Genuine Emotion: How to Capture WeddingsPaul Lucia captures the happy couple on their special day with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and SP 70-200mm VC lenses. |
Article by Jenn Gidman Images by Paul Lucia |
Paul Lucia's love for photography started in college, grew as he became the official creator and keeper of his family's photo albums, and is now manifesting itself through his wedding photography in the churches, gardens, and wineries of the San Francisco Bay Area. Paul uses a combination of two Tamron lenses before, during, and after the "I do's": the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC and SP 70-200mm VC. |
"I always work with a second shooter, so I'll confer with him or her to see which lens is being used, then I'll use the other one," he says. "The 24-70 is my go-to lens for static shots of the venue; the 70-200 is such a versatile lens for pretty much everything else, from the ceremony and reception festivities to portraits of the bride and groom getting ready to detail shots of the rings. With the Vibration Compensation feature, I don't have to worry about missing a shot in low-light situations because I'm taking those extra few seconds to adjust my ISO. Some of those wedding memories last a split second, so the VC is invaluable in that way to ensure I get sharp pictures of those special moments." |
Paul offers his tips for capturing the happy occasion, whether you've been commissioned to be the main photographer for the event or you're simply attending as a guest. |
Capture the true emotions of the day. |
This is especially true with children at weddings: Getting the flower girl as she's genuinely smiling is totally different than trying to duplicate or stage that same image. She might be able to turn on a smile for you, like she's been taught, but it won't be as natural as the real thing you can capture if you're on your game. |
Prep beforehand to ensure the best lighting. |
I use natural light as much as I can. Generally I'll look for areas with soft, diffused light when I'm at a wedding. The diffuser that came with my camera works really well for me. During the reception, I'll often use a flash and bounce it off wherever I can. |
I don't have time to use reflectors at weddings, though I will use them during engagement sessions, simply because I have more time. The only time I think I tapped into reflectors during an actual wedding was a really small event with just five people: the bride, groom, myself, an assistant, and the witness. We went down to San Francisco City Hall for the ceremony, then to Union Square for pictures; I treated it like an engagement session and was able to use reflectors to enhance the light because I had the luxury of time and a small group. |
Put the bride and groom at ease. |
On the actual wedding day, watch their body language. You'll be able to tell who's controlled and who's not. It's nebulous: You can be assertive with some people, but with people who are more shy, you have to be quieter and let them come out on their own. |
To put my subjects in a calm place, I have a couple of tricks. I'll take a few shots and then say, "Perfect, we've got it." They think I've already gotten a certain image, which instantly relaxes them - then I take some more pictures. I reinforce as I go along, saying, "Oh my gosh, you're beautiful, you just nailed it. I can't believe how these pictures look." I just keep building them up. To instill even more confidence, I tell the bride, "You're going to be the first person to see these images; if you don't like a certain photo, no one ever has to see it." |
Another trick I use (often during the reception) involves my second photographer. We'll cheat by making the bride and groom think one of us is taking the pictures when really the other one is. For instance, I'll drop my camera down, and the bride and groom will start paying attention to the second shooter instead of me because they don't think I'm taking the picture. That works much better than having them stand there and smile for you with those staged, forced smiles. You're not getting the true emotion I talked about that way. |
Position the bride and groom in the most flattering ways. |
I always try, for instance, to give the bride an "S" curve - I show her how and where to bend to achieve that look. If she's petite, I can move her around any way I want to and it's going to turn out well. But you have to look at the body type. For a pear-shaped bride, for instance, I might position her lying down, with her head on her hands, on the grounds of a golf course or garden area. I place the groom next to her and blur out the background so I get this nice, white flow that's really flattering. |
Another bride I recently photographed wanted to accentuate her bust, so I had her lean forward slightly toward the groom and look into his eyes, which subtly achieved the look she wanted. Another bride was self-conscious of her arms, so I rested her arms around the groom's neck, then had him do the same, with his arm covering hers on the side facing the camera. I can achieve the same effect if the bride has long hair that's not in an updo by having her hair cascade down to cover the upper part of her arms. |
One thing I always do is ask the bride and groom to simply switch positions after I've taken a particular shot. You'd be surprised how much of a difference such a little request like that can make in the next image. |
Don't fall prey to the "showstopper." |
You don't want to ignore a person like this, though. If I do that, what I've found is that she'll get peeved as I'm trying to capture the bride or other members of the wedding party and start jumping in front of the camera. What I do in those cases is tell her she's beautiful, take the shot, and move on. Then she moves on, too, because she thinks she's had her picture taken. I never show the bride those shots! |
Look where the pros are standing for the best perspective. |