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Wedding photography

Recent Wedding photography Articles

How Lightroom 4 Could Have Saved a Wedding Flash Misfire
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As a wedding photographer, there's a certain amount of pressure to get all the "key moment" shots throughout the day. Make sure you get the kiss, dances, tosses, cutting, etc... The list adds up quickly. Despite good preparation, dependable equipment, and anticipation of events, every now and then you're probably going to miss one of these shots.

Free Online Wedding Workshop: 
Location, Posing, Execution
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People often ask me "what is the most difficult part of shooting weddings?" One challenge I face at every wedding is having to pose the bride and groom in less than flattering sunlight or in a less than perfect location. Wedding photographer Roberto Valenzuela is tackling this very issue during his creativeLIVE workshop. Robert's free-to-watch workshop will air September 6-8th and you can ask him anything live through webchat.

The Best Fstoppers’ Posts From August 2012
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Your "Likes", "Tweets", comments and clicks all help us know which are our best posts of the month. And because we don't want anyone to miss any of Fstoppers' goodness we put "The Best of" in a monthly newsletter for you. So, if you think you may have missed anything this last month, check out the top 10 posts and don't forget to sign up for the newsletter if you haven't already.

Bride Drowns During Photoshoot From Heavy Dress
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Today, during a photoshoot in Canada a bride slipped in less than 1 foot of water. The Photographer attempted to pull her out but the dress became too heavy. The bride was swept down stream and then pulled under the water. The bride's body was found a few hours later on the bottom of the river. This will come as a complete shock to most wedding photographers because shooting near or even in water is a very common theme these days.

The Wednesday Rundown 8.22.12
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Howdy everyone and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. This week we have a cool trash the dress shoot that ends with an underwater shoot. Also check out the creative modern day pirate shoot. If you have a great and informative video you want to see in the Wednesday Rundown please shoot me an email jerrit@fstoppers.com .

Pre Wedding Photos in Jaipur India
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If your wedding client asked to have a customized pre wedding shoot halfway around the world, how would you treat the opportunity? Simeon Quarrie, who has developed a reputation for himself as an incredible creative and committed photographer jumped at the option to be flown to Jaipur, India to shoot in a unique setting for his wedding clients.

Why Bad Wedding Photographers Have Made The Industry Better
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When most photographers stumble upon an ad on Craigslist for a $300 wedding photographer, they get angry. Not only is this "Craigslist photographer" claiming to to be professional when they are not, they are also lowering the value of wedding photography in general, right? How can us "real" professionals ask for thousands of dollars when there are others willing to do it for almost nothing? These are fair assumptions, but I believe bad wedding photographers have made the industry better.

Free Photography Workshop With Celebrity Wedding Photographer Joe Buissink
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Last year, Fstoppers interviewed wedding photographer Joe Buissink who has shot weddings for Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey, Christina Aguliera, and many other A List celebrities. Starting Thursday, August 9th, Joe is sharing all his wedding secrets in a FREE online workshop on creativeLIVE. Check out the FULL POST on how you can watch the event for free August 9 - 11th!

Behind The Scenes on a Trash The Dress Session
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Remember Justin Wojtczak? If not, make sure you watch this video of Patrick surprising him with the news that he won the Fstoppers 2011 BTS Contest. Well Justin is back with his latest behind the scenes video. In this BTSV Justin takes a bride into a creek in the woods of Georgia and shows us how to shoot on a budget.

Finally! It Is Now Possible To License Popular Music For Just $25
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A few years ago, after about 10 phone call attempts, I got in touch with a guy who was in charge of licensing the music for a major band. I wanted to purchase the rights for a single song to to play in the background on my wedding website. I was told that if my budget was below $15,000 he didn't have time to talk to me. Since my budget was around $100, our conversation ended quickly. It has always been practically impossible for individuals to purchase licenses for popular music... until now.

Free creativeLIVE Workshop: Learn Photo/Video Fusion this Weekend
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Update: Live Now! As a wedding photographer myself, I think the most important thing any photographer can do for their business is adding video to their services. I met Rob and Vanessa earlier this year and was excited to hear they are teaching this new "Fusion" video/photo hybrid to other photographers. On June 29 - July 1, creativeLIVE is airing their 3 day workshop for free! Learn how you can easily incorporate video into your photography business from two of the industry's leaders.

