Firstly I'd like to say that I can't stress enough the importance of this information, especially with wedding photography, because you don't get a second chance!

Preparation

The wedding is probably a good few weeks away now, ideally anyone who you want to be taking photos for you would probably benefit from previewing the location, so give them a call and arrange to all go together and check out the location, don’t put it off, if you think you know a good spot to use then go there and take some friends along, take the bride, groom, bridesmaids & best man if you can, look around for good backgrounds, where is the sun? work out where the sun will be on the day when you are taking the group shots, now get your cameras out and take some photos!, use the people with you to pose as the bride and groom, and set up a group, try different backgrounds, different angles, different poses, also something to consider is the ground? It may be ok now, but what if it rains the day before, will the ground still be ok for the bride to stand on in her beautiful long white gown? Find a couple of locations, one with hard standing, like a pathway in front of the grass, or even on the edge of the car park, preferably with no lines, though these can be airbrushed out later.

This is the perfect opportunity to get some practice in! once you’ve done the shots you then have the opportunity to get them down loaded on to your computer, and in to your editing suit to play with and get some editing done before the wedding day, but keep those shots, they could even be used in the album as a before and after comparison…

What ever you decide to use in the background, look out for things that you don’t want in the photo. Is there a car park near by? Look out for cars in the back of your shot, If there is a road near by, watch out for traffic running through the back of your shot, you really don’t want a big orange Sainsbury’s HGV in the wedding album, look out for path ways in the background, are you likely to get people walking by, kids on bikes, or dogs running in to the shot, the things you see in the background can really spoil a good shot. Though best to get it right first time on the camera, with a basic editing program, most things can simply be removed later.