I’m just going to tell you that if your curiosity is piqued, if you feel a certain bug in your stomach, if you think there is a remote possibility that you want to be a wedding photographer, this book is going to do you in. So be careful, if you get hold of it and read it from cover to cover (as you should), you run a very serious risk of abandoning everything to dedicate yourself body and soul to the wedding photography (in the link the most complete mega guide that you will find on the net to start as a professional 🙂 ).
And this is being told to you by someone who personally and until recently was not particularly attracted to this type of photography for various reasons, but mainly because it seemed extremely complicated, extremely stressful, ungrateful and unstimulating.
How wrong was I. I couldn’t be more. I think I hadn’t found the right place or the right photographers. For some time now, I have discovered that wedding photography is not only very interesting and very important, but also quality That was beyond the limits of my imagination.
Not all wedding photographers are good, as everywhere there are some who are and some who are not. Now when you run into a good one, they add up to the symbolic force of this celebration images capable of taking your breath away. All seasoned with the difficulty involved in a wedding, where everything happens quickly, you are not always paid attention to, you cannot control the light or the people…
Until you run into someone who not only has the working capacity, of overcoming and artistic quality, but he is also capable of transmitting his strength, his inspiration, his knowledge and his experience as if it were a blood transfusion.
This is Robert Valenzuela, capable of making someone who was not interested in wedding photography want to jump headfirst into the pool.
Ideal for…
Anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to wedding photography, to know everything, all the tricks, the mistakes, the experience, the light, the compositions, who wants to learn to see the situations… Everything. but also for everything the one who is already dedicated to her and who wants to improve or deepen this path with the help of one of the best wedding photographers in the world.
Composition and design
Is is the first publication of 3 volumes that will cover the entire creative, technical, marketing process, etc. Everything that is directly or indirectly related, any aspect related to wedding photography. East first volume focuses on the stories told through the camera. In recent days he has just announced on his Instagram account the release of the second volume.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsvxVXrlwE2/
But let us return to the first volume, which is the one that occupies us. It is divided into 6 parts with a total of 18 chapters and a conclusion. It is highly recommended that you read it all and that you do not refer to it as a manual or dictionary, because it is designed to address everything as a whole (it is very enjoyable, don’t worry).
Part I
Chapter 1: A very difficult and risky decision.
There is a lot of sincerity and personal experience in this book, which I really love. Watch that not everything is built in a day, see the many mistakes that are committed on the road, risks and the difficult decisions that sometimes we must take in our photographic journey is most inspiring.
Chapter 2: Overview of the technical components of the wedding photographer
What are the basic, technical, professional components that you will need as a wedding photographer?
In this chapter you will see what the main components are and where to find them throughout the book.
Part II
Chapter 3: Circumstantial Light
What are the keys to finding the best circumstantial light, both indoors and outdoors, what should we look for, what to do and what not to do. With examples, failed images and images with good results so you can see the difference between one decision and another.
Chapter 4: Show or take away context and clutter
How to overcome the challenge of turning the messy rooms where the bride and groom get dressed into elegant and memorable images is a very important job. Locate the best place to photograph the couple in terms of light, move furniture if necessary, personal items, etc. As well as knowing how, when and how much context to show in each scene.
Chapter 5: Depth and Walls
How to balance depth to capture stories and compositions with walls and other architectural elements are essential for good wedding photography not only for composition, but also to improve the quality of light we use.
Chapter 6: Compositional elements
How to guide the viewer’s gaze through the composition by the narration of an image. From framing with objects, framing with structures such as windows, mirrors or doors, using reflections, the repetition of shapes or light and shadow. You will find everything in this chapter, with a multitude of images to exemplify each of the sections.
Chapter 7: Brightness and Contrast Levels
The combination of the available elements with the photographer’s own experience is what leads to a successful end to any wedding session. Know the light levels and take advantage of them whether these are high contrast scenes or scenes with the same light levels.
