Wedding photography - the confetti shot

For further photography-related information check out my compendium of tips.

Another question:

Hey David,

Looking at your galleries, I can't see any pics of the bride exiting the church and the confetti shower etc. I'm interested to know your tips for photographing this sequence, does autofocus have difficulty with all that stuff flying around. Do you switch to AI Servo mode? Do you walk backwards while using single shot?

Thank you

Tim

Hi Tim,

I always take a shot of the bride and groom walking down the aisle after the ceremony. I generally use my 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens in one-shot mode (occasionally AI servo), shoot at f/4 with a kiss of flash, and keep the shutter speed above 1/100 by adjusting the ISO speed, whilst walking backwards! I've not had problems with autofocus in these situations. If the church is really dark the AF-assist beam of the 580EX II will kick in.

At many civil venues, couples don't actually exit the building but move to another room for drinks. So there's no opportunity for the pose outside the building and they obviously don't bother with confetti!

With church ceremonies I take a shot of the couple exiting the church and will post it online if the venue is photogenic - a surprising number of churches seem to be in a permanent state of scaffolding. Bear in mind also that I only post 20% of shots.

Even with church ceremonies the confetti shot only occurs at about 30% of weddings. I've included an example from Louise and Adam's wedding last year, which was a traditional church affair.

All the best,

David

My main website: Kent photographer