08.13.2020

Making Great Portraits at Weddings

There are lots of reasons why weddings are ideal for making portraits, so let’s explore some techniques and tips you can use with your X Series camera.

Wedding celebrations are one of those rare times when friends and family are gathered together in one place, looking their finest, and in a great mood. That all makes this an ideal time for portrait photography – not just of the happy couple either. The professional photographer will be concentrating on them, so why not turn your attention to the guests, with the aim of producing a collection of prints or a photo book as a post-wedding gift? Once you explain your idea to people, they will almost certainly be willing to give up five minutes to sit in front of your camera.

It’s All About the Light

Whether you’re indoors or outside, great portraiture is all about the light. So, before you even get your camera out of its bag, start looking for good spots where you can pose people.

Avoid direct sunlight if possible, unless you happen to be photographing in the ‘golden hour’ before sunset or are using it for a backlit image. It creates harsh shadows across faces that are not at all flattering. And it can make your subjects squint if they are looking straight towards it. Much better to head for an area of shade – the shadow cast by a building or a tree is ideal. Also look for picturesque doorways. Placing your subject just inside one puts them in shade and reflected sunlight from the floor just in front of them will give their face a lovely, soft glow.

Even better than this is an area of shade next to a wall that’s being lit up by direct sunlight. The wall will act as a large, soft light source that will look much like a professional photographer’s softbox in the studio.

Camera Settings

As you know, using a wide aperture to create an out-of-focus background is a good idea when making portraits. It’s an approach that puts emphasis firmly where it should be – on the subjects in the foreground. For ease, we recommend aperture priority for outdoor portraiture, but you may choose to work in manual, plus there are some other features that will help you keep your attention on composition and interpersonal skills, rather than worrying about the technical side.

Set Auto ISO to raise the ISO sensitivity if the shutter speed dips below 1/100 sec. This is done in the camera’s main menu:

- Press MENU OK, scroll to the SHOOTING SETTING menu, and choose ISO AUTO SETTING.
- Press OK to choose one of the AUTO presets (eg AUTO1).
- Set the DEFAULT SENSITIVITY to the lowest setting, eg ISO 160 or ISO 200.
- Set the MAX. SENSITIVITY to ISO 1600, or whatever you feel comfortable with regarding noise.
- Set the MIN. SHUTTER SPEED to 1/100 sec.
- Half-press the shutter release button to get back to shooting mode.

Also convenient is Face/Eye Detection AF, as this will take care of positioning the AF point for you. (Switch this on from the camera’s Q Menu or main menu.) Combine this with Continuous AF mode and you shouldn’t have to give focusing a second thought, leaving you to interact with your subjects.

Keep Talking…

The ability to chat freely with a subject is probably a portrait photographer’s most important skill. It keeps the sitter relaxed and happy, which will give you a more natural result that the happy couple will love. With your camera set up, and your location and lighting chosen, talking and composition is really all you have left to worry about.

Ask your subject to look away from the camera for a few frames, even if this is not the kind of picture you’re looking for: when you call them back, their gaze will be more relaxed and less ‘deer in the headlights’. And if you have someone who blinks a lot when they’re having their picture taken, try counting them in (3, 2 ,1… go!) so they know when the moment is coming – then make a high-speed burst so you guarantee a picture with eyes open.

Last, do try to remember to vary the pose of your subjects a little, or you’ll end up with 20 great pictures of the same thing. It’s easy to panic when you run out of ideas and keep making frames to cover up your embarrassment, but just take a moment. Step back, ask your subject to stand up, sit down, turn the other way, and see what materializes.

Your Next Steps

CHALLENGE When you’re next at a wedding, try shooting a collection of guest portraits as a gift for the happy couple. Post your five favorites to social media with the hashtags #MyFujifilmLegacy and #wedding. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels
LEARN Download our booklets Michelle Turner’s Guide to Creating Amazing Wedding Images and Alison Conklin’s Guide to Beautiful Wedding Photography with the FUJIFILM GFX System