DIY Digital Wedding Photography

Once upon a time, a wedding photographer would bring dozens of rolls of film to a wedding, and then ask the brides and grooms to wait for weeks or even months after the wedding for the pictures to be developed. Now, with digital wedding photography, couples can see their pictures the same day, and even set up a slideshow at the reception of wedding pictures from earlier that same day!



Brides on a budget are looking for anywhere they can save money on their weddings. One way that has occurred to many couples is to forgo a traditional wedding photographer in favor of simply asking friends and family to take pictures. The ease of digital cameras makes them think anyone can capture their wedding on film. But does this really save you money? And will the photographs be any good?

Quality of Digital Wedding Photography

The quality of digital pictures is overall extremely good; many professional photographers have switched their operations over to digital entirely. But, there is still a human being behind a digital camera, and the picture can only be as good as they are. A good photographer has great cameras to work with, and knows

• When to snap a picture to capture that special moment
  
  
• How to frame the shot
  
  
• Which camera is appropriate for each picture
  
  
• How to pose the subject
  
  
• Which settings to use, including which automatic settings to override
  
  
• How to edit, retouch, and crop the picture
  
  The right paper to print the picture on

"My friend's pictures of my wedding were so good, I was worried that I had wasted money hiring a professional photographer," said Lisa Kutland, a New Jersey bride. "But when I got my photo album, I could see how much work he had put into cropping and printing each picture. They were a big improvement over both the proofs I had seen and my friend's pictures."

Learning about Wedding Photography

There are several very good books out there that can help you learn how to shoot weddings properly. I recommend The Best of Wedding Photography by Bill Hurter, or The Art of Digital Wedding Photography

If You or a Friend Has an Artistic Eye

If you feel that you can take good digital wedding photographs, then you'll also need to know how to edit your pictures. The leader in the industry of image editing is Adobe – their Photoshop program is used by graphic designers, photographers, and artists worldwide. But most amateurs won't get the full use out of the traditional Photoshop, so Adobe has released Photoshop Elements which simply helps you edit and enhance your photos. I found it pretty easy to use and intuitive, and my pictures definitely improved.



Overall, my recommendation for engaged couples is to seek a professional and skilled wedding photographer. But if the high cost of wedding photography is simply out of your reach, getting friends and family to take digital pictures is a good alternative.