Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories

This book was excellent for me since I will be shooting my first wedding in Sept. It provided a tremendous amount of information about how to be organized, where to stand, what lenses to use, ideas for being creative, how to make money, etc, etc. If you are wanting to start down the road of wedding photography, buy this book first. This book has lots of excellent example photographs that help you understand what the author is talking about. I was so into this book I read it over two days. I will probably read it again here in the next week or two.

This book tells experienced photographers everything they need to know to make the transition into professional wedding photography. It is one of the best written books I have encountered in the field of photography. The author starts out by describing three styles of wedding photography: traditional wedding photography, photojournalistic-style wedding photography and portrait journalism with a summery of each to help the reader understand the implications in terms of equipment, wedding day activities, individual style and even fees. Like so much of the book the reader may well say, "That's so clear. Why didn't I think of that?" Throughout the book, the author assumes he's dealing with photographers who understand how to use cameras. When he talks about equipment, he assumes the reader is familiar with a digital single lens reflex camera's functions and just describes the features he considers important in selecting a camera for wedding photography. His method throughout the book is to follow the wedding photographer's workflow, from meeting the client to the wedding day to delivering the pictures. His discussion of the dressing room is typical of his approach. He discusses the lenses the photographer will need, and which ones to select for conditions to get appropriate wedding shots. He notes the lighting problems that will be encountered and suggests solutions. He even discusses how to suggest a dressing room location to the bride that will provide the most memorable shots, and moreover, includes advice on dressing room etiquette, including nudity. When it comes to the ceremony, he tells you the shots you have to have, and how to plan so you don't miss any, while not offending the guests who came to see the wedding and not the photographer. The book finishes up with some suggestions regarding workspace setup and methods of providing the photos to the customer. This book could serve as a model to authors of photography books. The outline is clear and concise. There's no unnecessary material, but everything a photographer needs to know to make the transition to wedding photography is included. The book is not aimed at someone who is attending a wedding and wants to get a few shots of the bride. Rather, it's aimed at the person who wants to photograph weddings as a business and already knows something about taking pictures and processing them digitally. I'm not certain how much new material the practicing wedding photographer will find here, but even experienced wedding shooters may learn something about organizing workflow to achieve a product that will be artful and please the customers. And that, by the way, is an underlying theme. You can make money; you can please the participants; and you can create satisfying art as a wedding photographer.

As a beginning wedding photographer, I've had several questions about almost every aspect of the profession and business, and I can truely say that Glen's book offers answers to many of my most important queries. As you read this book, you feel as though you're in wedding photography workshop whereby Glen shares his experiences, secrets, and tips for digital wedding photography. I like how he explains the latest trends in the business, especially concerning the Creative Fee model whereby clients pay the photographer up front for complete wedding coverage and he or she in return provides the client with a CD or DVD of a set of full resolution, color corrected and enhanced, photos taken at the wedding. Clients can further hire the photographer for album design and production, but the focus is to provide clients with well done digital photos that tell a story about the wedding day. From the outset of the book, Glen had me taking notes and making a list of improvements I want to make to my digital photography. After reading the three digital workflow examples he includes in the book, I went to my computer and begin writing out my own workflow which as I refine it will not only save me time but will help me become a better photographer. In addition, Glen goes into nearly all aspects of digitla wedding photography, including light and exposure settings, essential shots throughout the weddding, suggestions for camera and other digital equipment (go to his website for a must have list of equipment) and post-production work using Photoshop and other photo management software. As a very busy and experienced destination wedding photographer, Glen doesn't shy away from sharing the challenges of wedding photography. He provides the pros and cons of the business and even shares the thoughts and experiences of his fellow photographers. Unlike many other wedding photography books, this one is not about show casing high end wedding shots. He includes images that I think can be attained by anyone serious about the craft. Almost every photo includes information about the nature of the shot and the camera settings used to take the shot. This is a book that you'll you want to write in, yellow sticky selected pages, and constantly refer back to as you prepare for various wedding shoots. I really appreciate what this hard working photographer has done. It's a much needed book.