How Cropping In Camera Can Improve Your Wedding Photography
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Many photographers start off their careers focusing on wedding photography. I started my career as a wedding photographer in Charleston, and I still enjoy shooting a handful each year. Over the next few months, I hope to share some of my thoughts on wedding photography and how event photographers can improve their photos. Today I was reminded how important "In Camera Cropping" is for emotionally charged photographs. Read the full post to see two examples of how cropping can make or break an image.

Same Day Wedding Edits Can Be The Ultimate Stress
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I've been a full time wedding photographer for the last 7 years. I've been in some stressful situations but at this point I'm prepared for almost any situation. Simeon Quarrie, a photographer/videographer promises many of his clients a finished wedding video during the reception the very same day. These same day edits leave no room for error and you can feel the stress yourself just from watching this video.

Trash the Dress Pictures with the Super Moon
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Sometimes great pictures just show up and all you have to do is press the shutter. The majority of the time, however, they takes careful planning. Andre Fernandes planned out this trash the dress session quite well, taking advantage of a once in a year opportunity using the super moon as a unique background.

The Best Fstoppers’ Posts From April 2012
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Your "Likes", "Tweets", comments and clicks all help us know which are our best posts of the month. And because we don't want anyone to miss any of Fstoppers' goodness we put "The Best of" in a monthly newsletter for you. So, if you think you may have missed anything this last month, check out the top 10 posts and don't forget to sign up for the newsletter if you haven't already.

[Pics] Planets Caught Inside Of Water Drops
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I thought I had seen pretty much every type of water drop photo over the years, then I stumbled upon these. Markus Reugels is a floor installer in Marktsteinach, Germany as well as a part-time photographer. Markus has created a way to reflect images into water drops while capturing said drops in midair.

[Editorial] Photography: Is It Still A Man’s World?
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The majority of my generation doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about gender discrimination and gender issues in their career path, myself included. I actively avoided all the gender studies kids in college, finding their “keg-conversation” a tad too zealous for comfort. However, through my never-ending quest for FS Spotlight subjects, I can’t help noticing that a disproportionate number of renowned photographers are men. “Hm, coincidence?” I wondered. “Or is photography still a man’s world?” My personal impression was that while the world of established, renowned photographers is male-dominated, I know just as many young female photographers as male. But as I stared at the Fstoppers writer’s roster - 17 writers, 15 men, 2 women, I decided it was time to do a bit of research.
These Are The Finalists For The Fstoppers 2011 BTS Contest
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We're so excited to announce the finalists for our 2011 Behind The Scenes Contest. Thank you to EVERYONE who participated. The videos this year really blew us away! We were forced to choose our top 12 videos to make it to the finals instead of the the top 10 we had planned. From this stage, they will be sent off to our celebrity judges for the final round who will choose a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner! Good luck!
The Very Best Posts On Fstoppers From 2011
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The whole gang here at Fstoppers.com truly appreciates your support, "Likes", "Tweets", comments and clicks. They've all helped us know which were our best posts in 2011. And I gotta say, the numbers don't lie. You guys gravitated towards some stellar content this past year and your tastes are impeccable. So what post brought in the biggest numbers? Why tell you when we can show you?

[Business] Last Minute Tax Write Off Ideas For The Professional Photographer
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Well it's the end of the year again which means those of you who run a photography business are probably thinking about tax write offs. We have been getting a few emails about this topic so we put together a little list of some expenses you might want to take care of before the end of 2011. Now many of our readers might not yet support themselves with photography, and that is okay; but at some point down the road you will want to consider how to spend your income so you can maximize the growth of your business. If any of our full time photographer friends have any other suggestions or resources, please leave them in the comments so everyone can benefit from your experience.
[Contest Submission] Fantastic Wedding Photography Tips For All Shooters
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Warning! You now have 3 days to submit your behind the scenes video for our big 2011 contest. I've been a professional wedding photographer for 7 years now and I've seen tons of absurd wedding advice online. Anytime I see a wedding related video submission I think "oh boy, here we go again." I just stumbled upon a video from 375 Photography on our forum that broke the mold. Not only is this video good, it may be one of the best wedding related videos I've seen online. It's informative, entertaining, and the images speak for themselves. No matter how long you have been shooting weddings, you will learn something from Justin and his team.
[News] Wedding Photog Sued Over Music: A Cautionary Tale
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When Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo’s wedding video went viral on YouTube, wedding photographer Joe Simon found himself getting sued for having used Coldplay's "Fix You" as the background music. To avoid a costly lawsuit Joe was forced to take down the video and to pay a settlement along with an agreement to not talk about the incident. Just something for you all to consider when using music for your next wedding videos or while entering contests such as our Fstoppers 2011 BTSC. Don't get caught with your pants down. As wedding videos increase in style, quality and attention, more and more music producers, artists and composers are taking a more serious stance on their copyrights.

