I’m a professional photographer 15+ years. I’m not sure how you got in my feed- but this is video is very affirming cause it is exactly what I do! I don’t ever remember feeling insecure about speaking up but I will tell you if I ever did it soon faded because I always hear the bridesmaids who are standing over my shoulder snickering “yes this is so much better, wow, she really knows what she is doing, etc” don’t hesitate just do what you need to do-- nobody is thinking about you (but you! lol) great video! Love your accent! 😬
I've been watching from the beginning as a "hobby" photographer. This fall, though, my husband and I are shooting our first wedding! We are excited and nervous, but have gained a lot of confidence through all of your resources, KJ! Thank you SO much for sharing such informative and educational content!!
Groom prep is SO HARD! I'm a female photographer and am not naturally an outgoing person, so connecting and photographing the Groom and guys is hard and I'm never quite satisfied. I'd LOVE to see a video on it!
Brooooooo!!!! Behind the scenes... this is amazing! I'm always doubting myself wondering if I am doing it the right way and this just helped my confidence so much... Now to get better where I am not as well off. Thank you so much Katelyn! Looking forward to the rest of this series!!!
LOVE THIS! So helpful. I would really like to see reception behind the scenes. Primarily how to deal with either wonky lighting, indoor ballroom. Managing on/off camera flash. Just all about the reception! thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and empowering many. Love your work!
I’d love to see some situations where you have to do a first look outside and it’s very harsh light, with absolutely no option for shade. Love this new series!!
So excited for this!!! I'm headed into my very first wedding after starting with mainly family sessions. My biggest concern is how to shoot the ceremony in dim, mixed lighting with no flash. It also involves a stained glass window that greatly complicates things with different light in every spot of the church.
The best advice I can give is get the fastest aperture lenses you can afford. It really makes a huge difference with shooting in low ambient light. Lenses with apertures smaller than f2.8 in low light is reaaally kind of pushing it but It is doable. It is also better to raise your ISO high and get sharp grainy images than to miss the action with a low ISO and get blurry 100% guaranteed unusable images. I would try and aim for f1.8 prime lenses and the holy grail f1.4-f1.2 lenses are the creme de la creme of low light hoovers lol. the f2.8 zooms are good but in certain situations sometimes even f2.8 doesn't cut it. I shoot Nikon and I always have the older 85mm f1.8D, 35mm f2 D and the 50mm f1.8D in my bag for the ridiculously low light situations. I used to have a canon 85mm f1.8 when I shot canon and that is still one of my most favorite lenses I have ever owned. It is crazy good for low light. they are relatively affordable these days too since everyone is going mirrorless. If an image is too grainy you can always make it black and white to get rid of the color in the noise. For fast moving subjects you really can't drop your shutter speed below 1/250th of a second to keep the image sharp. If a subject is relatively still you can get all the way down to 1/60th of second but you'll have to time your shots right with when the subject comes to rest from a movement. Best of luck and may the light be with you!
So helpful Katelyn. Thank you so much, your photos are incredible and these videos are so helpful. I would love to see how you set up groom getting ready shots as well!
Thank you a million times for your generosity and time you give to so many of us to learn from the best. The way you teach is so easy for me to learn. from, its fun, its real and full of expert tips. you are truly an amazing and beautiful person. Also thank you to your team who also are amazing.
Such a series is really very very nice and informative to know what is happening behind the scenes to make us a better photographer. Can you also do more videos on how you would capture great compositions during a photo shoot and what to watch out for you get those great compositions.
I’m so excited for this series!!! I would love a video on your writing skills for your blog. Do you recommended classes? How do you write a blog explaining the day that’s not 100 pages long 😂
I love the way you give friendly and gentle commands to direct your clients! Would love to see more videos on doing group shots on wedding day and how to get epic portraits in really small spaces. I shot a wedding and we had such a small area to work with for photos in the house.
I love this series idea!! I dont think I've seen much of your content related to the actual ceremony and checking off the must have photos for that part of the day. For me its high stress because it is once and done. You have to get all the shots and not interrupt at all, so any tips about where you put yourself and how you make sure to capture everything you need would be amazing!
I know KJ already chimed in, but definitely check out KJ All Access! It’s amazing and one of the best investments I’ve made for my business! There’s a new episode each month and she takes you behind the scenes for full wedding days and compiles it all together so you see what she does in real time. (Including any internal freak outs that we all have and can’t let on to our couple!) Then she does a voiceover explaining why she did what she did, what she wishes she did different, etc. It’s like shadowing someone during the wedding day, but without feeling like you have to get out of the way, wanting to ask questions but too afraid to, etc. Okay, I sound like an ad, but for real, check it out! It’s very reasonable price wise and well worth it!
