Give yourself no more than ten minutes with the rings and take an assortment of shots from different angles. Shoot plenty of verticals and horizontals, and experiment with different surfaces in the background (i.e., smooth, matte, glossy, textured, etc.). To really capture the diamond, its cut and facets, the ring’s setting, and any intricate inlays, patterns, or scrolling on the band, you will need a true (1:1) macro lens. If you plan on using a tripod, you will need a set of sturdy legs with an adjustable center column that allows you maximum closeness to your subject. Personally, I prefer to shoot rings without a tripod. I usually set my camera’s ISO to 400 or 800, power my flash up as high as it will go, and use my lens’s smallest aperture so that I can achieve a maximum depth of field. Stopping down is extremely important, especially when working with macros.

When you are focused only an inch or two away from your subject, f/16 may only provide a quarter inch of sharpness—which is why it is also important to take many shots, to ensure that at least one is sharply focused in the intended area(s) of focus. Shooting shiny or reflective materials is always a challenge. When using electronic flash to illuminate a diamond set in gold, silver, or platinum, you may notice that the band appears dark and reflects only a small highlight near its outer edge; this specular highlight is your flash head reflecting off the band itself. When it comes to metals, you can’t directly illuminate them since they don’t absorb light, they only reflect it. Therefore, it’s important to place the ring near other reflective surfaces. It would be ideal to have a light tent available at every location—but where’s the fun or challenge in that?

SHOES I’m guessing that the story of Cinderella’s glass slipper never loses its magic, because I have yet to meet a bride who doesn’t absolutely want a shot of her shoes. For some brides, their shoes are thee most critical and defining articles of their ensemble. Photographing the shoes is not dissimilar from shooting the dress; it can quickly turn into an overwrought and frustrating feat (no pun intended). With shoes, I give myself no more than five minutes to make my shots. I shoot both verticals and horizontals, as well as a variety of perspectives, arrangements, and environments. There will be those rare occasions when you luck out and discover the bride’s shoes in a picture perfect “as is” composition. However, the other 99 percent of the time, you may find yourself pulling your hair out and questioning which is more difficult: refolding a world map or composing a pair of wedding pumps.

Paul D. Van Hoy II (2011). Wedding Photojournalism: The Business of Aesthetics: A Guide for Professional Digital Photographers.  Amherst Media, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

For example, I notice a lot of photographers lower their cameras when speaking with subjects or being spoken to by their subjects. This is a bad habit you must break. TALKING THROUGH IT I’m not sure what strange phenomenon takes place when I’m shooting, but I often find myself struggling to form recognizable words or any sense at all when I speak. I think it’s the arresting effect of having all of your faculties focused on what’s in the viewfinder. It has taken me many years to perfect the feat of being able to converse with subjects while shooting them—and unlike riding a bike, it requires practice, practice, practice. Personally, I like talking to my subjects and some of my best photographs have been taken during my discourse with clients. Subjects will resume a more natural demeanor when the camera comes away from your eye.

My strategy is to not give in, knowing that they will eventually retire their inhibitions, relax, and return to a more natural state in front of the camera. It reminds me of children who protest their parents by holding their breath. Eventually, they just have to give in, and they do—always!

Paul D. Van Hoy II (2011). Wedding Photojournalism: The Business of Aesthetics: A Guide for Professional Digital Photographers Amherst Media, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

I always begin by photographing the dress exactly as it is before I begin making modifications or changing its location. Roughly 75 percent of my best, favorite dress shots are scenes that I have not altered in any way—only documented. Ideally, I prefer to use natural or available light; since I try to use my camera’s lowest ISO and an aperture of at least f/8, which means a good sturdy tripod is an absolute must! If shooting a long exposure from a tripod, I try to make at least three separate exposures—one each for the highlights, midtones, and shadows—in the event that I may wish to composite I try to work quickly, bearing in mind that a strong dress shot is essential, but with each tick of the clock I’m losing candids of the bride and bridal party preparations.

Spend no more than fifteen minutes making your shots. Shoot verticals of the entire dress, but also shoot some horizontals and detail shots of the dress’s lace, buttons, embroidery, and beading.