[Video] Outside The Softbox: Giving Your Photography Clients An Experience
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I recently came across this video produced by [Framed] Show, and it really made me stop and think about how I run my business...and this is not just for wedding photographers! Sal Cincotta takes a second to put all of the gear, lighting diagrams, inspiration, and BTS videos aside to talk about something that a lot of photographers fail to capitalize on in their own businesses. Treating your clients to "an experience" they will remember and appreciate is probably THE most important thing you can do for your photography business and gaining future clients. Little things like answering your phone and email within 24 hours seems like a no brainer but how many of you take time out to send handwritten thank you notes or personalized gifts as a token of appreciation? The winter season is a great time to revamp how you will engage your clients in the spring and summer so let me ask you this: What are some things you do to improve your relationship with your clients? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and if you have any ideas that aren't wedding based I'm sure everyone would love to hear them.
The Best Fstoppers Posts From October 2011
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Your "Likes", "Tweets", comments and clicks all help us know which are our best posts of the month. And because we don't want anyone to miss any of Fstoppers' goodness we put "The Best of" in a monthly newsletter for you. So, if you missed anything this October check out the top posts of the month and sign up for our newsletter here

Celebrity Weddings: Photographer Joe Buissink on Taking Risks, Making It Big, and Technique
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Joe Buissink is one of the most sought-after wedding photographers in the world. The LA-based photographer has shot for Christina Aguilera, Hilary Swank, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Spielberg, and this week he catches up with Fstoppers to tell us about breaking into the industry at the age of 45, shooting Annie Leibovitz’s sister’s wedding - no pressure, right? - what separates the pros from the amateurs, and why wedding photography is an art. Jump To The Full Post to read my exclusive interview.
Wedding Photography: How Jasmine Star Photographs Preparation Shots
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It's no secret that Lee and I started our photography careers as wedding photographers. Regardless of what anyone says, photographing weddings is an excellent way to sharpen your photography skills since there are so many different types of shots you can plan throughout the day (and make a great living doing it). Usually when you first arrive at a wedding, the first photos your client will probably want you to capture are detail and candid getting ready shots. Superstar wedding photographer Jasmine Star recently released a great video outlining how she approaches these must have shots. If you are a guy then it's probably great advice hearing this from a female perspective so you know what's important to capture. And if Jasmine is reading, what's up with stealing our backgound?
Take Your Product Photography To The Next Level: Catching Up With Richard Gary
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Hey everyone! I'm Reese and I'm excited to be a part of the Fstoppers team. My segment, The FS Spotlight, is a new weekly Q&A session with professional photographers at the absolute top of their field. The interviews are going to touch on everything from from how they reached rock star status to their shooting style to what cameras they shoot with as well as their advice to all aspiring photographers. Click the full post to read my interview with product photographer Richard Gary! As a writer/photographer myself, I want to hear how photographers got to where they are and how they get these amazing shots; but more importantly I want to know what YOU want to hear from them as well. What’s your interest? Surfing? Combat photography? Food? Retouching? If you could score a 5 minute Q&A with any photographer in the world, who would that be? Let me know!
It Was Bound To Happen: The Iphone Wedding
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For some reason people still like to send us videos of photographers using the worst possible camera the iphone for their photoshoots. It's been proven time and time again that you actually can produce some really great images with the most simple of cameras. As a wedding photographer myself, I'll admit, I was a bit shocked at just how good some of these images look in this video. Of course there is no super shallow depth of field, tight reaction shots, or reception strobe images but this still put a smile on my face. And I will even go as far as saying that this presentation even looks better than some wedding photographers' work I've come across during my own career. From the looks of it the bride and groom still had a traditional photographer on hand too so I'm sure the event was well covered. What do you guys think: are you confident enough in your photography skills to pull something like this off?
How To Trick People Into A Great Pose
