Brett Florens Guide To Photographing Weddings

Brett Florens walks you step-by-step through one real wedding (the celebration of Claire and Chris), revealing his go-to shooting techniques and time-management strategies. Florens begins by customizing image concepts to suit the clients’ personalities and style. On the engagement shoot, he takes you through setups with Claire and Chris that begin with natural light then escalate to multi-strobe approaches. Florens launches his wedding-day coverage with early-morning shots of the guys and the ladies, creating a variety of group and individual images indoors and out. At the ceremony site, he has advice for documenting each event and creating formal portraits of the couple and guests. After a quick-but-efficient break for location portraits, he concludes the day’s hour-by-hour coverage with standout shots of the reception, made with strobe, ambient light, and bounce flash. Throughout, he demonstrates how shooting with the album(s) in mind will ease the post-event design process and boost your sales. In this practical, inspiring book, you’ll see real wedding photography as it is rarely revealed: from the perspective of a single event, start to finish.

Internationally acclaimed commercial, portrait and wedding photographer Brett Florens' sensational handbook guides readers through the rigours of getting the shots, marketing their work, mingling with guests, making the sales and designing one-of-a-kind albums that will thrill their clients. Florens' insightful text on business basics, marketing materials and technical prowess is perfectly paired with page after page of `now' images. His finger is firmly on the pulse of the wedding industry, offering fashion-inspired, magazine-style images seen in bridal magazines.

Wedding photographers are under tremendous pressure to capture once-in-a-lifetime moments—from the bride’s preparations, to the ceremony, to the reception and the exit. They are forced to shoot in low light in every wedding—whether in poorly lit ceremony and reception venues or, later in the day, when the peak lighting has faded. This presents myriad problems and obstacles to achieving beautiful, artfully executed images of the events of the wedding day. In this book, popular photoeducator Brett Florens and contributors provide digital photo techniques and lighting solutions—from reflectors, to LED lights, to flash—that will help you ensure that no important image is lost to poor light or exposure concerns. From choosing and using the best camera settings to scouting locations with interesting, workable light, to creating gorgeous artistic effects, this book provides the skills you need to get THE shot at every stage of the wedding and in any locale.

Packed with outstanding images from real weddings, this book is full of advice from one of todayÕs top photographers in the wedding and portrait industry. Brett Florens is a South African photographer who selected 75 of his favorite bridal portraits to explore in detail, giving the reader an inside look at both the creative development of each concept before the shoot and the technical execution of the photographerÕsÑand brideÕsÑvision. Featuring brides with a variety of looks, from classic to fashion forward, and images shot both indoors and outside, the book provides instruction on a wide range of techniques. Florens is a master of lighting, so lighting diagrams are provided for each image, making it easy for readers to adapt the setups to their own subjects and shooting style. Posing techniques are also covered in detail, with tips for both refining the appearance of the bride and for communicating something about her personality through the pose selected. Florens is also well known for his fashion-inspired poses, and the aesthetic concepts that make them work effectively are explored. With tips for remaining true to personal style while working to satisfy the tastes and demands of a variety of brides, it will be a valuable addition to the library of any professional photographer or advanced student of photography.

Go behind the scenes with twenty-five leading professionals and explore what makes their work unique. Whether you’re looking for tips on location selection, better time management, posing cues, lighting insights, or some new ideas for shooting the reception, you’ll find the answers at your fingertips. Music-photographer turned wedding shooter Angela Hubbard (Rolling Stone, Spin, Vanity Fair) shows you how to design iconic images of your couple. Jim Garner, named one of the world’s top-ten wedding photographers by American PHOTO Magazine, reveals how a change in his products and design strategy revolutionized his approach to shooting weddings. Anne Almasy (Huffington Post: Wedding blogger) and Catherine Hall (named Best Wedding Photographer by The Knot) explore the role of emotional and personal connections on your images. Also featured are images and fascinating insights from acclaimed artists: Dave & Quin Cheung, Salvatore Cincotta, Bob & Dawn Davis, Tracy Dorr, Brett Florens, Jim Garner, Jerry Ghionis, Michael Mowbray, Christie Mumm, Josh Newton, Huy Nguyen, Kristi Odon, Dennis Orchard, Srinu & Amy Regeti, Ken Sklute, Damon Tucci, Neal Urban, Riccis Valladares, Paul Van Hoy, Neil Van Niekerk, Ethan Watts, and Stephanie Zettl.

Today’s brides- and grooms-to-be have grown up inundated by world-class photography on the Internet, television, magazines, and social networking sites. Therefore, it’s no surprise that these savvy, image-conscious consumers have high expectations when commissioning their engagement portraits. They want unique, innovative images that make them look great and reflect their personal style as individuals and as a couple. In this book, acclaimed photographers Bob and Dawn Davis show you how to rise to that lofty goal and deliver memorable, personalized images from each session. Covering the process from start to finish, you’ll learn how to select locations, work with clients on their styling, get great poses even from camera-shy subjects, and find (or create) amazing lighting indoors and out—all day long. Lighting diagrams paired with each final image selection, along with supporting image variations from the same session, make it easy to learn!

Offering inspiration as well as guidance for portrait photographers to use during sessions with infants and toddlers—notoriously difficult subjects for posing—this guide takes a uniquely visual approach to instruction through its 500 stellar shots. With the challenges faced while working with children, it is easy to end up in a rut of go-to poses. The book counters the stock image effect with its broad variety of creative options, and incorporates experience-based knowledge on achieving successful results, such as creating a comforting zone for the child or the potential assistance of integrated props. The poses highlight what the parents love to see while considering what will work with even the most willful of young subjects.

Go behind the scenes with twenty-five leading professionals and explore what makes their work unique. Whether you’re looking for tips on location selection, better time management, posing cues, lighting insights, or some new ideas for shooting the reception, you’ll find the answers at your fingertips. Music-photographer turned wedding shooter Angela Hubbard (Rolling Stone, Spin, Vanity Fair) shows you how to design iconic images of your couple. Jim Garner, named one of the world’s top-ten wedding photographers by American PHOTO Magazine, reveals how a change in his products and design strategy revolutionized his approach to shooting weddings. Anne Almasy (Huffington Post: Wedding blogger) and Catherine Hall (named Best Wedding Photographer by The Knot) explore the role of emotional and personal connections on your images. Also featured are images and fascinating insights from acclaimed artists: Dave & Quin Cheung, Salvatore Cincotta, Bob & Dawn Davis, Tracy Dorr, Brett Florens, Jim Garner, Jerry Ghionis, Michael Mowbray, Christie Mumm, Josh Newton, Huy Nguyen, Kristi Odon, Dennis Orchard, Srinu & Amy Regeti, Ken Sklute, Damon Tucci, Neal Urban, Riccis Valladares, Paul Van Hoy, Neil Van Niekerk, Ethan Watts, and Stephanie Zettl.