Can you talk about/give some tips for how to deal with a bride/bridal party that pushes back when you give direction and take control? Like I try to take them to a location with great light at the venue and they immediately say they don’t want photos there, and want them somewhere else that looks horrifying on film and I try to say the lighting is too harsh or it’s to busy if an area for the photo to portray the way they’d like it too and they actually fight me and talk back. And also bridesmaids trying to direct the bride. This one happens more than people like to admit. How do you shut that down while still maintaining a professional vibe. I’ve only had a few weddings where this has been an issue but trying to find the balance of still being professional but trying to explain that I’m the professional in the situation and I know what I’m talking about and I’m trying to give them the best photos I possibly can give them, tends to be difficult.
I’m loving your videos. I struggle with the camera settings; always wanting my people sharp yet obtaining blurry backgrounds. Can you answer this please?
Loved this Video! The ceremony, everyone wants different angles, and some people don't want us in the middle to capture straight on shots. So I struggle with that a bit !
I have my first wedding coming up in Aug. I have a 15-35, 50, 100, 70-200… all RF glass on an R5 and R6. I’m excited, but nervous. It’s a small 70 person event. This video helps. Thanks for sharing it. Also… could you share some insight on male photographers in the bridal suite for those getting ready shots. IE. what’s appropriate to shoot. Obviously, I think you’d have a conversation with the bride and bridesmaids to ease any concerns or uncomfortableness. We’re still doing a job just like a female photographer. We’re all professionals here.
Katelyn congrats on your new baby by the way. so I have a question I really love my 85 prime lens but I never seem to have the time to use it at a wedding everthing always seems so rushed. I use to cameras one with 35 prime or 24-70 and my other camera has my new 35-180 which I love but its heavy. When do you use your 85?
We tell people we average 80- 100 delivered images per hour we shoot so 800- or 1000 delivered photos for a 8-10 hour day... we shoot about 4000-5000 total images on a day.
This is fantastic!! Thank you for doing this series! Things I’d love to see in this series… First looks (groom & bride, bride & bridesmaids, father & daughter). I also struggle with angles and where to shoot from to capture it correctly with lighting 🤪
This may be a dumb question: How would you recommend a male photographer handle this? Would they just skip this part? Or would the bride get into the dress, and then someone would let the photographer know it's safe to come in and he would do some staged shots with the dress partly unzipped, or even just leave it fully zipped with the mom or whoever holding the back of the dress to make it LOOK like they're zipping it?
I have photographed tons of weddings, but the hardest part for me and with most of the local 'historic' venues, is they are light sucking dark venues. Nearly impossible to capture great photos without using direct flash. All pine wood, very orange, and dark ceilings hard to bounce...
I get that light is the most important factor in getting amazing portraits and I definitely prefer natural light. Does this mean you turn away brides that have evening weddings?
"Just remember this. Light matters more than anything. If you do not have good light, you will not have good images. This trumps any other decision" Abso-freaking-lutely. I have only shot a few weddings as well as a lot of bands at shows and light is THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT of the image. If you don't have light you don't have an image. Direction, hard, Soft, color, amount? Shooting at a venue with garbage light is THE WORST. It makes it insanely difficult to get decent images because you have to jack your ISO waaaay up and your keeper rate goes waaaaay down. I mean at the end of the day if you have no choice but to deal with garbbo light, it's better to jack that ISO up so you can raise your shutter speed to capture sharp images with out significant amounts of blur than to shoot at lower iso and get unusable dark and/or blurry images.
I agree, but disagree, I don't believe all shots need natural light or a whole body light. If you look at you upper body shot, OCF would work and give you a better looking shot. With the wide shot, you could of used OCF with it in the room, dropped your exposure and had the door and hallway much darker focusing the subject as the brightest party of the image. I will say the biggest issue I see with bride portraits is overexposure of the wedding dress, you can't see the detail in the very expensive dress the bride has chosen. I do feel it is the fear of using flash, if you use speed lights it can be Done very quickly. Get a better controlled exposure and have a better portrait of the bride without relying on natural light. Or the problems with backlighting
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
that bride ... her dress ... her mom ... the light ... the PHOTOGRAPHER! katelyn you are just errrrrrything and this was amazing
So sweet!!
