When couples plan out their wedding, the location is always a major decision. It is an exciting option for couples that can afford it to have the wedding in a different city. San Diego is one of those cities that come to mind for a few reasons. Now of course this is going to come from first hand experience working with a lot of couples as a San Diego wedding photographer. So my experience offers tremendous insight.

One of the big reasons is weather. A lot of weddings are performed in the summer. Well in general a lot of the places are going to be hot in the summer. One of those locations that is comfortable is San Diego. The weather is reasonably mild on the coast. This is another big reason because of the photography. As a photographer I appreciate good weather. It gives the opportunity for great photos to be taken. It makes for a very nice and comfortable photo session. Where the wedding party isn’t too uncomfortable in the heat.

Another reason to consider is San Diego is really a great location for events. It has a bunch of different hotels for all your guests to stay in. It also has a lot of activities to offer your guests in and around the city. Your guests can have a mini vacation. Doing San Diego weddings has allowed me to see how this works out beautifully. Make no mistake a wedding is a huge event So what you are doing as a photographer is in reality event photography. San Diego is one that offers a great location for this kind of thing.

It is a hope that these few insights is going to give you some feedback to help you make a better choice when deciding on a wedding location.

I would love to give you some good tips to help you improve your photography skills. These tips are coming from years of experience shooting weddings in San Diego. These tips all involve lighting and they are going to be some of the biggest keys to your success in taking your photos.

First tip you will use in regards to lighting. Now if you are taking shots outdoors during the day, natural sunlight provides some of the best lighting possible. Now you are probably thinking, “that’s easy, when you are a San Diego photographer since it is always shiny there”, when in actuality really bright sunlight can cast harsh shadows. Or it will wash out the face details while the sun is overhead.

Overall, most of the shots you are going to want to take with the sun behind you.This eliminates any harsh shawows from effecting your shot from the sun.There will be some times when you want to take shots from different angles when you do try to get some shadows into the shots.

Now that we have addressed the shots during the day, what about those night shots?

The key technique for night photos is actually turning off your flash.Of course if it is absolutely dark with no light you will need it, but for times when there is some lighting, use the lighting around you, but make sure the shutter speeds are slow enough to let light in.Also, stay steady when you are taking your photograph or you will cause the picture to blur.Doing these tricks should make a significantly dramatic difference when you take night shots.

The final tips to using lighting for great shots is using the golden hour. Now there is a time that photographers refer to as the “golden hour” or “magic hour”, and that is during sunrise and sunset.

It is during this time of day when you will capture great shots that capture more warmer colors. You will be able to capture that golden lighting you won’t catch any other time of day.

There you go.Probably the biggest tip in taking beautiful photos is to make use of the natural lighting around you. Knowing what techniques to use for different parts of the day, or just scheduling a photo shoots to capture those times of day will help you become an excellent photographer.

This tips are coming from first hand experience as a San Diego wedding photographer.  So whether you are seasoned pro, or a rank amateur, if you follow these tips, you will feel comfortable and not have to second guess yourself.Doing this you will be fully prepared come what may.

Our first tip is easy and that is to have the couple and maybe their families make a list of photos they want to take.With a day that can be as hectic and chaotic as a wedding day, doing this will help when you are trying to organize all the group and family shots later on in the day.  You will love it and when you can just go down the list and get everything without leaving anything out by accident.

The second tip on our list is to not delete any shots.  In this day and age of digital cameras, most photographers use them.Even though they are great, it is also tempting since it is so easy, to delete a shot.  Don’t even look at the previews.  What makes a great shot in your mind could differ widely that what makes a great shot in the couples minds.  And who knows, they might appreciate the so called un “professional” shots.

A third tip to consider is making sure you get candid shots.A good wedding photographer doesn’t look to just take your typical shots, like group shots, or wedding shots or your standard newly married shots.  But they will also try and capture the emotions of the day through the shots of all the people that were there.It may include the things that go wrong also, like a flower girl making a wrong turn or the ring bearer not wanting to walk down the aisle.Every photo matters.

The fourth one to consider, and something that can easily be overlooked is to make sure you have several cameras with several lenses as backup.  Do you even want to imagine having a camera stop working halfway through the day.Plan for the worst that could go wrong.Being prepared with more equipment will ensure that you avoid that awkward moment of not being able to finish the rest of the day because of a broken camera.

Finally, practice your lighting as well. There can be a huge difference between the lighting inside the wedding and outside, so make sure to practice for all the different possible conditions. You should try and see if you can scout the locations for the big day and try and find the best spots to shoot as well as gauging the lighting needs.

Taking these 5 tips into account will help you immensely.  It will prepare you for whatever might go wrong, it will prepare you for capturing what goes right, and it will prepare you to help contribute to this wonderful day by being the best photographer you can be.  Take it from my years of experience as a San Diego photographer.