Taking wedding photos at the breakfast

19 08 2010

While there is a split between photographers who offer up to the fake cake cutting and those who stay for the speeches and even those who are there for the evening reception, This post will give you ideas and details for wedding photography of the wedding breakfast.

As you should be fully aware for every wedding it is the details that really make the difference, it is the planning that the Bride and Groom have done over the past year or two for their wedding and this is all in the details.

Taking photography of the wedding breakfast is interesting as you can be creative and there usually is time to do this after the group photo shoot, provided you do not run over in the groups and candid after the wedding, and that the wedding is well planned with its timing.

As we have posted before about the photography of the wedding details, much the same applies to the reception (Breakfast). You are going to try to make the most of the bride and groom alone photo set, but you will also want to give the bride and groom time to enjoy their time with their guests. This is the ideal opportunity for the detailed photos of the wedding reception room as the staff time to change around the room so that it is ready for the wedding breakfast.

Ideally, you send your assistant into take some photo’s of the room sets and then return when you go in to the breakfast room to take your master photos.  Leaving the assistant to take the candid moments before the welcoming and seating of the guests for the wedding breakfast start.

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Wedding detail photography

16 08 2010

The Weddings details are important, as professional wedding photographers should know many weddings are all the same, there are a bride and groom or two brides or two grooms, but the format remains the same with very little difference.

Bride and Grooms plans for their wedding for many years in some cases and this planning goes into the weddings details. The differences within the wedding can be seen in the gallery on this post with its 101 detail images from weddings.

While capturing the details of the wedding is important as a record for the bride and groom there is of course the fact that they make great backgrounds for cards and album designs and also stock wedding images as they do not have the wedding party involved directly in the photo.

I will define the content and definition of of the photography details (detailing) as they fall under two types.

 The details of the wedding and its parts, such as the venue, flowers and cake.

 The Other part of detailing the wedding is what is happening at the wedding, which the bride and groom may miss, or funny thing that happened which made part of the day.

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As you can see in this slide show there are images that are taken of the wedding which do not last like the flowers or even the dress that is put away and the food that is eaten.

By detailing the wedding you can capture for the bride and groom all the day without missing a thing. If you are providing a disc of images it is these that are more appreciated in later years when the wedding has long since past and of course for their children who may want to look back at how mum and dads wedding looked and what they had and did.

Traditional photography is IMO more of the people, reportage is how it happened and with any skilled photographer mixing the two with added commercial photography can really work.

For photographers that have not reviewed their images and photography at a wedding or carry out the detailing services for their clients, they should approach the photography of the wedding in a different way.

Ideally a photographer with skills from commercial photography can tackle the details with either a venue or service provider in mind. This meaning that if you are shooting the wedding car; you would approach this as if you were hired by the company to take photos of the wedding car service that they provide, and the same with the venue, flowers and catering.

By Arriving early and having a clear plan from your experience of weddings you should find the time to fit the detailing into your photography plan, for the venue simply turning up early will give you the time to shot the venue and also know where you intend to take you more formal photos during the wedding.

For photographers carrying out the preparations you will find that a single photographer cannot carry out all the detailing prior to the wedding ceremony and you should always shoot with TWO photographers. This allows you to carry out the photography  while an assistant or shadow carries out the detailing photographs when you are not there. However there can be time during the lul between the groups and wedding breakfast (reception) where you can take many of the shots, but you have to ensure that they are in order as you cannot expect to ask the bride and groom to remove their rings so you can get that photo after the wedding ceremony is finished. Solo reportage wedding  photographers will also find this detailing quite hard due to the format of their photography style.