TOOLS
You need some tools to start with. I’m referring to the tools of business, not the tools you do business with. There is a difference. One will let you down, one will bring you down.

As a Wedding Photographer you are expected to be both an artist, technician, business person and a compassionate human being. To this I add, Psychiatrist, (aka The Runaway Bride) Master of Ceremonies, Arbitrator and sometimes a Religious Sponsor (like Jessie Jackson was for Michael Jackson, what a great job he did!). 

You will also have purchased or rented suitable backup gear and be all knowing of photographic equipment especially digital gear, their idiosyncrasies, and purpose. You will be strong in portraiture or studio work so you know about lighting and facial size, proportion, angles and layouts. You will know the layout, lighting, paths of the Church, the Synagogue or Mosque, its rules, the Officiate, and memorized the reception beforehand.

  •  As trends change and as the consumer becomes aware of different trends and vogues, you have to increase your schooling with classes and seminars. You will expected to be early, stick with schedules, and stay late because we knew the Bride will never ever be on time. With all that expected of you, what’s the essence of the mentality to succeed in this game... 

  •  Preparation - Training - Business Sense - and most important of all the ability to laugh it off...A sense of humor is a good start. 

GUIDES:
Guides and lists help keep things on track... A wedding is like that train ride I spoke about. As long as you stay on track things go well but a train that jumps track is an accident. Few trains ever jump back on track and it’d chaos from there. 

DIVERSIFICATION:
Your wedding photographs may have to reflect a diversification of interests and taste. The entire wedding market has not totally embraced PJ efforts and there are still many out there who are traditionalists.

Big Southern Weddings especially. Because every couple is different, just as their family profiles are different, there is a chance without some form of list you might be shooting out in the cold. The initial interview with the Bride and advisors is vital to the clarification of the entire process.

I’m not referring to the weather either. A whole bunch of shots of insignificant people at the affair means lost revenue. Here is what some consider the “must-have” shots. By giving the Bride a chance to go over the list you save stress on yourself by ensuring that you will get the shots the Bride and you want. Get these in the bag and then go PJ or the hunter mode. So in these lists we combined traditional and PJ and a few off the wall scenarios.

TRADITION, TRADITION!
Traditions change, we know people are different. Doves might be the thing to do at a very traditional wedding but Bats might be the right thing at a “Goth” ceremony. 

Pets are also being invited more and more to Weddings with some startling interludes. One was recently shown on Americas Funniest Videos. 

Twenty years after the Wedding is long forgotten they’ll still be talking about what the pooches were doing.

Ethnicities may warrant a change in plans. Same sex Weddings, or companionship vows may warrant a few changes. 

In England as mentioned I have seen on several websites, groomsmen doing some really obscene pranks. “Mooning” and genital exposure in one series posted to the web. 

In one of my other articles I explain how the photographer “handled the situation”. Shrinkage in Photoshop really offset the prank and made the guy look like an idiot.  He’s the talk of the town now but not of “penile envy”.  

I left room at the bottom of each for you to add your own. Some suggestions might seem to be a little odd. The funny part is I have seen some of them happen. I also will offer this in editable PDF format allowing you to change the sequence and make your own list. Download it, copy it, have a couple laughs, save a copy for the Wedding Director after you clean up the few laughs in there. The Funny version first. List two is the more serious version. 

THE SHOOT LIST
PRIOR TO CEREMONY 

  •  Girls getting dressed, doing hair and makeup (knocking on door is optional so you can really get some good stuff) 
  •  Bride alone in mirror, singing “mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” 
  •  Mirror cracking.
  •  Mother helping Bride adjusting dress and fighting back the daughter’s tears.
  •  Bride not happy about those two pounds. 
  •  Shoe Shots (PJ) Bow Shots, Bra shots, T-back shots. Special Hair Shots when hairspray ignites from Brides cigarette.
  •  Mother adjusting bride’s veil seeing if two layers of Neosporin helps.
  •  Bride pinning boutonniere on father’s lapel.
  •  Bride giving bouquets to bridesmaids.
  •  Collective shot of Bridesmaids, use super wide lens if all of them are size 18 or better.
  •  Bride pinning corsage on mother, holding back the tears of joy from getting out of the same house with that woman.
  •  Limo to the Church, hurry, they only rented it for one hour and that was three hours ago. 

