Young Photographer: bringing out the emotion in wedding photography

Documenting the flow of a wedding

Wedding photography kit

Throughout the day, Dasha was able to observe how Marco and David worked together. "They're never in each other's way and have worked out this unspoken way of being able to get everything done as quickly as possible," she says. While they are multi-skilled, they have fallen into a natural rhythm of Marco providing the primary stills coverage while David shoots video, both mainly using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

Marco usually carries two camera bodies, slung across his chest like holsters. On one he fits a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM zoom lens while on the other is a prime, such as a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. David shoots video on the stabilised Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens and a Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM lens.

"At a wedding you have to be prepared, because sometimes you have just seconds," says David. "You can't ask someone to give the ring again. We always have ideas about shots, but you never know what is going to happen, so it was good for the mentoring to show Dasha that everything goes so fast. If I had to choose just one lens to do a wedding and I want to have many different points of view, it's the 24-70mm, while I like a 35mm for moving around. When we do a wedding, we prefer to use a mix."

From shooting the couple draped across a couch, surrounded by whimsical candles, through to capturing the delicate golden hour light pouring through birch trees during the ceremony, Dasha relied on her Canon EOS 5D Mark III, while also using Marco's Canon EOS 6D Mark II, with a mix of zooms and primes.

"It was a two lens setup," she says. "A Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens lets you do a bit of everything and anything, while a Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens is great for portraiture and low lighting situations. I prefer using the 50mm as I like to go in and compose by moving, but the 24-70mm is fantastic, especially in a real wedding, which is a lot more unpredictable, sometimes with things further away. You'd be using that lens a lot more in a real-life setting."

Marco advised her to try to get three different compositions from the same scene – a close-up, a slightly wider shot, and an image that shows more of the location – and they also experimented with backlit photography, something Dasha has always loved and used in her commercial work. "You have this beautiful light layer in the background at golden hour and you can get a beautiful effect with the dress detail with backlit photography," she continues. "It's fun to work with because you get a whole other dimension in the pictures compared to flat lighting."

As the light fluctuated throughout the day, from the overcast morning to a bright afternoon, exposure became an important focus. "Bright light is the most difficult light to shoot in," says Dasha. "It's easy to get your exposure wrong, especially with a white wedding dress. Marco and David said it's best to underexpose to get the detail on the dress ­– even if the face is underexposed, you can patch that up later. I'm not used to doing that so much, but it made complete sense, so it was a great tip."

David says that for pictures, they generally steer clear of using a shutter speed of less than 1/125 sec, and usually try to use two stops less than the maximum aperture available. "In terms of quality, I think it's the best," he says. "So with the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens, we use it at f/1.8, or with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens, I use it at f/1.8."

Observing Marco and David's unique approach to wedding coverage has inspired Dasha as she develops her own look for covering weddings, alongside an upcoming documentary photography trip to China. "They're not the kind of wedding photographers who work to a shot list," says Dasha. "Of course they get important moments, but they don't follow a rigid, drawn-out plan. They do whatever is beautiful in the moment and have a lot more freedom in their style of work than some photographers do.

"I had a certain style with my fashion and food photography, but because this is newer to me, I'm still working on it. The goal for me is to get more into the wedding niche. Now knowing Marco and David's way, I've taken some elements of it and mixed it with elements that I had from my previous forms of photography. Over time, it will come together in my own coherent style."

David's wedding photography tips

1. Get to know the couple in advance
"This is not only about taking pictures, it's also about showing emotions, so you need to create a relationship with the couple. It's good to get to know each other, so we have coffee together and meet before the day. Normal couples might be shy in front of the camera. My advice is to do a short pre-wedding shoot, because when they know how to feel in front of the camera, they feel relaxed. We did this for free with our first weddings, because we believed the result on the day of the wedding was going to be way better. It's good to see them even just for an hour before the wedding, to relax them and give them some advice about how to move their bodies."

2. Focus on the dress
"Outdoor weddings can be quite difficult sometimes because people don't think about the best light and celebrate the ceremony at sunrise or sunset, so sometimes the lighting can be hard. Try to underexpose a little bit and always focus on the bride's dress because you can easily get the white very high there and burn the dress. It's easier to recover the shadows in digital cameras, so try to expose to her all the time and underexpose the whites."

3. Experiment with composition
"When you're taking pictures of the couple, try to use composition as much as you can. When you learn in college about photography, you have rules like the rule of thirds, or not putting the couple in the centre. You try to use that sort of thing all the time, but it's also about feelings. I always try to do something more creative – sometimes I'm behind the trees or structures trying to capture different angles. You can be taking pictures from places you don't usually imagine. In our experience, the pictures with a huge background, such as the couple set against mountains, are not the ones the couples like the most. They can't even see that it is them, so we like to take closer pictures."

Dasha's wedding photography tips

1. Use movement to get natural shots
"Couples are not professional models and you need to make them comfortable. The best thing to do is make them move, as you can capture a lot more natural images that way. We did a lot of stuff where we would ask the couple to walk out or pick up a prop. This flow of continuous movement means you can get a lot of shots, so there's more material to work with, at the same time as having a more natural kind of image."

2. Focus on the story
"A lot of wedding photographers will put all their best images on their website, but it's not necessarily the story of the day. Make sure you're shooting the couple, but also put together quite a few photos that show the story and all the different aspects of the day. That's what people are looking for in wedding photographs, not just some good photos of themselves."

3. Build up a targeted portfolio
"For weddings, make sure you just showcase your wedding photography. Making more of a niche gives the best impression of you being a professional photographer. Even if you do other jobs and other kinds of photography, it's better to keep your website simple as it shows to a client that you're professional in the area they are looking for. Shooting friends' weddings, assisting others on weddings, or going as a second shooter are great ways to start building up your portfolio and to get you used to the pace of working with couples."