The Ask Anything series is back!! Now that we are in the off season, I can get back to blogging for photographers! Last year I started an “Ask Anything” blog series that covered various photography topics. Since then, I’ve been keeping a running list of new topics I’d like to cover and now it’s time for me to get back to them! Today’s topic is pretty simple and obvious, but SO important!!

I’ve always said that the experience that I provide for my couples is just as important as the final result! And in addition to that, I want the guests to have a fantastic experience as well! I want to be able to enhance their experience as guests and not do anything that would take away from that! So being able to shoot the ceremony in a way that is inconspicuous and not distracting while still capturing all the important moments is KEY! One of the best compliments I can get from a guest after the ceremony is that they didn’t even realize I was there!

Finding a way to capture the ceremony thoroughly and creatively while ensuring I am not a distraction to guests can be quick tricky at times. I want to be able to move around the ceremony space so that I can capture different parts of the service from different angles. I want to get both the bride and grooms face during the vows, the parents as they watch the ceremony, the bride coming down the aisle, a wide shot of the whole space and more! And there is just no way to get all of that from the back of the room! So here are a few tips and tricks for capturing the ceremony thoroughly AND inconspicuously!

Silent Shutter Mode. This is the simplest and easiest way to make yourself less noticeable. Most professional camera bodies will have a quiet or silent shutter mode that makes the shutter noise less noticeable. It won’t make it completely silent, but it’s definitely a lot quieter and less distracting than regular mode!

Plan positioning ahead of time. Before the ceremony starts, you’ll want to come up with a concrete plan on how you (and any additional shooters) plan to tackle to ceremony. You’ll want to know where you plan to stand at each point in the ceremony so that you can move as little as possible. There are certain parts of the ceremony that are best shot from the front (vows, bride walking down aisle, etc) and others are best from the back (kiss, recessional, etc.). But you don’t want to be running back and forth between the front and back of the ceremony multiple times. So by having a plan in place, you can minimize how much you’ll need to move around while still capturing the service thoroughly and from the most ideal spots.

Blend in. One of the most difficult parts of the ceremony to capture is the bride walking down the aisle. Every bride wants that shot of her walking down the aisle to her future husband. But getting a clear shot down the aisle without being super distracting can be a little tricky. The way I like to approach this is by crouching down in front of the mother of the bride right before the bride is about to walk down. Once the bride starts to walk down and all the guests are standing, I can stand as well since everyone is looking back at the bride and not at the front where I’m standing. This also give me a great vantage point to get a shot of the groom as he sees his bride walking down the aisle!

Shoot slowly. During the reception and even portraits on the wedding day, I tend to shoot pretty rapid fire so that I don’t miss any special moments! But during the ceremony, I reallllyyyy slow it down. Things are moving much slower during the ceremony, so there really isn’t a need to shoot as fast. And there is nothing more distracting than hearing a shutter constantly going off during the ceremony. So this is when you’ll want to be really intentional about shooting slowly and less frequently, especially during the more quiet intimate moments of the ceremony.

Use a Long Lens. Everyone wants that money shot of the bride and groom as they say their vows to each other during the ceremony. But if you’re shooting with a 50 mm, you’re going to have be up their noses to get those close-up intimate shots! By using a lens with a long focal length, you can hang back and out of the way while still capturing those special intimate moments!

So those are just a few quick tips on how to shoot the ceremony thoroughly while not being a distraction to guests! If there are any other particular topics you’d like to see in my Ask Anything series, please let me know! Here are a few past topics that may interest you!

How to Get Creamy Bokeh

How to do a Same-Day Slideshow

5 Tips for Shooting in Natural Light

What’s in My Bag?