Part III. Basic components: techniques with people
Chapter 8: Breaking Down the Defensive Barriers
Take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way to meet the guests and the bride and groom and break down the barriers they may have at the outset, connect, empathize, respect, joke in the right measure to relieve tension and manage cultural and generational barriers.
Chapter 9: Confidentiality and Trust
The importance of psychology in wedding photography is immense, emanating tranquility and respect, will make people commit and get involved, collaborating as much as possible with you. This is absolutely critical to a successful session.
Chapter 10: Being Flexible, Nice, and Professional
How to deal with different situations that can be presented to us as wedding photographers, such as location disputes, people telling you how to do your job, advice on privacy, or dealing with complicated or uncooperative people.
Chapter 11: An Approach to Posing
The importance of the location and posing flowing in a natural, credible and truthful way. From the lighting, the location and the context, the environment and the details, or the expression, and the pose itself, with numerous failed examples with their explanations and of course examples of photographs where the objective of the shot has been largely achieved.
Chapter 12: The Mechanics of Group Posing
How to deal with the groups in the celebration, how to get soulful and balanced images. How to place the heads, the orientation of the clavicles, the inclination towards the camera, or the weight of the body are small guides to make your group portrait a success.
Part IV: An approach to the components of the wedding photographer
Chapter 13: The Wedding Photographer’s Point of View
What is the approach you want to use in each stage of the wedding: photojournalism, interactive photojournalism, conscious elegant posing, unconscious elegant posing and story development. Each of them is explained perfectly accompanied by numerous example images.
Part V: Professional Components
Chapter 14: Advanced Wedding Photographer Techniques: Emotionally Valuable People (EVP)
The people and the links they have with the bride and groom are very important aspects in wedding photography. Being aware of them and incorporating them creatively into your stories, just like learning to play with the generations, will create images that the family will appreciate.
Chapter 15: Technical Professional Components: Choosing the Lens and Auxiliary Light
This chapter talks about the most technical professional components such as the optics to use for each occasion with detailed explanations in each of the scenarios and each of the optics. All necessary lighting techniques are also addressed.
Chapter 16: Professional Posing and Expression Techniques
How to capture natural, warm and apparently spontaneous poses where people look natural and good and not strict and unnatural poses.
Chapter 17: Professional Composition Techniques
Techniques such as creative cutting, framing stories through significant objects, or explaining several stories in the same photograph.
Part VI. Execution of the technical components of the wedding photographer
Chapter 18: Putting It All Together Makes You a Professional Wedding Photographer
In this last chapter, everything explained so far is addressed through multiple wedding images made by the author, with all kinds of errors and explanations and their successes and possible corrections. Undoubtedly an inspiring and hopeful ending for anyone who dreams of dedicating himself (or is already dedicating himself) to wedding photography.
About the Author
Robert Valenzuela is a photographer based in Beverly Hills, California. He has been chosen by Canon USA as one of the few professionals in the prestigious Canon Explorers of Light program.
He has traveled the world motivating photographers to practice and analyze the various elements of photography in order to master them through goal setting, self-study and constant dedication.
Here you can see a brief presentation of the author (in English):
Details
- Title: The Wedding Photographer. Stories told through the camera. (Original: Wedding Storyteller. Elevating the Approach to Photographing Wedding Stories)
- Soft cover
- Pages: 368
- Publisher: Anaya Multimedia Editions
- Collection: Photo Club
- Price: N/A
- Language: Spanish. Original language: English
- Dimensions: 18 x 24cm (approx)
The best
This book is a gem for anyone who feels some interest (or is already a professional on the subject). It is very well explained, the personal experiences are very enriching and appropriate, they are not random battles, but you can extract a lot of information from them. You breathe the honesty of the explanations and the desire to reach the reader and is full of visual examples with very detailed and practical explanations about what to do and what not. Roberto Valenzuela’s vocation and gift as a teacher are evident. Undoubtedly an unmissable work.
Worst
The translation sometimes creaks a bit. If you are fluent in English, you may enjoy it more in its original version.
Other publications
You can also find these other publications by Valenzuela:
De Valenzuela, Roberto (Author)