Wedding Season Photo Tips: How to Take Great Photos as a Wedding Guest

It's wedding season, and chances are you're either attending a wedding, in a wedding or are friend's of a bride and groom. During your wedding ventures this summer, take a step back from your usual point and click photography, and make sure you're taking the best wedding guest photos possible!

Whether you're using a film camera or a digital camera, be sure you pack enough supplies for the duration of the wedding festivities, including the rehearsal, preparation, the ceremony, the reception and the after-party. Be sure to bring spare batteries, extra film or media cards, a padded case for protection and a micro fiber cleaning cloth to wipe champagne from your lens, just in case!

The first hurdle that most people have to jump when taking pictures as a guest at a wedding is the nerve to actually take the pictures. I find that many people attend events, with camera in tow, but never manage to get it out of the case. With a wedding, surely you know someone there, so it's not like you're taking pictures of strangers. Even if the only people you know are the bride and groom, nobody will think that it's odd that you're photographing them; they are the center of attention.

Once your nerves or shyness have subsided, be sure to get close. If you're photographing a toast at the head table, get up out of your seat, walk up to an area near the table, and get a clear picture of the toast. Otherwise, you'll be disappointed when you look at you pictures later to see the backs of guests heads illuminated by your flash, and in the background, a dark head table with tiny ant-like people. Getting close holds true for all of the major wedding moments that you want to capture, including the cake cutting, bouquet toss and even first dance.

Also, be sure that your flash is working correctly. I recently attended a family function where a picture happy aunt snapped off a dozen pictures not realizing that her flash was turned off. Her outside pictures looked great, but her indoor pictures were slightly blurry and some were dark.