Master's Guide to Wedding Photography : Capturing Unforgettable Moments and Lasting Impressions

Marcus Bell is an accomplished wedding photographer based in Australia. In this book, he discuss about his story, style and business. Bell discusses how he combines landscape, human interest and photojournalism into his style. Like other wedding photography book, Bell discusses typical walk through of a wedding with plenty images. Instead of a diagram, Bell shows how he positioned himself in a third person view which is very useful. For Bell, shooting wedding is only 1/3 of the job. Bell also stressed on the important of digital image editing and printing. Having a clear pre-visualization and choosing medium for print is crucial. Bell also give some tips about business, studio design and sales tip based on his own experience running Studio Impressions. Lastly, Bell discuss about equipments he used on his typical wedding job. This book does not discuss about technical aspect of shooting a wedding, such as what lens to use, what camera setting to use, etc. So that it is not very suitable for beginners. However, for aspiring wedding photographer or seasoned photographer who want to get to know highly artistic and successful master photographer, this book will give you many insights to improve your craft. For more review, news and articles about photography books and gears, please visit my blog. The address is on my profile page. Thanks for reading. TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 FOREWORD 6 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 7 INTRODUCTION 8 How Wedding Photography Has Changed 9 A Different Approach 13 1. WHAT SHAPES YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY? 14 Pivotal Moments in Your Life 14 The Influence of Other Artists 17 Learning from the Masters 17 Influential Photographers 19 Your Clients’ Perspectives 20 A Grandmother’s Love 22 Colleen’s Story 24 Summary 24 2. CREATING YOUR OWN STYLE 25 What is Style? 25 Applying Your Life Experience to the Shoot 26 Get Passionate 26 The Style Equation 27 Don’t Be Led Astray 27 3. THE PERFECT WEDDING IMAGE 28 What Makes a Good Photograph? 28 Lighting 29 Composition Basics 29 Tips for Success 33 Make a Mental Shoot List 33 See the Moment (and Improve It) 33 Hone Your People Skills 38 Get Organized 40 Know the Locations 41 Photograph the Guests 43 Each Wedding is Different 46 Summary 47 4. THE EVENT AS IT UNFOLDS 49 The Engagement Shoot 50 The Bride 50 Preparations 50 Details 52 Key Relationships 52 The Bride’s Family Portrait 52 The Bridal Attendants 52 A Proud Day 53 The Bridal Portrait 54 The Groom 54 Details 54 Portrait of a Man 55 Key Relationships 55 The Groom’s Family Portrait 56 The Groomsmen 57 An Anxious Wait 57 Guests Arriving 57 The Bride Arrives 60 The Ceremony 60 Father and Daughter 60 Here Comes the Bride 61 The Vows 61 Outdoor and Nontraditional Ceremonies 63 Traditions, Culture, and Religion 63 Architecture 64 Additional Details 64 After the Ceremony 67 Introducing the Newlyweds 67 Congratulations 69 Love Flows 69 Location, Location, Location 69 The Bridal Party 72 The Couple 72 The Reception 72 Fine Details 74 A Slideshow to Cherish 74 5. SELLING YOUR PRODUCTS 75 Determining Your Studio’s Image 76 The Initial Interview 76 First Impressions 77 Directing the Interview 78 Handling Objections 80 Selling After Clients Have Booked 81 Presenting the Image 81 Additional Tips for Selling 82 Provide Honest, Professional Advice 82 Sell Your Work as Art 83 Show Clients the Value of Photography 83 Offer Prepurchase Options 83 Pricing 83 6. CREATING A MASTER IMAGE 84 The Basic Principles 84 Exposure 86 Dodging and Burning 86 Contrast (Paper Grade) 86 Color 86 Grain 86 Having Direction and Vision 88 Center of Interest 88 Impact 88 Composition 88 Create the Mood 88 Creating a Great Base 88 Check for Exposure Limitations 88 Create Layers 89 Additional Shadow Detail 89 Applying Detail 89 Save the File 90 Flatten the Image 90 Noise Reduction 90 Remove Dust and Distracting Elements 91 Capture Sharpening 91 Applying Your Vision and Shaping Your Print 91 Exposure 91 Dodging and Burning 91 Contrast 92 Color 92 Black & White 93 Selective Softness 93 Grain 93 Sharpness 94 7. PRINTING AND PRESENTATION 95 Printing 95 Output Sharpening 96 Add Noise 96 Soft Proofing 96 Selecting Your Print Medium 96 Presentation Basics 97 Research 97 The Test of Time 97 Additional Products 98 Fine-Art Products 98 The Classic Gallery Print 98 Canvas Prints 100 Portfolio Collections 101 8. ALBUMS AND ART BOOKS 103 Image Selection 103 Design Principles 104 Research 104 Composition 104 Types of Albums 105 Classic Albums 105 Magazine Albums 105 Combination Albums 106 Art Book Collections 106 What Does a Great Album Mean? 108 9. EQUIPMENT AND WORKFLOW 114 Equipment 114 Budget 114 Camera 115 Computer Hardware 115 Software 117 Digital Workflow 117 Quality 119 Time Management 119 Cost Management 121 File Management 121 Sample Digital Workflow 121 Image Capture 121 Image Downloads 122 Image Editing 122 Image Processing 123 In Closing 123 CONCLUSION 124 In Review 124 Moving Ahead 125 Establish the Right Mind-Set 125 Find Your Space to Dream 125 Make Plans to Live Your Dreams 125 In Closing 125 INDEX 126 1584281979,9781584281979 TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 4 FOREWORD......Page 6 ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 7 INTRODUCTION......Page 8 How Wedding Photography Has Changed......Page 9 A Different Approach......Page 13 Pivotal Moments in Your Life......Page 14 Learning from the Masters......Page 17 Influential Photographers......Page 19 Your Clients’ Perspectives......Page 20 A Grandmother’s Love......Page 22 Summary......Page 24 What is Style?......Page 25 Get Passionate......Page 26 Don’t Be Led Astray......Page 27 What Makes a Good Photograph?......Page 28 Composition Basics......Page 29 See the Moment (and Improve It)......Page 33 Hone Your People Skills......Page 38 Get Organized......Page 40 Know the Locations......Page 41 Photograph the Guests......Page 43 Each Wedding is Different......Page 46 Summary......Page 47 4. THE EVENT AS IT UNFOLDS......Page 49 Preparations......Page 50 The Bridal Attendants......Page 52 A Proud Day......Page 53 Details......Page 54 Key Relationships......Page 55 The Groom’s Family Portrait......Page 56 Guests Arriving......Page 57 Father and Daughter......Page 60 The Vows......Page 61 Traditions, Culture, and Religion......Page 63 Additional Details......Page 64 Introducing the Newlyweds......Page 67 Location, Location, Location......Page 69 The Reception......Page 72 A Slideshow to Cherish......Page 74 5. SELLING YOUR PRODUCTS......Page 75 The Initial Interview......Page 76 First Impressions......Page 77 Directing the Interview......Page 78 Handling Objections......Page 80 Presenting the Image......Page 81 Provide Honest, Professional Advice......Page 82 Pricing......Page 83 The Basic Principles......Page 84 Grain......Page 86 Check for Exposure Limitations......Page 88 Applying Detail......Page 89 Noise Reduction......Page 90 Dodging and Burning......Page 91 Color......Page 92 Grain......Page 93 Sharpness......Page 94 Printing......Page 95 Selecting Your Print Medium......Page 96 The Test of Time......Page 97 The Classic Gallery Print......Page 98 Canvas Prints......Page 100 Portfolio Collections......Page 101 Image Selection......Page 103 Composition......Page 104 Magazine Albums......Page 105 Art Book Collections......Page 106 What Does a Great Album Mean?......Page 108 Budget......Page 114 Computer Hardware......Page 115 Digital Workflow......Page 117 Time Management......Page 119 Image Capture......Page 121 Image Editing......Page 122 In Closing......Page 123 In Review......Page 124 In Closing......Page 125 INDEX ......Page 126

