Being a close friend or relative of people who will be married not long from now, chances are you will have a camera in tow when you share your special day with them. Now, if you only consider yourself just another person with a camera or an amateur photographer, the following super tips are for you. Some of these tips are what professional photographers do.

The collection of these photographs you will take have the potential of telling the story of the most important day of the celebrated couple, so you should make it a point to arrive early. If you are early enough, perhaps while the bride and groom are still getting ready for the ceremony, you will find yourself with a super opportunity to capture their most anticipated expressions before the ceremony begins. Photographic opportunities will be plentiful with candid shots of them and you may have a serene atmosphere to take snapshots of the site where the celebration will commence.

Now getting to see the bride and groom at this time may or may not happen, as you may need their permission at this time. Usually only the professional they hire is allowed to see them. But get there early anyhow because weddings can be unpredictable. There is the possibility of an occurrence other than what has been planned.

I am not trying to be an alarmist, but many times the best planned events have an occasional glitch. Perhaps in this case the flowers arrive late or one of the groomsmen rented the wrong tuxedo. There should be a photo opportunity here somewhere.

Here is a tip or two concerning your camera and equipment. If you need a better camera than the one you own, borrow or rent one. To go a step further, if you are skeptical of yourself taking photos, enlist another person to shoot photos for you. Nobody says you have to do it all by yourself. Even the professional photographer has a helper most of the time.

During the course of this special day you cannot forget about the zoom function on your digital camera. Moments when the bride, groom or wedding party is not close enough for a close up shot, your zoom may be your best friend at the moment. See if you can zoom in enough to minimize background so the focus is only on the subject.

There may be an opportunity to have the bride or groom, or anybody for that matter, pose for you. In this case do not let them face the camera head on. Facing the camera with square shoulders may force an unnatural expression.

Another point to consider in this regard, if the subject squares himself with the camera and his shoes are pointing at the photographer, his feet may appear larger than they actually are. I have read somewhere that when the subjects are facing forty five degrees from the light source, it creates a more relaxed pose and a good shadow effect with better detail.

Remember, you do not have to have the best digital camera to produce unique, quality photographs. Follow these tips and read up on picture taking skills in a photography magazine. Of course if there is time before your next wedding attendance, go shop for a new digital camera. Digital photography just may turn out to be your next new hobby.

Tom Watson is the owner of In Digital Photography, a website with tips, information, ideas and variety of digital cameras. He welcomes you to visit his website at In Digital Photography