LIMOUSINE TO THE CHURCH AND ARRIVAL 

  •  Get bridal party member tripping on dress, falling flat on face (after all it’s PJ)
  •  Shots of limo at wrong door, send limo to right door.
  •  Now get the right shots of limo arriving.
  •  Get shots of driver wanting check for four hours OT because the girls were late.
  •  Front Steps to the Church with all the folks arriving who didn’t read the note to use the side door.
  •  People Arriving (PJ) Just shoot them all.
  •  Back room with everybody nervous and waiting. good time for some more of those PJ terrific based shots of Jockey shorts and Shoe laces of really stupid looking cheap vinyl patent leather rental shoes. 
  •  Last minute adjustments
  •  Head Count, all there, get shot of processional order
  •  Check the Grooms room for last minute shots (PJ)
  •  Have a “couple shots with the boys”, you know they smuggled something in.
  •  Relax, they’ll get the groom sober before he goes out there. 

POST FORMAL SHOTS 
  •  Exterior view of the ceremony site
  •  First kiss as husband and wife
  •  Bride and father, bride and mother
  •  Groom and father, groom and mother
  •  Bride and groomsmen
  •  Groom and bridesmaids
  •  Bride and maid/matron of honor
  •  Groom and best man hugging.
  •  The Grandparents and other important relatives being ignored as usual.
  •  Bride and groom lighting unity candle and she reminding him how much fun the hot wax thingy was... 
  •  Candid of clergy congratulating bride and groom looking for the check.
  •  Ceremony portraits with no flash because it’s a Catholic Church and they are too close to the alter resulting in yellow portraiture.
  •  Step Parents - very hot subject.
  •  Step Children, adopted children, missing children.
  •  Any pets at ceremony (becoming popular) and a few embarrassing situations.
  •  Former Step Parents (third time around ?)

 

THE RECEPTION SHOTS: 
  •  Bride tossing bouquet
  •  Someone catching the bouquet, tripping over the chairs, falling on butt knocking two other women down.
  •  Groom tossing lunch from too much booze
  •  Groom tossing garter, former girlfriend catching the garter, Bride tossing a right hook.
  •  Newlywed’s first dance, groom steps on Brides dress.
  •  Father’s last dance with daughter, in tears….of joy.
  •  Flower girl dancing with ring bearer, how cute as he grabbed her ass.
  •  Topless dancer from Bachelor party dancing on table
  •  Guests dancing getting really nasty
  •  Bride’s father with pockets turned inside out, he was mugged behind building..
  •  Close-ups of hands, rings, fake Rolexes
  •  Band or DJ’s for the impending lawsuit because they played too much RAP.
  •  DJ trying to cop a little from the cute bridesmaid during his tenth break.
  •  Guests throwing rice, bubbles, balloons, condoms, firecrackers, grenades (popular in some countries)
  •  Releasing Doves, Butterflies, Bats, Flatulence and really dumb toasts.
  •  Cake Cutting Ceremony
  •  Bride with cake alone, and Groom with cheap Grooms cake alone
  •  Cake table, Cutting the cake, Groom smearing cake on Bride
  •  Bride clobbering Groom….Groom with idiot look on face
  •  Groom admitting his friends said “she’d, change but didn’t think this soon”.
  •  Best man toasting bride and groom.
  •  Groom slugging best man for comments about Brides hooters.
  •  Bride and groom silhouetted against stained glass window of Church as rock comes flying through from ex-wife. 

OUTSIDE
  •  Best man and Groomsmen decorating the car and attaching the rear axle to a fireplug with a chain.
  •  Best man and Groomsmen being told it was the wrong car.
  •  Couple kissing good-bye and getting into car, limo or carriage driving away
  •  Rear axle ripping out of the car as the fireplug goes off and angry Priest wanting to know who did this to his car.
  •  Exterior of wedding location with fireplug sending showers of water in the air, Guests falling all over the lawn, waving goodbye, a few birdies. Police and fire departments responding. 

Additional really stupid things that happen: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________