Paul D. Van Hoy II (2011). Wedding Photojournalism: The Business of Aesthetics: A Guide for Professional Digital Photographers. Amherst Media, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Immediately following each wedding event (after I have downloaded all of my memory cards and backed up all my image files), I edit three to five photographs from my bride and groom’s day and upload these “sneak peeks” to my blog. Then, I send an e-mail containing the blog link to the couple and kindly thank them for sharing their special day with me. What this accomplishes is threefold: It alleviates any concern that I might have crashed my car or been abducted by aliens. Sending a few of my best captures reassures the couple that the beauty and emotion their day has been preserved.

It conveys to my clients that I am excited about their images. Aware that I have put in a full day documenting their wedding, couples are flattered and impressed by my continued commitment to providing them with peace of mind. It drives traffic to my web site. It’s not unusual for my site’s traffic to spike by 200–300 additional visitors on the Sunday following a wedding. In addition to sending out a mass e-mail, most brides are members of Facebook or other online communities where they will post your blog link to share with others.

Paul D. Van Hoy II (2011). Wedding Photojournalism: The Business of Aesthetics: A Guide for Professional Digital Photographers. Amherst Media, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The ability to produce a page with multiple images and text all blended into a single print has created a lot of excitement among clients and photographers alike. The beauty and uniqueness of these products is so far beyond what was available in the days of film that I think it’s safe to say that high-priced wedding albums have never been easier to sell. Some companies call these page layouts magazine style because you can use text and images pretty much any way you like.

The pages of these digitally printed albums no longer have bulky mats around the edge; instead, the print is the page. Many companies now offer pages that have only a very tiny crack down the middle so that when opened, the pages appear as a single giant layout. With the skilled touch of a good graphic designer, each page has a layout that looks like it could have come straight from the pages of a coffee table art book or even a fashion magazine. The design styles are very modern, and the albums themselves are actually real hard-bound books. The pages are often printed on thick watercolor papers with long-lasting inkjet printers, before being assembled with traditional bookbinding methods.

Glen Johnson. Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories (Kindle Locations 3471-3478). Kindle Edition.

Some photojournalistic purists flat-out refuse to do any sort of posed photo shoot at all. Being that strict may seem like a certain recipe for disaster, but a growing number of brides prefer this approach. It allows the couple and guests to enjoy the wedding day without worrying about turning it into a photo shoot. The photojournalistic style evolved as a lucrative weekend opportunity for working photojournalists that were hired by newspapers during the week. Shooting with the same cameras in the same basic style they were trained in for the newspapers, and with the same ethic of unobtrusiveness soon won them a place all their own in the wedding photography world. The images they capture are often described as real and honest representations of the day.

They simply capture what is actually happening. Nothing is made up for the pictures. Brides are seeking out photojournalistic-style photographers for black and white wedding photography. It is no accident that the sudden growth of this style coincides with the equally sudden growth of digital photography. Digital cameras have the perfect match of speed, quality, and low expense per shot that the photojournalistic style thrives on. This combination is very quickly changing the face of wedding photography.

Glen Johnson. Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories Kindle Edition.

The primary benefit to you in sharing this information is that a good dressing room makes your pictures look better, so you should have as much interest as she does in the location. The following is a selection of tips I give the bride. Decorate the girl’s dressing room just as carefully as you would any other part of the wedding location, because a large portion of your pictures will be taken here. When you choose a location, pick a room with some r-o-o-m and lots of natural light. On the wedding day, have your girls clean up all the non-wedding messes such as piles of blue jeans and tennis shoes or other clothing that are not wedding related, but don’t make the room look too neat; messes are okay if they’re wedding messes.

Empty boxes and bags should be placed somewhere outside the dressing room. It looks wonderful to have all the dresses hanging and shoes lying around on the floor, but they look awful if they’re still in the box, or if they have piles of plastic wrappers and cardboard boxes lying next to them. Flowers also look much better in some sort of vases instead of the cardboard boxes the florist packed them in. Cover up any ugly furniture with plain white drape cloth. Lighting is extremely important for the girl’s dressing room.

