Tips for great wedding and party photos

Weddings and parties are a great opportunity to capture fantastic photos of friends and family, but with so much going on in a short period of time it’s far from straightforward. Whether you are attending simply as a guest, or the hosts have asked you to take pictures to supplement a professional photographer, make sure you’re prepared for the big day with our tips for great wedding and party photos.

Let the pro do the hard work

While the professional photographer is busy organising the formal group pictures, you have a brilliant opportunity to take candid shots of the guests. After the ceremony, turn around and take photos of friends and family happily watching the bride and groom.

Also, by shadowing the pro you can snatch the formal shots, and you may even pick up some tips on how they work.

Know your camera

Take some time before the day to get familiar with your camera settings so you know exactly what you’re doing on the day. There’s nothing worse than fiddling about with the settings as the confetti falls or the cake is cut, and you’ve missed the moment.

On to the reception

The reception will almost certainly be romantically (or in other words, poorly) lit. For this stage of the day, set your ISO to 400 or 800 and make good use of the flash. For group shots remember to use the red eye setting – and for small groups odd numbers of three or five people look best.

Get close to your subjects, but not too close – the ideal range for built-in flash is between two to four metres. If you have a separate flash gun, bounce the flash off the wall/ceiling for a softer effect.

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• Spare batteries – built-in flash can drain batteries much faster than usual. Keep spare fully charged batteries for both your camera and flash gun in your pocket.
• Spare memory cards – you will take more pictures than you think, so to avoid a hasty edit at a crucial moment take all your spare memory cards. Keep full cards in a different pocket to empty ones.
• Flash gun – definitely worth using if you have one, as it will increase battery life for your camera and you will get better shots. Don’t forget to ask permission to use flash in the church/reception rooms.
• Take as little as possible – keep spares and accessories in your pockets or handbag. You will spend less time fiddling around and will be less obtrusive.

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Assuming there isn’t much natural light, select an ISO setting of 800, use aperture priority and set as wide an aperture as possible to ensure you get a sharp image. Setting the white balance to ‘cloudy’ or ‘shade’ will maximise the effect of stage lighting.

Most importantly, get close to the stage – the nearer you are to your subject, the better chance you have of the flash hitting your subject.