Whether you’re a wedding photographer with years of experience or just getting started, your approach to capturing weddings should be constantly evolving. Having an open mind to new techniques will ensure that you are always pushing yourself to be a better photographer, not just in your technique but also in the quality of images that you produce.

As a wedding photographer, your clients rely on you to capture their most important day. That means it’s important to care about them and their vision. This can be as simple as making sure you have the right gear for a shot, but it can also mean learning about what they want their day to look like in advance. This way, when they sit down to look through the photos with their friends and family, they have a sense of what the images will feel like.

If you’re working with a couple who hasn’t told you exactly what they want, get together before the wedding to go over a list of key shots and formals that they’re looking for. It will make your job much easier on the day and you can tick them off as they’re completed.

Many photographers tend to take a photojournalistic approach to weddings, which involves shooting candids and documenting key moments throughout the day. However, there is a lot to be gained from stepping away from this and exploring areas of fine art photography too. For example, desaturating an image can add an artistic flair and highlight emotion that may be obscured by too much color.

One of the best things you can do as a wedding photographer is to invest in a good telephoto lens. A telephoto will allow you to capture close-up images without distracting the subject with your camera’s lens. This is an incredibly valuable tool for capturing details, portraits and intimate moments during the wedding.

While it may seem obvious to shoot lots of close-ups, the trick is to avoid coming across as creepy or invading. Try to use the telephoto to create blurred backgrounds and focus on a single face or body. This will help you to create powerful and emotive portraits that will stand out in their wedding album.

During the ceremony, be sure to move around discreetly to avoid distracting the couple and guests. Coordinating your movements with songs, sermons and readings can be a huge help.

A good way to ensure that you have time for all of your key shots is to plan a timeline with the couple and their family or friends. This will let them know how long you’ll need to spend on each group and give them a realistic idea of what to expect.

A final tip is to be prepared for bad weather. Even if your forecast is good, it’s worth having a backup plan for shooting outside, such as having umbrellas in the car and taking pictures at locations under cover. This will ensure that if the forecast turns to rain, you can still provide your clients with some stunning photos of their big day.