The windows absolutely must be open to bring in the natural light. If you have anything distracting or unsightly that would be visible through the open windows, place some light gauzy curtains over them to cut back on the view while still allowing the light to come in. If you have no window light, think romance, and get creative. Use lots of candles or little Christmas lights placed around the room. Shafts of sunlight streaming in the windows may look great to human eyes, but that extreme level of brightness in an otherwise dark room is a photographer’s nightmare. If you must use a room with direct sun on the windows, put up some curtains to diffuse it. You can also put light cotton cloth over the outside of the window in order to cut down the direct sun. If you want the absolute best lighting for your dressing room, pick something with large, north facing windows-this is a photographer’s dream come true.

Glen Johnson. Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories . Kindle Edition.

You can have a childhood romance, you can have a romantic encounter, and an old car can even have a certain romance about it. None of that really tells us much about what romance is. Like beauty, romance is an elusive trait that can only be judged in the eyes of the beholder. Every person knows it when they see it, yet no two viewers will see it in the same place. This chapter describes a few of the techniques and thought processes that go into creating a type of image that contains such elusive qualities that no words can fully describe what it is or how it should look. According to the definitions, a romantic image is idealized, not based on fact, and remote from everyday life. It displays, expresses or is conducive to love. It is imaginary! Perhaps not completely imaginary, but certainly a romantic image does get much of its appeal and expression of love, from the fact that it leaves a lot to the imagination.

The part not shown allows the viewer to imagine all sorts of things. Upon seeing a romantic image, one person may imagine, and even actually feel, just a bit of the deep feelings of love that every bride is supposed to have for her new husband. Another may imagine that there is more going on in the scene than what is shown.

Another may imagine what it would be like if she were actually there – if she was the one in the picture, “What would that dress feel like? How would the sand feel between my toes? What would my man be like? No … I know what he would be like … he’s all the things I’ve ever dreamed of.” A romantic image sets the viewer’s mind free to imagine the love and emotion that they themselves want to experience. If you can create images that inspire romantic feelings in a woman, you can bet she will remember your name when she finds “Mr. Right”.

Glen Johnson. Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories (Kindle Locations 2278-2285). Kindle Edition.

If you have a friendly personality that helps people feel at ease, most of the normal fears will disappear quickly. However finding someone who completely loosens up and acts naturally when you raise your camera is rare. The worst thing you can do to a camera-shy couple is to give many specific directions about how to smile and how to hold their body. The more you do this, the more likely you are to get the same results as the child who has just been told to smile – he or she gets stiffer and stiffer. Getting over the camera-shy stage takes some time.

I like to start the wedding day shooting in the dressing rooms, because it gives me a chance to bond with the clients and for them to get comfortable being in front of the camera. During this time, I start creating a few directed pictures. Not many because you can capture most of this time in a photojournalistic style, but just a few to get them used to working purposefully in front of the camera. Occasionally, I see some fleeting movement or glance that looked beautiful and I give the bride some direction to re-create it. A few window light portraits in the dressing room can also help to break the ice.

Glen Johnson. Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories. Kindle Edition.

Unfortunately, as a photographer, this can also be one of the most difficult of photography shots to take. Locating everyone and getting everyone on task is difficult, to say the last. As you consider all of the options available to making this process simpler, the following tips may help you. Getting Everyone photographer, you do not have to worry about learning who is who and trying to get everyone on task. In addition to this, be sure to allow this person to be in on the plan. Often, those who should not be in the photo will position themselves in them. The person helping you should be able to step in and pull those extra people out of the photo. Although it may seem like such a simple task, the family photo is rarely that for the wedding photographer. This wedding photography tip can help you to get through the event easier and accomplish the right shot.

You want everyone to be included but in some situations, there are hundreds of people at an event. It is impossible, in most situations, to plan this type of photo if you are going to have everyone looking directly at you at eye level. It just will not work because there are too many faces to get into the shot. You can pull off this shot, though. The key is to get yourself up high. In group shots, where there are a lot of people, it can be best for you to climb up high and show off a bit of your skill. Take a picture of the group facing down, looking down upon them from a high position. How can .

eBook-Ventures (2010). Wedding Photography Tips: Guide for Your Big Day Unknown. Kindle Edition.