Wedding reception in garden

[thecornflake]

My brother-in-law is getting married next week, the're having a very small ceremony in a registry office (no photos actually there) and then the reception is at a relatives house close by that has a reasonably large garden. I've agreed to do some shots for them when they arrive at the reception just so they have some nice ones as nobody else will really have a good camera, plus we've offered them a couple of nice framed prints as a wedding present.

Does anyone have any tips that may be useful? I've been searching for wedding pose ideas online and found some good ideas. I want to keep it nice and simple, but still a little different from the generic shots everyone else will take with their phone cameras. Time of day is going to be around 11am, although we'll be there till later so I may try and get a few more near sunset when there's some more interesting light.

The back garden faces south-west, and there's a nice patio area with pond etc at the back of the house.

I'll be shooting on a 1100d with 50mm prime, 35-135, and possibly a 17-50. I'll also have a couple of older film cameras loaded with bw film.

 

[Serendipitous Sid]

Does anyone have any tips that may be useful?

Well, just off the top of my head while waiting for my coffee to cool a bit ...

1 Remember at all times that it's a wedding reception - not a photoshoot

2 Establish in writing beforehand what family groups the couple want shooting and work out your running order for those. Deciding either of those on the day is a Bad Idea.

3 When doing those groups in a relatively small space, you biggest problem might well be the folks in the shot looking at somebody else rather than you. Work out now how you're going to handle that.

4 Don't sweat the technicalities. Remember that it's not far off the truth to say that in many cases, if the couple can recognise the folks in a picture, their eyes are open and all parts of them are clearly visible, they'll love the picture.

5 Don't be tempted to shoot loads of pictures of kids because they're "cute" and they're easy. Instead, make sure you get plenty of snaps of the wrinklies (in case you end up taking the last snap ever taken of them!)

6 If the bride seems to spend a lot of her time talking to any guest in particular, get enough shots of her doing just that and make sure you've got a decent shot of whoever he/she is.

7 If there's a wedding cake, remember to get a general shot of it and a close-up of the cake topper/details. If the cake-maker's there, get her in a shot with the cake.

8 If you're struggling for ideas for couple shots, see if they're up for going walkabout up the road or whatever there is as an alternative to only shooting them in the garden

9 Try to remember to watch your background at all times (e.g. trees growing out of folks' heads, parts of people you didn't notice when you pressed the button)

10 Don't take it too seriously

 

[thecornflake]

Thanks, some very good points there. The only kids there will be mine, and I already have enough pictures of them so 5 is not an issue

8 is possibly my biggest issue, although they'll be happy with just a couple of nice shots of them together I would like some really nice ones if I can get them. There isn't much else around location wise within walking distance but the garden offers quite a few different options.

 

[Cowleystjames]

You'll need a couple of nice umbrellas, just in case! Don't ever have the sun shining in the subjects eyes and back up, back up, back up. In other words, don't have just one body.

 

[Serendipitous Sid]

... I would like some really nice ones if I can get them. There isn't much else around location wise within walking distance but the garden offers quite a few different options.

You don't need a "location" to get cracking good pictures of a couple in fancy dress on their wedding day. A plain brick wall is a great background if it's at least a foot taller than the couple, and most couples love shots of them just walking hand in hand with the bride holding the bouquet - particularly if the setting's a normal, everyday one.

The biggest obstacle isn't the lack of a setting - it's the photographer's willingness to think outside the box. What we used to do was nothing special at all, but if you check out our 2011 portfolio here

you'll perhaps see a few clues to what I mean

 

[thecornflake]

You don't need a "location" to get cracking good pictures of a couple in fancy dress on their wedding day. A plain brick wall is a great background if it's at least a foot taller than the couple, and most couples love shots of them just walking hand in hand with the bride holding the bouquet - particularly if the setting's a normal, everyday one.

The biggest obstacle isn't the lack of a setting - it's the photographer's willingness to think outside the box. What we used to do was nothing special at all, but if you check out our 2011 portfolio here

you'll perhaps see a few clues to what I mean

A very good point, although the garden will be fairly 'busy' with gazebo etc and so I do need to account for the background although I can throw it out of focus.
That's a nice portfolio, I like how quite a few are more wide angle, most wedding shots I see are long focal length and I think that contributes to the more formal feel of them. 17-50 lens turned up today, so I think it's going to get some use on Wednesday