The first dance for the married couple could be the most significant dance of their lives, and they will want to remember it forever. Chances are, everyone else will be busy trying to snap their own photos from their little digitals, and you must nudge your way in to capture shots of the beautiful moment.

It's not just the shots you want, but a few good shots of the couple - something flattering. Here are some ways which you can achieve a unique or better shot than just pointing and shooting.

1. Change Your Shooting Angle

Most people, most of the time, take photographs from the same viewing point – i.e. they hold the camera up to their eye and press the shutter.  For a different view, deliberately take the camera low down and you’ll immediately have a shot that stands out.  Wedding receptions are often held in rooms with ornate ceilings, so this can be a good way of getting that detail in the background also.

2. Move Around The Dance Floor

By this we don't mean dance around the couple, but just situate yourself to the other side away from everyone else's cameras and include the “paparazzi” in your shot.  The resultant image will be fun, capture the excitement of the guests, and more than likely the enjoyment of the bride and groom at all this attention.

3. Post-Edit Your Pictures

Instead of just printing the photographs straight from your camera, edit them on a trusted editing software to enhance them. This can be as simple as increasing the contrast, or you can get artistic and apply some effects such as this spot-colour effect, done in Photoshop Elements, to make the bride and groom stand out.  Photographers might think this look is cheesy, but many brides and grooms love it.  Notice also that this image uses the tips above as well – don’t be afraid to combine different ideas in one shot.

4. Slow Down Your Shutter Speed

By slowing the shutter (and keeping your camera steady, on a table or chair for instance) you’ll get shots that show movement on the dance floor.  You may also get lucky, like I did above, and find that someone else’s flash goes off in the middle of your exposure to help freeze the bride and groom.  Or you can make your own luck by following tip 5….

5. Take The Flash Off Your Camera

If you own a flash that can be taken off the camera and fired remotely, see what happens when you fire it from a different position to your camera position. Remote triggers from Ebay would do the trick as well.  The end result is another distinctive looking first dance shot.

6. Take Advantage Of The Videographer

Often during first dances, there’ll be a videographer filming the event, and he’ll probably have a video light on top of his camera to illuminate the bride and groom.  If you underexpose your shot and wait for his light to brighten up the bride and groom you’ll get a pretty cool spot like effect.  Or you can achieve the same thing by using the off camera flash mentioned above and zoom it in as much as it will go.

7. Light The Dance Floor

The shot at the top of this page was lit by two off camera flashes, one either side of the band, pointing across the dance floor in an X to light the entire floor.   The wider shot above shows a similar arrangement – you can see how the two flashes (mounted on the band’s speakers) light the whole floor.  Depending on where you position yourself relative to these lights and the bride and groom, you can get some great front light, back light, side light or combinations of all of these for a professional looking shot.

[RonanP]