7 Tips for Great Wedding Ring Photos

One wedding image that most brides like to have as part of their wedding photos is the ring shot. Today, Rachel Durik from Savor Photography is sharing some tips that will help you get a great ring shot every time!

1. You don’t need a macro lens.

Yes, a macro makes beautiful, close up ring shots. But you can still get a great photo without a macro lens. I always use my Canon 24-70mm 2.8L lens for the ring shot. (To see what gear I’m working with, you can go here.)

2. Choose the right time during the wedding.

I usually do the ring photos during the reception. There’s some down time while people are eating which makes for the perfect opportunity to take some time for a nice ring shot.

3. Style it!

Choose something meaningful from the wedding or the venue to incorporate into the shot, even if it’s something simple. For example, this beach wedding had almost no decorations, so I took a flower from an hors d’oeuvres tray (it was finished) and found a shell nearby.

4. Choose the right settings.

You get a beautiful photo at any aperture. Using a wide aperture like f/2.8 makes for a shallower depth of field, but it can be trickier to get the focus right. When you’re photographing a diamond, you want the right facets in perfect focus. I find that if I’m shooting at f/2.8 (with the 24-70mm lens), I choose my focal point and take several shots at once. Then, zoom in all the way on your LCD screen and make sure that at least one has perfect focus. Choosing a less shallow depth of field, say, f/6.3, will bring more of the diamond into focus and will make it a bit easier to get the focus right. The following picture was taken at f/2.8.

5. Consider the lights.

Because diamonds are cut to reflect light, you’ll need to consider where the light (even an overhead light) is coming in and out of the diamond. Otherwise, the light can mess up your focus and make the diamond not appear in focus. In the following unedited example, the zoomed-in picture on the left is something I’d consider bad reflections (notice the center of the diamond). On the right, the reflections are less distracting, though the focus is still just slightly off.

6. Edit to enhance the look of the diamond.

I find that adding a little bit of clarity and recovery during RAW editing helps. I also prefer cooler tones in the white balance. (The recovery slider is not in Lightroom 4. Instead, use a combination of exposure and whites.) The following example shows an unedited ring shot on the left and the same shot, edited, on the right.

7. Above all, be careful with those rings!

You don’t want to be the photographer that let the diamond roll away!

Rachel Durik is a photographer located in Southwest Florida. You can learn more by visiting her photography site, Savor Photography, Naples Wedding Photographer, blog, or the Savor Facebook page.

Tagged as: Photography Tips, wedding photography