Professional level wedding photography is no joke. There are several responsibilities of a wedding photographer other than just that of capturing good pictures. As a wedding photographer, you have to find the best spot for shooting, make the couple and their family comfortable enough to pose, take a lot of pictures in a limited time, and need to capture emotions and moments in your shots nicely. Just one mistake on the part of wedding photographers is enough to ruin their careers.
The careless of such photographers can even end up with a couple having no memory from their wedding day to cherish afterward. All of this rightly suggests that becoming a wedding photographer must require a lot of practice and hard work. If you aim at taking your photography passion and skills into the professional wedding shooting niche, you need to prepare yourself for all the problems and hurdles that can come in your way.
Contrary to what many believe, capturing great pictures in any photography niche isn’t just about having a powerful camera. Undoubtedly, a decent camera can help you take efficient wedding shots. Even then, you can’t rely on the camera’s power and features only. Instead, you’d need to practice and learn the basics of wedding photography, mastering the tricks of capturing unique photos.
Speaking of a good camera, the Nikon D90 is quite a favorable option for almost any wedding photographer. This camera comes with features like a 12.9 MP lens, fast continuous shooting, effective AF detection, excellent color processing, and easy setup. If used with some tricks and efficiency, all of these features and others can help you step up your wedding shooting game.
Here are some of the most useful wedding photography tricks and tips you must follow with your Nikon D90:
Pick A Good Venue
Usually, couples getting married in their hometowns come up with their favorite shooting locations for you to shoot them at. You need to understand that not all the picturesque places are friendly enough for a couple’s shoot. This is why you must pick a comfortable, beautiful, well-lit venue and suits the vibe of your clients the most.
Many couples are likely to ask their wedding photographer for some couple shoot venue suggestions. Since you’re in the business and keep on visiting beautiful shoot locations almost every day, you must know better about the best wedding shoot venues around town.
As a photographer, it’s your job to advise the couple sincerely about their shoot locations. Don’t force the couple to get their shoot done at a venue you suggested. Instead, tell them the pros and cons of each venue and let them decide on their own. You need to make sure that the couple is satisfied with the finally chosen venue.
One of the most significant advantages of using Nikon D90 is that this camera comes with great AF sensors. These sensors, combined with this camera’s other efficient features, help you quickly focus on the best out of every location, thus ensuring quality in your captures no matter whichever the venue is.
Show Your Style
Many novice wedding photographers are advised to follow what the experts in the field are doing. This leads almost all of them to lose their style and, hence, the photos they capture have no such touch of novelty. Even when following your field’s general trends are essential, every photographer needs to maintain some individuality in their work.
If you’re stepping into the professional wedding photography circle, you must try to do something that distinguishes your work from others. This can only be done if you show your style in whatever shoots you do. Practice with your gear as much as you can and try finding out your most special photography technique. It could be anything, ranging from the use of unique filters to a little play with shadows.
Once you’ve figured out your unique point, make sure you keep repeating it in all of your shoots. This way, your style will become commonly accepted in the field. Such a unique style may also get many people to recognize you clearly and can become a reason behind couples choosing you for their special day’s shoot.
At first, finding your specific and unique style can be very hard. Thankfully, a user-friendly and an easy to customize camera like the Nikon D90 can help you practice different shooting ideas fearlessly and easily. Such a camera feature makes the photographers fearless, allowing them to try out unique modes and balances, thus helping them find their style easily.
Know Your Camera
Almost every expert photographer would advise the new ones in the field to become friends with the gear they use, and the wedding photographers are no exception. If you’ve ever shot a wedding, you must know how quickly time passes over there. The time for the main wedding ceremony is usually minimal, and the photographer needs to speed up as much as possible.
You might miss out on the most important moments if you’re shooting like a sloth, which may lead the couple to regret their decision to choose you. This means that you don’t just need to take good photos but are also needed to work very quickly, capturing as much of the event as possible.
Such a speed can’t be achieved unless you are an expert in setting up your camera and working with it without any confusion. In other words, you need to know your camera well enough so that you don’t find it hard changing and customizing its settings no matter what. Such a comfort level while using a device can’t be achieved unless you use it as much as possible.
You need to practice with your gear so much that you remember all its functions on your fingertips, thus needing no time to set it up. Lucky for you if you’ve got the Nikon D90. This camera has some of the easiest features and settings that won’t take a lot of your time in knowing them. Also, this camera’s long battery life allows you to practice with it for as long as you want, thus making sure that you and your camera become friends in no time.
Frame Your Pictures Well
Imagine working tirelessly on deciding the best venue, getting the best lights, and teaching your clients the best poses for their wedding shoot. You’re all ready to capture the most memorable moments from their wedding and even do so with the camera settings at their best.
Everything goes perfectly, and as planned only until you go home, open the photos for editing, and find out that most important of all, the pictures have been ruined just because they weren’t framed nicely. How are you going to face the couple who put all their trust in you? You sure don’t want such a bad thing happening to you any time in your wedding photography career.
This is why you must give prime importance to framing your pictures well. Undoubtedly, the wedding shoots are all quick and full of hassle. However, before clicking every picture, you need to take your time, setting the best possible frame for every shot. A well-framed photo not only looks great but also proves of your professionalism and talent as a wedding photographer.
An excellent way to frame all your shots well is by setting your camera’s grid-screen mode on. A feature also found in Nikon D90, grid-screen divides your selected frame into equal halves, allowing you to set the subject in the best possible position and ensuring a perfect frame for each photo you take.
Manage Your Gear
When you turn into a professional wedding photographer, there’s no way you can rely on just one camera for the shoot. Instead, you’d have so much gear and other related items with you that you won’t be able to keep them with you throughout the shoot.
Managing such extensive equipment could be a huge problem, primarily if you’re covering the entire event all alone. Things can become annoying if your cameras and stands aren’t placed neatly at a single spot. This is why you need to manage all your gear so well that you can pick out anything you need from it within seconds and without having to find it.
Such management can be ensured if you get a specified van or a shed for yourself right behind the shoot location. This way, you can easily access your devices and tools without missing out on the event of falling short of time. However, if you can’t make such arrangements, it’s better to use the gear with fewer accessories and clutter.
The Nikon D90 is an excellent example of such an easily manageable gear. This camera is strong, has a long battery like that usually lasts throughout the event, and is comfortable to hold without needing a tripod or any other support. With a camera like this, your gear management becomes easier, allowing you more time to focus on the actual shoot and giving your best in it.
