Before every wedding ceremony I introduce myself to the officiant or minister and let them know that I try to stay as inconspicuous as possible—aftercall, a wedding is about the couple not me. I also ask if there are any restrictions that I should know about. After ten years I’m pretty familiar with most church rules but pastors don’t know that so its just a nice way of letting them know that I’m not going to be too distracting. It was during one of these conversations that I learned that the actual ceremony itself isn’t to be photographed—at all.

Now I am a firm believer in going with whatever my clients’ religion/culture dictate. I am a firm believer that I am there to capture their day for them and not for me. In fact, I have a place in my questionnaire where clients can specify any restrictions to photography for their ceremony.

The weird thing was, this couple hadn’t said anything so I checked in to see if they knew. They didn’t.

So…how do you get photos that your client wants but the pastor doesn’t? You put on a zoom lens and photograph the ceremony through a window.

Wedding photography requires you to think quick on your feet, to make decisions and make sure your clients are happy—-hopefully while not getting them in trouble in the meantime.