So it’s the day of the wedding. The contract is signed, the money collected, and the car is packed with gear. Now what?

Now is when the big decisions happen. Do you shoot jpeg or raw? With a flash or without? To bounce or not to bounce? Those questions are easily answered. It depends.

If you are certain of your exposures then jpeg is perfect. If you are not so sure or have a difficult lighting situation RAW should be the choice.

Flash however is not necessarily your choice. Always make sure you check with the (insert officiant title) to find out his or her rules on this. I have found that many of them do not want flash used during the service. Therefore you are left with using higher ISOs and slower apertures. With today’s cameras this is not as much of a detriment to your photography as it was in years past so you will be fine.

You’re ready. Your client is ready. It’s time for you to do your thing. Remember, YOU were hired to shoot this wedding, there comes a time when you have to take control and get the photos you were hired to get. This means that if you have to tell people where to go or even to get out of your way, you have to do it. Try to be polite of course, but do what you must.