from The History Of Photography And How To Shoot Wedding Portraits To Creating Stylish Albums And Working With Digital Output, Everything A Wedding Photographer Needs To Know Is Included In This All-encompassing Manual. Photographers Are Provided With A Shooting Guide That Walks Them Through The Wedding Day And Offers Advice On A Variety Of Topics—including Integrating Detail, Capturing The Walk Down The Aisle, Working In And Out Of Doors, And Finding And Illustrating Key Relationships. Traditional And “in” Methods Of Wedding Photography Are depicted in An Educational Timeline That Explores Past, Present, And Future Trends In The Field; Current Photo Manipulation Software, Such As Adobe Photoshop And Compatible Plug-ins, Are Also Discussed. Emphasis Is Placed On Client Interaction Both Before And After The Big Day, Transforming Prints Into Fine Arts Products, And Developing And Fine-tuning A Creative Shooting Style.

studio Photography

bell Offers Tips On Developing Your Photographic Style, Nurturing Client Relationships, Personalizing Your Approach To Each Wedding, And Presenting Standout Images And Album Designs.

While there are some classic standouts, most of the images are stiff and lack any display of emotion. The images are usually yellowish, sometimes torn, or permanently attached to the glass in the very old frame. Rarely were the images presented in an album those images that were presented in an album were typically attached to the pages using glued tags that have long since lost their adhesive qualities. Sometimes the images are scat-tered through different parts of the family and do not show the story of the wedding day. There was certainly some beautiful portraiture done of weddings, and the few wedding albums that exist are very classic in their structure. One thing about past wedding photography remains the same today: it holds incredible sentimental value for the couple, their relatives, and friends. How wonderful is it to sit down with your siblings and look through images of your ancestors and hear stories about them? This is still the key to the runaway success of con-temporary wedding photography. From the history of photography and how to shoot wedding portraits to creating stylish albums and working with digital output, everything a wedding photographer needs to know is included in this all encompassing manual. Photographers are provided with a shooting guide that walks them through the wedding day and offers advice on a variety of topics—including integrating detail, capturing the walk down the aisle, working in and out of doors, and finding and illustrating key relationships. Traditional and “in” methods of wedding photography are depicted in an educational timeline that explores past, present, and future trends in the field; current photo manipulation software, such as Adobe Photoshop and compatible plugins, are also discussed. Emphasis is placed on client interaction both before and after the big day, transforming prints into fine arts products, and developing and fine tuning a creative shooting style. A guide for professionals that discusses photographic style; preparation for wedding photography; how to capture specific moments of a wedding as the day unfolds; technical aspects; printing and presentation; albums; equipment; time management; and other topics