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No matter if you are photographing people in a wedding, an advertisement campaign, a fierce fashion spread, family portrait, or just a headshot, chances are you are going to need your subjects to show a real human emotion. Throughout my own photography career, I have realized that only about 1% of people can turn on a fake emotion that comes across as genuine in the final photo. The remaining 99% of the population have to experience an expression real time as it happens spontaneously. Jasmine Star is one of the most successful and trend setting wedding photographers on the scene right now and she has created a great video explaining how she strategically fools her clients into "moving into a pose". This technique can work with everyone from normal people to professional models, but where you will really see this sort of coaching succeed is with people who are self conscious and camera shy. Get them to focus on your funny personality or another human interaction around them and let your shutter roll! Do you have any phrases or techniques you have found successful time and time again? Share them in the comments
How To Light Large Groups Of People Evenly
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It's Spring time which means a lot of photographers are back to shooting outside and probably photographing group portraits. As a wedding photographer myself, I'm constantly having to light groups between 2 and 20 both quickly and effectively. In the latest video by Adorama Tv, Mark Wallace talks about how to light large groups evenly in a studio with Profoto lights. His explanation is really detailed, and if you apply this knowledge you can easily adapt this technique outside with something like a Photex Softlighter and some speedlights for even lighting on location.
Jonathan Ryan Shoots Underwater Bridals
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Lee and I are wrapping up our trip to WPPI in Las Vegas which is basically the largest wedding convention in the US. So today after meeting with tons of wedding professionals we thought it might be fun to showcase an underwater bridal shoot. Jonathan Ryan is a wedding photographer in Canterbury, England and in this video he is using a few strobes, a Nikon D3, and our favorite Ewa-Marine underwater housing to take some unique bridals underwater. It's pretty interesting to see how Jonathan syncs his strobes underwater since radio transmitters are pretty much useless around water.
Harrison Hurwitz Talks Film With Adorama
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In an age where digital has all but put film in the grave, commercial and wedding photographer Harrison Hurwitz has continued to build his business around the organic medium. As a young photographer knowing only digital imaging, I always find it interesting and enlightening to hear from the older pros who may have started with film or actually prefer still shooting film. The argument Harrison makes about film already being color corrected resonates well with me since I'm a jpeg shooter and prefer the color/tones my camera burns into the files vs digitally manipulating it. I can only imagine how much more expensive it is to shoot film and pay for the processing/scanning compared to the digital alternative; that aspect I do not miss. Are any of our readers also film shooters who have a perspective on this and if so we'd love to hear from you below.
The Wednesday Rundown 10.27.10
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Howdy and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. Tonight I had the chance, with a bunch of fellow fstoppers, to see Chase Jarvis speak and sign his newest book in person. It is pretty cool how Chase gives back to the community of photographers and encourages all of us to stay involved. I had the chance to meet several new people and hope to stay in contact. Thanks to Matt who sent in a video this week of a fashion shoot. contactfstoppers@gmail.com
Wedding Photography Tip: Fight For Your Artistic Vision
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Today, it is pretty common for a couple getting married to hire both a wedding photographer and videographer. When I meet a videographer for the first time I usually try to feel him or her out and figure out the best way that we can work together as team. In most cases we can both work to create great memories for our clients, but, if the videographer happens to step into my shot and ruin a picture, I have no choice but to begin to punch him in the face. If he attempts to fight back I am then forced to smash his video camera. This may be a little hard to understand so check out the video below for a great example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLK0TbVY6Ik<
R.L. Morris Weddings: A Quick Interview
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For those of you that don't know, I am a wedding photographer. I have been a wedding photographer for about 6 years now and believe it or not, I actually like it. Wedding photography has given me so much freedom in my life and has allowed me to start new projects like Fstoppers.com. Patrick and I are going to begin creating behind the scenes videos that pertain to wedding photography in the near future and we plan to cover everything from starting a business from scratch to delivering the final product. I didn't create the video below for Fstoppers; I actually created it for potential clients that may not have the opportunity to meet me in person before booking me. I realized that I only get a chance to meet about 50% of my clients before the day of their wedding. That's the downside with booking weddings outside of the state. I hope that you enjoy taking a closer look at what my life is currently like. More wedding videos will be posted soon.

