more than doubles, your camera’s autonomy. That will be very welcome during such an intense day of shooting.

Speaking of intense shooting days, here are a few accessories you really need if you want to last all day:

• Batteries: yes, if you use a grip and want to add an extra battery, you will need at least two. For batteries, I would choose original ones. Wedding photographers often come back with several thousand shots.
• Memory cards: those thousands of photos need to go somewhere, so two memory cards are a minimum. Class 10 16GB SD cards from Sandisk or Kingston are efficient and reliable.
• A camera bag: the more gear you carry, the harder it becomes to attach everything to your belt, so a bag will be very useful. Lowepro, Manfrotto and Case Logic, among others, offer a wide range of camera bags.

For those who also want to shoot video, I would recommend Sony, Panasonic and the latest Fujifilm mirrorless cameras, which are better suited to this than DSLRs.

That’s it, I am reaching the end of this article. I hope it has made you want to try wedding photography. It is not an easy field when you are starting out, but it is a very interesting one. Do not hesitate to read the article on how to shoot in low light or indoors, as it may also help you for a wedding.

I would like to personally thank Alex for writing this guest article. This is a field he knows much better than I do, and I am glad to have received such a complete set of technical and practical tips. I would also like to thank Morgane and Vincent (my brother) for their wedding photos, taken by Marie Brion.

So, did you like it?

See you soon,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I've been passionate about photography since 2010, learning as I went along. Today, I dedicate myself to guiding others in their choice of camera gear and sharing a variety of tips to improve their photography skills.

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