A Does of Photography: How To Shoot a Wedding Alone

One of the most common things that you will  find about wedding photographers is that they tend to operate in teams. You see, this allows them the capacity to capture every special moment, and not to miss a single beat. However, there are instances when a photographer has to work alone.

So how does a wedding photographer shoot alone? We are going to be taking a look at the different ways this is possible, and bringing you up to speed on how a solo wedding photographer will work.

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

So when you’re the wedding photographer working for somewhere like Wure and you need to shoot alone, you’ll find that you’re going to want to prepare in advance. This is without a doubt the best way to ensure success, because you’re taking the time to analyse the situation and the venue and the circumstances before anything happens.

This will involve doing things like going to the venue a few days before and taking a look at all the lighting and how everything will look when it’s all been decorated. You’re going to want to stop and think about style and location, as well as how you want to position yourself to capture the very best moments possible.

There’s definitely a lot to take in.

Have a Checklist

To be completely honest, when you’re checking things off a list, it becomes a lot easier to provide the quality content that people are looking for.

A lot of wedding photographers who are working solo have a list of shots they absolutely have to take, as well as the list of shots they want to take. They tick things off one at a time and it helps them to move progressively from one point to the next, working with the bride and groom to provide them with the highest level of wedding standards. Obviously, they don’t have the luxury of an assistant or another team member to work with, so they have to be solely responsible for getting everything.

In this regard, it helps to coordinate with the bride and groom and let them know that you’re working the venue so low, so any and all requests need to be submitted to you, as well as their understanding that you will get everything that you may not do it in the way they initially conceived, or which fits with any conceptions they had about the wedding photography process.

Trust Your Skillset

Taking photos for a wedding by yourself can be quite a challenging experience. Not only is it a test of your abilities, it’s also a test of your confidence and your ability to work under pressure. You are the only one who can take the shots, and this can naturally create a massive feeling of expectation which can overwhelm less experienced photographers and leave them paralyzed with self-doubt.

It’s absolutely imperative therefore, that you have faith in your abilities and your capacity to get the job done. You need to remember that whatever you do provide, will be of the same exceptional quality that you’ve always created. We understand that it can be a massive struggle. People who are used to working in a team may especially find the transition to solo gigs exceptionally difficult to adjust to.

However, you can do this and you will. But you have to remember that you are just human and so is everyone else. Get to know the guests and people at the wedding. If you can build a rapport with them and work with them to get these great shots, not only will you feel more confident about what you’re doing, but you also help to create a better atmosphere.

To summarize, there are a lot of things which the solo photographer can do to shoot the wedding by themselves. However it is so important that you have faith in your abilities, and that you understand people are human and do not expect absolute perfection from you, but just what they want. Always remember that you are there at the discretion of the customer and the client, and that everything you do should be in pursuit of giving them the best experience. If you can manage that, everything else will fall into place.

Photos from Unsplash