I’m a professional photographer 15+ years. I’m not sure how you got in my feed- but this is video is very affirming cause it is exactly what I do! I don’t ever remember feeling insecure about speaking up but I will tell you if I ever did it soon faded because I always hear the bridesmaids who are standing over my shoulder snickering “yes this is so much better, wow, she really knows what she is doing, etc” don’t hesitate just do what you need to do-- nobody is thinking about you (but you! lol) great video! Love your accent! 😬
Thanks for watching!
I've been watching from the beginning as a "hobby" photographer. This fall, though, my husband and I are shooting our first wedding! We are excited and nervous, but have gained a lot of confidence through all of your resources, KJ! Thank you SO much for sharing such informative and educational content!!
Groom prep is SO HARD! I'm a female photographer and am not naturally an outgoing person, so connecting and photographing the Groom and guys is hard and I'm never quite satisfied. I'd LOVE to see a video on it!
Great idea!!
Brooooooo!!!! Behind the scenes... this is amazing! I'm always doubting myself wondering if I am doing it the right way and this just helped my confidence so much... Now to get better where I am not as well off. Thank you so much Katelyn! Looking forward to the rest of this series!!!
Thanks for watching!!
Beautiful. I wish my getting ready rooms was as beautiful as that . Any tips for non glamorous rooms .❤️
Thanks for watching!
LOVE THIS! So helpful. I would really like to see reception behind the scenes. Primarily how to deal with either wonky lighting, indoor ballroom. Managing on/off camera flash. Just all about the reception! thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge and empowering many. Love your work!
You would love KJ All Access!! shop.katelynjames.com/shop/kj-all-access-membership-base-trial-product/
Perfect timing for this series. Can’t wait to see the rest. Im most nervous about my first Catholic Church wedding, rules, lighting challenges etc.
Thanks for watching!!
I’d love to see some situations where you have to do a first look outside and it’s very harsh light, with absolutely no option for shade. Love this new series!!
th-cam.com/video/RilfepmPbEk/w-d-xo.html Try this!!
thanks so much for this series! very helpful for someone like me who's only recent;y started shooting weddings!!
Glad it was helpful!!
So excited for this!!! I'm headed into my very first wedding after starting with mainly family sessions. My biggest concern is how to shoot the ceremony in dim, mixed lighting with no flash. It also involves a stained glass window that greatly complicates things with different light in every spot of the church.
Thanks for watching!!
The best advice I can give is get the fastest aperture lenses you can afford. It really makes a huge difference with shooting in low ambient light. Lenses with apertures smaller than f2.8 in low light is reaaally kind of pushing it but It is doable. It is also better to raise your ISO high and get sharp grainy images than to miss the action with a low ISO and get blurry 100% guaranteed unusable images. I would try and aim for f1.8 prime lenses and the holy grail f1.4-f1.2 lenses are the creme de la creme of low light hoovers lol. the f2.8 zooms are good but in certain situations sometimes even f2.8 doesn't cut it. I shoot Nikon and I always have the older 85mm f1.8D, 35mm f2 D and the 50mm f1.8D in my bag for the ridiculously low light situations. I used to have a canon 85mm f1.8 when I shot canon and that is still one of my most favorite lenses I have ever owned. It is crazy good for low light. they are relatively affordable these days too since everyone is going mirrorless. If an image is too grainy you can always make it black and white to get rid of the color in the noise. For fast moving subjects you really can't drop your shutter speed below 1/250th of a second to keep the image sharp. If a subject is relatively still you can get all the way down to 1/60th of second but you'll have to time your shots right with when the subject comes to rest from a movement. Best of luck and may the light be with you!
Wow how amazing! I love watching these! I would like to see some videos about detail shots and styling of details
You should check this out: katelynjames.com/bridal-details-mini-course
Sooooo excited for this series!
Thanks!!
This was SO good Katelyn!! Thank you!!
Glad you liked it!!
Absolutely brilliant, thanks for your inspiring videos!
Glad you like them!
Amazing! Very helpful to see what you do and how you handle things. Learned a lot.
Thanks for watching!
Oooooo I'm so excited for this series. I definitely have the hardest time directing, I guess I feel like I'm being bossy but it's part of the job!
Thanks for watching!!
Love this!! Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge!!
Glad it was helpful!
This is AWESOME!!!!!! I am an all acesss member & still find this so useful! THANK YOU!
Great to hear!
