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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.  So whether you are seasoned pro, or a rank amateur, if you follow these tips, you will feel comfortable and not have to second guess yourself.  You will be fully prepared for whatever may come.

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 the day is hectic and chaotic, this will help immensely when you are trying to get family and group shots later on in the day.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 might tempt you to delete a shot they may like that you don’t since it is so easy to do.  Don’t even look at the previews.What you think may be a great photo, can differ widely in what the couple considers a great photo.You know what, they might like all those un “professional” shots you take.

A third tip to consider is making sure you get candid shots.  A good wedding photographer will not just try and get the typical shots, like family group shots, wedding party shots, or your standard bride and groom.  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 piece of advice is make sure you have back up equipment.Do you even want to think of the horror of not being able to take any more shots of the wedding because of a broken camera.Plan for the worst that could go wrong.By being prepared for the worst and bringing extra cameras and equipment you will avoid the horrible moment fo not having any working cameras to capture the rest of the wedding. day.

Last piece of advice, make sure you know the lighting of the wedding. There can be a huge difference between the lighting inside the wedding and outside, so make sure to practice for all the different possible conditions. 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.

Doing these 5 tips will help you immensely.  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.