Damon Tucci
Seven Time-Saving Strategies
for Wedding Photographers

By Michelle Perkins

"When photographing a wedding," says Florida photographer Damon Tucci, "time is your enemy. It is the one thing that you will never be able to control." He also notes, however, that there is almost always an opportunity to make something up if you need to. "The key is that you have to recognize your mistakes or successes instantaneously and not be frivolous with your time," he says. "You never know when you might need an extra 10 minutes to reshoot something." Understanding this has led Damon to develop the following seven strategies for combating Father Time.

Strategy #1: Be an Opportunist

How many times do you arrive to find that the bride is not ready? Instead of waiting for an hour, shoot. "There is always something to capture," says Damon. "Look closely for anything that will help tell the story. Details make excellent transitions in the album and are effective emotional reminders to the bride and groom of their special day." Then, walk around and get some establishing shots. "Never rest and never waste any of that time," says Damon.

Strategy #2: Listen Carefully

An invaluable asset at a wedding is your listening skills. When you first arrive at the wedding, introduce yourself, but then try to be a fly on the wall. "Eavesdrop on some of the hot issues of the day. Find out who is getting or not getting along with whom. This will help you know who not to pose by whom," Damon says. "If you train yourself to listen effectively you'll usually know everything you need to know about their family by the time the ceremony starts."

Damon also loves to call people by their names; it invokes an instant bond and people are more likely to listen when he addresses them that way. If he forgets a name, though, he makes sure to keep his ears open—chances are the other folks in the room will call that person by his/her name eventually. "Just by tuning in, you will be the hero who remembers everything about your clients," he says.

Strategy #3: Use Available Light

"The best advice I could give a new photographer is to turn off your flash. Start shooting without one and you will experience much more natural results," he says. "It requires good technique, but if executed properly the results can be much more dramatic photographs. With available light, there's nothing to carry and no extra equipment to slow you down." This lean-and-mean approach is a hallmark of Damon's style.

Strategy #4: See Beyond What is There

"When I worked at Disney, I was trained by some wonderful photographers," says Damon. "One was Michael Glen Taylor, who taught me to find great lighting and then look for the background. He would show us a beautiful portrait and we would think it was shot in a botanical garden. The next slide, however, would reveal that it was actually taken in a not-so-nice city park with trash cans and homeless people just outside of his compositions."

This type of visualization empowers you to pull wonderful images out of your hat, no matter the situation. Whether it is raining, snowing, full sun, cloudy, or a level-four hurricane, you have options. "I was once commissioned to take some photos for a wedding magazine at an old courthouse in downtown Orlando. Upon entering the courthouse, I noticed the vibrant red corner that was lit perfectly by natural light from a window. I placed the bride in the corner and had an assistant hold a reflector to pop a little light in the model's eyes. In about four minutes we had the shot—and it would have taken only two minutes, but the automatic door kept closing on me!" says Damon.

Strategy #5: Recognize Success or Failure Instantly

The instant feedback provided by the LCD and histogram is one of the best tools at your disposal for ensuring more professional results. "With digital, you know when you have the shot and you can move on," says Damon. "This enables you to try things outside of your comfort zone. If you are too far off the mark, your LCD/histogram will tell you and you can instantly make corrections or abort the effort. This is imperative for today's weddings. Brides want to enjoy their day and they will not endure a three-hour photo session. They want to have fun—and if you want to stay competitive, you will let them."

Strategy #6: Train Your Anticipatory and Reactive Skills

Wedding rituals are just that: rituals, meaning there are events that happen time and time again. These are easy to anticipate, but you need to be in the right place at the right time and ready to capture them. "The first moments typically happen as the bride is getting ready—a mother's glance, a nervous bride, the bridesmaids laughing. Be ready and position yourself accordingly," says Damon. "The ceremony is also ripe with opportunity. We always shoot their reactions when the bride and groom first see each other. Couples really love these shots, because they are usually so entranced by the moment that they hardly remember it." Immediately after the ceremony, Damon suggests following the bride and groom and watching for some truly giddy, love-struck expressions. "The bride and groom will still be totally wrapped up in the moment and probably won't even realize you are there, documenting every moment," he says. "Wedding photography is a thinking person's sport. By anticipating the action and nailing the shot, you can save yourself the time and headache of having to restage something—and probably come away with some real emotions in your photos."

Strategy #7: Be One with Your Assistant

Having the same mindset with your assistant is a valuable time saver; how else can you be in two places at once? "Good associates are hard to come by. If you find a responsible one with a good eye, nurture them. After each wedding, review your shots together. Identify what worked and what did not. Grow together. If you want them to be as focused on the wedding as you are, you must give them plenty of incentives like encouragement, money and support to do well." He also suggests giving them some freedom. "In my early days, I wanted my associates to shoot and be just like me. Now that I am a little older and wiser, I let them be themselves and am amazed at some of the results."

There must also be good communication. "Hand signals can be really helpful, since screaming across the church during the ceremony is not a good idea," says Damon. "Basically, you just want a plan of action, so you are not both shooting the same exact shot."

"Like death and taxes, the passing of time is inevitable, so don't waste it," says Damon. These seven strategies should help you maximize your productivity at the wedding. They are tried-and-true techniques for being successful as a wedding photographer. To learn more about Damon Tucci, please visit www.damontucci.com. Check out his book titled Step-by-Step Wedding Photography: Techniques for Professional Photographers (Amherst Media, 2008).

Michelle Perkins is a professional writer, designer and image retoucher. She has written for PC Photo and is the author of Beginner's Guide to Adobe Photoshop, The Practical Guide to Digital Imaging, Color Correction and Enhancement with Adobe Photoshop, and her latest book, Professional Portrait Lighting: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers (all from Amherst Media).