So helpful Katelyn. Thank you so much, your photos are incredible and these videos are so helpful. I would love to see how you set up groom getting ready shots as well!
Great idea Alison thanks for watching!
Thank you. It never ceases to amaze me how much there is to learn. I love your videos …….. oh and I have just taken delivery of ‘Tribes’.
So awesome thanks for sharing David!
Thank you a million times for your generosity and time you give to so many of us to learn from the best. The way you teach is so easy for me to learn. from, its fun, its real and full of expert tips. you are truly an amazing and beautiful person. Also thank you to your team who also are amazing.
You are very welcome
I love this series, awesome video!
Thanks for watching!
Such a series is really very very nice and informative to know what is happening behind the scenes to make us a better photographer.
Can you also do more videos on how you would capture great compositions during a photo shoot and what to watch out for you get those great compositions.
Thanks for watching!!
Love this series idea!
Glad you enjoy it!
I am learning so much from you. You are so natural.
Thank you so much!
this series is amazing!!
Haha the "love you bye" at the end is so funny!
haha I know right!
This was very helpful! Seeing the behind the scenes and how you guide the bride etc is very helpful. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! You would love KJ All Access!! katelynjames.com/kj-all-access-regular-trial
I have my first wedding this weekend. So I’m so so excited for this
Perfect!! Glad it can help!!
Awesome! I am really looking forward to this series, even though I watch your BS monthly, but I love this idea. Thank you for doing it,.
Yay! Thank you!
Great series - thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I don't even want to do weddings; but this almost makes me want to try.
Thanks for watching!
Rewatching this lesson and I’m just here to thank you for all your knowledge! I can’t wait to see this wedding on ALL ACCESS!
I’m so excited for this series!!! I would love a video on your writing skills for your blog. Do you recommended classes? How do you write a blog explaining the day that’s not 100 pages long 😂
Great idea!!
I love the way you give friendly and gentle commands to direct your clients! Would love to see more videos on doing group shots on wedding day and how to get epic portraits in really small spaces. I shot a wedding and we had such a small area to work with for photos in the house.
Thanks for watching!
yesss we love vids like this, i find myself struggling on the family group shots and doing the different combinations
Thanks for watching!
I love this series idea!! I dont think I've seen much of your content related to the actual ceremony and checking off the must have photos for that part of the day. For me its high stress because it is once and done. You have to get all the shots and not interrupt at all, so any tips about where you put yourself and how you make sure to capture everything you need would be amazing!
KJ All Access would be a huge help for you!
I know KJ already chimed in, but definitely check out KJ All Access! It’s amazing and one of the best investments I’ve made for my business!
There’s a new episode each month and she takes you behind the scenes for full wedding days and compiles it all together so you see what she does in real time. (Including any internal freak outs that we all have and can’t let on to our couple!) Then she does a voiceover explaining why she did what she did, what she wishes she did different, etc.
It’s like shadowing someone during the wedding day, but without feeling like you have to get out of the way, wanting to ask questions but too afraid to, etc. Okay, I sound like an ad, but for real, check it out! It’s very reasonable price wise and well worth it!
Thank you Brittany! I really appreciate all the info :) definitely want to invest in it but gotta get my finances in order first
Great content as always. Looking forward to more from this series!
Awesome, thank you!
Can you talk about/give some tips for how to deal with a bride/bridal party that pushes back when you give direction and take control? Like I try to take them to a location with great light at the venue and they immediately say they don’t want photos there, and want them somewhere else that looks horrifying on film and I try to say the lighting is too harsh or it’s to busy if an area for the photo to portray the way they’d like it too and they actually fight me and talk back. And also bridesmaids trying to direct the bride. This one happens more than people like to admit. How do you shut that down while still maintaining a professional vibe. I’ve only had a few weddings where this has been an issue but trying to find the balance of still being professional but trying to explain that I’m the professional in the situation and I know what I’m talking about and I’m trying to give them the best photos I possibly can give them, tends to be difficult.
Great idea! I will add it to the video list
We love KJ and everything she does!
Thanks for watching!!
Thank you for this. It's so amazing. I have a wedding coming up, but the bridal suite isn't large at all and there's not a lot of natural light....
Yay!! I’m so excited for this series. Especially since I might be shooting my first wedding this summer!
So exciting!!
I just found your channel and it’s been a huge blessing I love how talented and educational you are!
Thank you so much!!
I saw only one of your videos, and I must admit I like your ease and comfort while you're shooting a wedding.
