These are the 5 things that I learned from shooting my first wedding EVER(a photographer’s journey):

1. Prepare for travel:

PREPARE your travel plans before and Make sure you know where you’re going.  My biggest learning lesson was that Holbæk is NOT Humlbæk.  Yup- I went to the wrong way to shoot my first wedding ever.  I literally jumped into a cab and the driver swiftly drove me to the event…it was like driving across Denmark.  I narrowly made it and I’m so grateful for that amazing driver. Learning lesson, make sure you KNOW where the heck you are going. 

2. Prepare your equipment:

Bring the OTHER LENS. I only brought my 85mm lens which is perfect for portraits…just not weddings. Through this, I lost a lot of shots and connections but gained friends that knew that I was trying to make the best of it.  The moral of the story, bring all the lenses and prepare for what shots you are going to take (i.e inside or outside, lighting, lens hood, etc.).

3. RESEARCH the wedding group:

Do your RESEARCH. You have to have some background on who the wedding party is for, ask questions, who the bride and groom are, what is the layout of the wedding party, what is the weather going to be like, etc.  Be prepared and do your homework.

4. Posing to Guests:

Know HOW TO ‘pose’ the wedding couple, family, and guests. I winged it and it probably showed. But it was fun and the wedding couple and guests was so sweet and patient with me. 

5. Adjust your Camera settings:

When you go from outdoors to indoors, your ISO will change and that will affect the shot. Adjust your camera settings accordingly to get the mood’s best shot. Sometimes you rely on natural light, sometimes the inside light is lower, you have to adjust your camera settings to get clear shots. 

These are the five key things that I learned from shooting my first wedding ever. My lack of preparation and experience probably showed but I would not take back the experience. Even though I had a rough start, I got some amazing candid shots of everyone and all the people were kind and in great spirits. My first wedding shoot gave me the learning lessons to become a better photographer.  

What are your photography learning lessons from shooting your first-ever wedding?