How to Photograph a Wedding

People always ask me what the secret is to photograph a wedding. As one of San Antonio's most sought after wedding photographers, who's talent with a camera is matched only by my humble personality... I thought I would share some tips with some photographs from other photographers to illustrate my points:

1.  Keep the use of guns to a minimum.  Even in South Texas, where shotgun weddings are common:

2.  I cannot stress again, the importance of rule #1.  When the wedding party insists on guns, please leave the ammunition at the door:

3.  Insist that no matter how attached the groom may be to his pet, please leave the pets at home.

4.  Make sure that the bride and groom are dressed appropriately.  I always recommend traditional wedding attire:

5.  Always watch out for someone trying to photo-bomb your shot:

Like a cat

Or a horse

An Alpaca

Especially Death

6.  Speaking of horses, remember that sometimes the angle of the shot is very important:

7.  Always encourage the bride and groom to choose good venues, places that are photogenic and visually interesting

8.  Encourage the bride to not let the groom get too excited about the wedding

9.  Even though beach weddings can be very romantic, again I always encourage tuxedos for the men

10.  As a photographer, I try to capture those little candid, emotional moments

11. I try to keep the amount of Photoshop that I use to a bare minimum

12.  Most of all, I remind everyone that this is a happy occasion, and people should have fun, and look happy

Downtown San Antonio Wedding with Mari and John

Mari is the kind of bride that all photographers like to work with.  She's easy-going, laughs easily, fun to be around, and she's always in a good mood.  When she told me the wedding would be downtown San Antonio, I was really jazzed.  I love taking pictures downtown. Visually, it's a smorgasbord of buildings and people.