Thanks for watching!
I’m loving your videos. I struggle with the camera settings; always wanting my people sharp yet obtaining blurry backgrounds.
Can you answer this please?
what is most used aperture for getting. like nice to show settings on pics. love your stuff btw....
Thanks for watching!
Loved this Video! The ceremony, everyone wants different angles, and some people don't want us in the middle to capture straight on shots. So I struggle with that a bit !
Makes total sense! Thanks for watching!
This is great!!
Thanks for watching!
here in the UK we dont get much light LOL if its a stormy day dark and clouds would it be ok to get a light with a box / umbrella ?
Thanks for watching!
Wow I admire your job a lot ❤
I have my first wedding coming up in Aug.
I have a 15-35, 50, 100, 70-200… all RF glass on an R5 and R6.
I’m excited, but nervous.
It’s a small 70 person event.
This video helps. Thanks for sharing it.
Also… could you share some insight on male photographers in the bridal suite for those getting ready shots.
IE. what’s appropriate to shoot.
Obviously, I think you’d have a conversation with the bride and bridesmaids to ease any concerns or uncomfortableness. We’re still doing a job just like a female photographer. We’re all professionals here.
love these so much, thank youuu!
You’re welcome!
Fantastic information. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Love your videos....question...I have a nikon 7100...what are you setting your camera at? Thanks! Deborah
Katelyn congrats on your new baby by the way. so I have a question I really love my 85 prime lens but I never seem to have the time to use it at a wedding everthing always seems so rushed. I use to cameras one with 35 prime or 24-70 and my other camera has my new 35-180 which I love but its heavy. When do you use your 85?
great advice!
You're amazing, I love how easy you explain everything.
Thanks for watching!!
Katelyn, how many shots would you take in just a getting ready scene like this and how may of those shots would go to the client ?
We tell people we average 80- 100 delivered images per hour we shoot so 800- or 1000 delivered photos for a 8-10 hour day... we shoot about 4000-5000 total images on a day.
This is fantastic!! Thank you for doing this series! Things I’d love to see in this series…
First looks (groom & bride, bride & bridesmaids, father & daughter). I also struggle with angles and where to shoot from to capture it correctly with lighting 🤪
Thanks for watching!!
posing
need all the help
Thanks for watching!!
Very nice..
Second shooter advice!
I'll get Michael on that!
This may be a dumb question: How would you recommend a male photographer handle this? Would they just skip this part? Or would the bride get into the dress, and then someone would let the photographer know it's safe to come in and he would do some staged shots with the dress partly unzipped, or even just leave it fully zipped with the mom or whoever holding the back of the dress to make it LOOK like they're zipping it?
I have photographed tons of weddings, but the hardest part for me and with most of the local 'historic' venues, is they are light sucking dark venues. Nearly impossible to capture great photos without using direct flash. All pine wood, very orange, and dark ceilings hard to bounce...
I get that light is the most important factor in getting amazing portraits and I definitely prefer natural light. Does this mean you turn away brides that have evening weddings?
Thanks for watching!!
🧡🧡🧡
Thanks for watching!
"Just remember this. Light matters more than anything. If you do not have good light, you will not have good images. This trumps any other decision"
Abso-freaking-lutely. I have only shot a few weddings as well as a lot of bands at shows and light is THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT of the image. If you don't have light you don't have an image. Direction, hard, Soft, color, amount? Shooting at a venue with garbage light is THE WORST. It makes it insanely difficult to get decent images because you have to jack your ISO waaaay up and your keeper rate goes waaaaay down. I mean at the end of the day if you have no choice but to deal with garbbo light, it's better to jack that ISO up so you can raise your shutter speed to capture sharp images with out significant amounts of blur than to shoot at lower iso and get unusable dark and/or blurry images.
Yes yes!! Thanks for sharing!
I agree, but disagree, I don't believe all shots need natural light or a whole body light. If you look at you upper body shot, OCF would work and give you a better looking shot. With the wide shot, you could of used OCF with it in the room, dropped your exposure and had the door and hallway much darker focusing the subject as the brightest party of the image.
I will say the biggest issue I see with bride portraits is overexposure of the wedding dress, you can't see the detail in the very expensive dress the bride has chosen. I do feel it is the fear of using flash, if you use speed lights it can be Done very quickly. Get a better controlled exposure and have a better portrait of the bride without relying on natural light. Or the problems with backlighting
I was taught never photograph into a window with the subject in front of the window???