How to Take a Great Confetti Shot

The confetti shot is one of the can’t miss shots of any wedding day. Here is a quick guide to take you step by step to having a sure fire confetti banger, whatever your camera.

No wedding is complete without confetti, and no wedding photography is complete without a confetti shot. This guide is designed to give you a reliable formula for a great confetti shot that doesn’t rely on the latest technology or a flashy camera. using my method you will get great shots whether you use the latest mirrorless or a classic film camera.

Step 1. Arrange the Guests

Normally, you will have a bit of time to arrange the guests before the couple emerges. Usually two rows to form a guard of honour for the bridal couple to walk down. In my experience the guests always stand too far apart if left to their own devices so make sure you direct the crowd so the gap between the two rows is to your liking. I prefer a gap of about 2-2.5 metres so that is a really busy action feel to my shots.

Step 2. Where to Stand

I like to stand 6 metres back from where the confetti starts. Initially I take wider shots of the couple at the beginning of their run. Then I wait until they appear at about half length in my viewfinder which is when I track backwards with them to maintain the framing as I shoot. One very important thing is to make sure the guests know what you are going to do. Make sure that no one inadvertently trips you as you are walking backwards. If I am working with a videographer I always make sure we know what each of us is planning to do. It is important that we are not going to get in each other’s way at a part of the wedding that can’t be repeated.

Step 3 Shutter and Aperture Settings

The first priority is to freeze the movement of the couple. I prefer to shoot at a shutter speed of about 1/500th or faster. I’ll go down to 1/250th if I really have to but no lower than that. In terms of aperture, I like a decent amount of depth of field for this type of shot. I like to set mine between f5.6-f11. If I am shooting film I will pick a 400 or 800 iso stock depending on the conditions. With digital I set the camera to auto iso and let that be the exposure variable, while the shutter speed and aperture stay the same.

Shooting a film camera means I have to be a bit more careful. If the light looks to be consistent, I am happy to take a light reading and set the camera manually. When I have to negotiate moving from direct sun to shade then shutter priority is probably the better option. If you are using a compact film camera, a fast film should force the camera to use the right settings automatically.

Step 4. Focus Mode

Now this is always a tricky one. Common sense would make you think that you should use a tracking mode. But what I have found is that larger confetti will confuse almost any AF mode if it blocks out the faces of the couple. To counter this I use zone focusing. I employ back button autofocus initially to get my subjects sharp enough. Then with a combination of a stopped down aperture and moving with my subjects to maintain the distance, I should have enough depth of field to ensure all my images are in sharp focus without having to rely on the autofocus tracking. For example, if you are using a 35mm focal length for your confetti shot on a full frame camera, setting the aperture at f8 and focusing at two metres will mean that everything from about 1.5mtres to 3.25 metres distance will be in focus.

Other settings for your Confetti Shot

Motorwind. I am a happy with a motorwind set to 6 fps per second. Many photographers prefer faster but on a busy wedding day that can add up to a lot of images to go through later and always feels like overkill to me. I prefer to anticipate the action and shoot in short bursts.

Fill flash. If the light is very harsh, and it often can be at summer weddings, using fill flash can calm things down and save editing time later on. I always try to get things right in camera where I can.

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