Lee Morris of R.L. Morris Weddings from FStoppers on Vimeo.

Chase Jarvis Sits Down With Jasmine Star
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Chase Jarvis has started a really cool idea called Creative Live in which he gives back helpful information to other creative individuals. In this video Chase sits down with Jasmine Star who is one of the top wedding photographers in the business. I first came across Jasmine through David Jay and instantly fell in love with her. I love how they express their frustrations with living a typical 9 to 5 lifestyle and how professional photography allowed them to live the life they wanted to live. Just like them, I too went to school for something compeletely opposite of photography, and it was conversations like this that eventually lead me to change my career path to become the photographer I am today. Chase says it really well when he says, "There is no prescription for how you get to become a photographer." This video is not about fstoppers and shutterspeeds but rather about how to take control of your life and your passions and turn them into a business. I know wedding photography often gets a bad wrap but through wedding photography, I have been able to support myself financially every weekend and still have time to pursue other fields of photography during the week. Jasmine Star's story is about as good as it gets, and it's inspiring to hear her share her success story with everyone so candidly. I hope you guys enjoy this video as much as I have and I'm only half way through it! <
Who Gets Excited About Wedding Photography?
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Most photographers get sick to their stomach when they hear the term "wedding photography" but I actually perk up when I hear someone speaking about it. Contrary to popular belief, I am not a iPhone fashion photographer, I am actually a full time wedding photographer. In fact, Patrick Hall (the other founder of Fstoppers) is as well. Of course we both shoot commercial work too, but our true expertise is weddings. To get Fstoppers.com rolling we knew that we would have to create a lot of the videos ourselves but we didn't want to start off with weddings because we figured that most photographers wouldn't be very interested. Now that Fstoppers has grown considerably it is time for me to ask; Do you want to see behind the scenes wedding videos? We will definitely make these videos eventually but we want Fstoppers.com to have a solid community of wedding photographers first. If you are a wedding photographer please post your website/work in this forum post so that we can all learn from each other. Do you want to see wedding BTS videos?customer surveys
The Wednesday Rundown 6.9.10
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Welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. Another amazing weekend in the New York area. I Had the chance to shoot a wedding with NYC as the back drop, Gorgeous! Check out some of the wedding shoots that I found online this week. I have worked hard to insure all the videos show the final pictures. Thanks to Eddie for letting us know what wants to be seen. We love the feedback and want to give the crowd here videos to inspire and help. Thanks again for the feedback. contactfstoppers@gmail.com

Stillmotion: If you don't know them, you should
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Stillmotion is a group of photographers turned videographers whose work literally knocks me out everytime I see it. Watching their final products is sure to change your view of wedding photographers in general, and for me personally, they make me feel like I have no clue what I'm doing behind a camera. Check out this BTS of them working on a Trash the Dress session and click on the post to see what they can do with a full wedding. It's absolutely amazing!

||StillMotion||BehindTheScenes|| from Casey Warren | MIND CASTLE on Vimeo.

Charleston Family Portraits and Photography: Charlestonfamilyphotography.com
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Charleston Family Photography is a company based here in Charleston South Carolina that specializes in beach photography, family portraits, child photography, and group photos. What is so great about them is they use the natural environment as their studio so whether they are shooting family portraits at folly beach, isle of palms (IOP), Sullivan's island, or Kiawah Island, their photography really captures both the beauty of the sand and water as well as your family in their natural happy state. Most families will still want a few more traditional portraits with the entire group lined up...

Meet Patrick Hall: Charleston Wedding Photographer
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Patrick Hall is one of the founders and writers for fstoppers. In the summer when he is not shooting commercially, Patrick enjoys shooting weddings in Charleston. Check out this slideshow featuring his favorite images of 2009.