Being asked to be the photographer for a wedding is a big responsibility.If you are doing it as a favor, or if you are doing it as your profession, following these 5 tips will help you do the job right.

This tips are coming from first hand experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned pro, or if you are an amateur, by following these tips, you won’t second guess yourself.You will be ready for whatever may happen.

Our first tip is pretty simple and that is to have the couple and their families make a list for you of shots they want to take.When you know the day will be hectic and chaotic, doing this will help you get the family and group shots later on in the day more smoothly.You will love how you can just go through your list and get all the shots you want without leaving anything out.

The second tip on our list is to not delete any shots.  In this day and age of digital cameras, most photographers use them.  Great as they are, they also are tempting to delete a shot since it is so easy to do.Don’t bother even peeking at the previews.What you think may be a great photo, can differ widely in what the couple considers a great photo.You never know, they might like all those so called un “professional shots.

For the the third tip, make sure you get candid shots during and after the wedding.A good wedding photographer doesn’t look to just take your typical shots, like group shots, or wedding shots or your standard newly married shots.  But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there.It could include things that don’t go perfectly, like a flower girl not wanting to walk down the aisle or the ring bearer making a wrong turn.Every photo matters.

The fourth one to consider, and something that can easily be overlooked is to make sure you have several cameras with several lenses as backup.Do you even want to think of a moment like that of not having a working camera halfway through the wedding.  Plan for anything that could go wrong.By being ready with extra equipment, you will avoid the uncomfortable time of not being able to take any more pictures of the wedding day with a broken camera.

Finally, you have to be prepared for the lighting and you do that by practicing. Don’t get thrown a curveball by the different lighting conditions whether inside the church or outside, practice and you will be prepared. You should try and see if you can scout the locations for the big day and try and find the best spots to shoot as well as gauging the lighting needs.

Following these 5 great tips will help you greatly on that special day.  It will prepare you for whatever might go wrong, it will prepare you for capturing what goes right, and it will prepare you to help contribute to this wonderful day by being the best photographer you can be.  Take it from my years of experience as a San Diego photographer.