When I first started out as a photographer, nothing scared me more than the idea of shooting a wedding in a super dark church. Add to that the fact that I had a cropped sensor camera body and I pretty much felt my heart sink every time I stepped into a dimly lit sanctuary on a wedding day. These days, while most of my clients choose outdoor ceremony locations, I still shoot a few church weddings every year when the right couple comes along. And the churches that are brightly lit are really in the minority. I’m not sure why that is exactly…if it were up to me, all churches would have beautiful hardwood floors and big clear glass windows with light pouring into them! But since that isn’t the case, we have to learn to adapt to our location and shoot the wedding well regardless.

Here are a few things I’ve learned about shooting church weddings that I thought I’d pass on to you!

Make friends with the church ladies
When I arrive at the church, the first thing I do is check out what it looks like in the sanctuary. The next thing I do, is seek out the church lady (there’s usually someone working at the church who keeps things running smoothly) and try to make her my best friend. I ask again what the restrictions are for photographers, even though the bride and groom have already given me that information. Sometimes the info the bride and groom get is different for whatever reason. I personally want to be as respectful of the church and their rules as I can, so I want to make sure I know ahead of time exactly what’s okay and what isn’t. I usually shoot the processional from the front, but if for some reason my new church lady bff says that’s no bueno, I choose a seat towards the front (fourth row or so) on the aisle on the bride’s side so I can still get great aisle shots AND a good shot of the groom’s face as the bride approaches.

Shoot with prime lenses
Okay, I admit to being an unabashed prime lens lover. I have never used a zoom lens that I loved. They don’t suit the “look” I’m going for and I have never shot with a zoom that I liked the colors, sharpness, etc. So obviously shooting with primes is important to me and is a part of my entire day, not just the ceremony. But prime lenses are especially great for shooting ceremonies in churches because they are so dimly lit. Most zoom lenses only stop down to about 2.8. Shooting in a dark church means you need every bit of light you can get and 2.8 just doesn’t always cut it in a dark church. So primes are great for this reason! They are also less heavy depending on the lens, which means you can use them at slower shutter speeds than you can with a bulky zoom lens. My two favorite ceremony primes are the 50 1.2 and the 100L 2.8. The 100 L has image stabilization which is crucial! 

Find out in advance about any restrictions
The majority of the churches I’ve shot in have some sort of restrictions on how the photographers can photograph the event. Whether that’s they don’t want us to stand closer to the altar than a certain pew, or they want us to stay in the balcony, or we can’t use flash at all, or even that we cannot photograph at all during the actual ceremony (which has happened before) it’s best to know these things in advance so you can plan out how you’re going to capture things ahead of time. I have my bride and groom get this info and send it to me in their final details questionnaire. I think it’s important to have them collect this information in advance so they are also well aware of the restrictions and they understand how this will affect their photographs. If I’m restricted to the balcony, the bride and groom understand not to expect super close up shots from side angles, etc. Managing client expectations is key here, and you’re able to do that so much better if they know first hand what you’re allowed to do and what you aren’t.

Do your research (Google the Church)
Yep, that’s right. I don’t do site visits ahead of the wedding day since the way I photograph really depends on how the light is that day and light can change throughout the year based on many different things (whether it’s overcast, sunny, leaves on the trees, time of day, etc). Instead, I google the church to see other pictures of it or pictures of other weddings inside of it to get an idea of what it’s like. This is usually pretty helpful. I also use Google Maps to stalk the outside of the church if I know I need to photograph family formals afterward outside of it. With satellite and street views, I can get a sense of whether or not there’s good spots for photos.

Silent Shutter
I mostly use the silent shutter feature on my 5D Mark III at every ceremony, but especially in churches. Like I said before, being respectful is important to me, and it can be a little distracting to the worship service to hear CLANK CLANK CLANK from my camera’s shutter…especially in conjunction with John’s shooting!

Crank your ISO
I know that some photographers may be afraid to crank their ISO because they don’t want they images to be really noisy. But in my opinion, I’d rather there be a little bit of grain than not get a great well exposed image that’s in focus. Plus, you can use Lightroom to reduce the noise afterward while you’re editing! I suggest raising your ISO so that your shutter speed and aperture can remain reasonable enough so that there won’t be motion blur.

I hope these tips were helpful! If you enjoy these “For Photographers” posts and you’d like the opportunity to learn more from me, I’m hosting a workshop in March! More details here.